Englund v. Younker Bros.

142 N.W.2d 530, 259 Iowa 48, 1966 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 790
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedMay 3, 1966
DocketNo. 51990
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 142 N.W.2d 530 (Englund v. Younker Bros.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Englund v. Younker Bros., 142 N.W.2d 530, 259 Iowa 48, 1966 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 790 (iowa 1966).

Opinion

Becker, J.

Plaintiff seeks damages by reason of a fall which occurred in the parking lot immediately adjacent to the store known as Younkers-East located in Des Moines. Defendant Younker Brothers, Inc. rents the premises from defendant Mart, Inc. Plaintiff alleges she stepped in a hole created by broken and crumbling concrete in the lot as she "was returning to her [50]*50car. The first trial resulted in a mistrial; the second in verdict for defendants. Plaintiff appeals.

I. Plaintiff’s first assignment of error grows out of the mistrial. Briefly, the mistrial occurred when defense counsel mistook one of the jurors for defendant Younkers’ representative who was attending the trial. During recess counsel talked to a juror under the impression that he was talking to his client’s representative and made some remarks concerning opposing counsel. The remarks were not complimentary to plaintiff’s attorney. The juror identified himself as a juror. Counsel immediately broke off the conversation and reported the incident to the court in chambers.

It would serve no useful purpose to detail the conversation between lawyer and juror. Suffice to say, enough was said to justify a mistrial. However, both plaintiff and defendant Younkers agreed to excuse the juror and use an alternate. To this defendant Mart, Inc. objected, insisting on a mistrial.

The court observed: “Well, the court is convinced that it was an innocent mistake. There is no doubt about that in the court’s mind, * * declared a mistrial, taxing the costs to defendant. The case was reset at a later date.

Plaintiff moved to tax attorney fees as costs for the two days trial work aborted by the mistrial which plaintiff alleged was due to defense counsel’s misconduct. Defense counsel denied misconduct, stating that the incident was due to his innocent mistake. The motion to tax attorney fees was denied.

This type of incident should not occur during a trial conducted by experienced and competent counsel. Nevertheless, due to the tension and occasional frustration incident to such trials, the efforts of trial lawyers and human nature, such incidents do occur. We understand from our examination of the record why plaintiff’s counsel feels fully justified in denominating defense counsel’s remark as misconduct, but we are satisfied that such conduct was inadvertent, not wilful or deliberate.

We agree with plaintiff that such conduct is not to be encouraged, but on the contrary, discouraged. We observe that the offending attorney immediately reported to the court and truthfully told the substance of the conversation.

[51]*51‘While plaintiff cites sevei*al cases from other jurisdictions that indicate a right to recompense where the wrongful act of a party has caused the opponent unnecessary attorney fees, none is in point here. These cases deal primarily with the imposition of attorney fees as an incident to a party caused continuance, a mistrial with certain broad statutory authority in the court, and the like. The two Iowa cases cited are not analogous.

To the contrary defendants cite Thorn v. Kelley, 257 Iowa 719, 726, 134 N.W.2d 545, 548:

“The right to recover attorney fees as part of the costs does not exist at common law. They cannot be so allowed in the absence of a statute or agreement expressly authorizing it. In order that they may be so taxed the case must come clearly within the terms of the statute or agreement. Indeed the court does not have inherent power to tax costs even to the losing party. Harris v. Short, 253 Iowa 1206, 1208-1210, 115 N.W.2d 865, 866, 867, and citations; Dallas v. Dallas, supra, 222 Iowa 42, 44, 268 N.W. 516; 20 C. J. S., Costs, section 218a.”

Confronted with this Iowa rule, the trial court correctly refused to tax attorney fees as part of the costs.

II. As to the second trial, plaintiff alleged defendant Younker Brothers, Inc. was the tenant of defendant Mart, Inc. by virtue of a written lease and defendants controlled the cement parking area adjacent to the store. On June 27, 1963, at about 8:20 p. m., plaintiff, with a friend, Louise Wheaton, went to Younkers-East to shop, parked her car in the parking lot and walked to the store. Shortly thereafter, returning to her car, she stepped on broken and crumbling concrete, causing her to fall and break her hip. The court submitted plaintiff’s allegation that defendants supplied a defective parking area which it knew or should have known was defective, and failure to warn persons using the lot as to its condition.

Louise Wheaton testified she was with Miss Englund when they walked between two cars in the parking lot. It was dark at the time Miss Englund fell. There was a hole where she fell that was filled with crumbled rock and cement.

[52]*52The . errors relied upon for reversal involve evidentiary rulings: a) admitting into evidence a photograph known as Exhibit 6; b) admitting into evidence testimony of one Lindy Brown as to the illumination of the parking lot at the time the lights were installed; and c) failure to admit into evidence certain parts of a lease between Younker Brothers, Inc. and Mart, Inc.

The lighting conditions prevailing at the time and place of plaintiff’s fall became one of the main issues in the case. After the mistrial was declared and before the second trial was reached, defendant procured Exhibit 6, a photograph taken by a commercial photographer at approximately 9:15. p. m., April 27, 1965, at a time when it was dark and the parking lights were on. The photographer testified that the photograph correctly shows and truly pictures the conditions prevailing in the parking lot at the time the picture was taken. He further testified that the picture indicates conditions as he saw them when he took the picture. He used no artificial light.

Plaintiff’s trial objections to Exhibit 6 were that it was incompetent and irrelevant to any issue in the case, being entirely remote from the time alleged that this accident occurred; no evidence that the light was the same then as it was at the time of the accident; the photographer was not present when the accident occurred and light varies in every occasion; that what the photographer observed .was not the same as was observed the night the accident occurred; and finally.that the picture had nothing to do- with depicting any situation that was prevalent or present at the time of the alleged accident on which this suit is based.

Plaintiff now urgves five objections to the exhibit; remoteness of time of taking the picture (almost two years delay); inky blackness at time of taking this photograph (vis-a-vis dusk at 8 p. m., June 21, which is urged as a matter of common knowledge); use of 4 second shutter speed; use of wide angle lens; and placement of the cars contrary to the evidence.

None of these objections, except that of remoteness as to time, was brought to the attention, of the. .trial court either by objection or cross-examination. The shutter speed appears of [53]*53record as part of the legend on the reverse side of the picture. The type of lens used is not shown in the record.

“The time at which a photograph offered in evidence was taken is important only with reference to the question of probability of change in condition of the person or object portrayed.

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Englund v. Younker Brothers, Inc.
142 N.W.2d 530 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1966)

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Bluebook (online)
142 N.W.2d 530, 259 Iowa 48, 1966 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 790, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/englund-v-younker-bros-iowa-1966.