Gleason v. San Pedro, L. A. & S. L. R.

164 P. 484, 49 Utah 405, 1917 Utah LEXIS 124
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedApril 4, 1917
DocketNo. 2971
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 164 P. 484 (Gleason v. San Pedro, L. A. & S. L. R.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gleason v. San Pedro, L. A. & S. L. R., 164 P. 484, 49 Utah 405, 1917 Utah LEXIS 124 (Utah 1917).

Opinions

FRICK, C. J.

1, 2 The plaintiff, after alleging the necessary matters of inducement and that he was the owner of certain property and its value, further alleged:

“That on said date, to wit, about the 12th day of September, 1913, the defendants operated cars and engines propelled by steam over, along, and across its said railroad track near the belongings and property of the plaintiff aforesaid, and that while the said defendants were operating engines and cars over and along said tracks as aforesaid, the said defendants negligently and carelessly permitted and allowed its said engines to blow sparks of fire and coals of fire over and upon this plaintiff’s property as aforesaid, and that said sparks of fire and coals as aforesaid being so negligently, carelessly, [407]*407and wrongfully thrown over and upon the property of this plaintiff, did light near and upon the stacks of hay and straw of the plaintiff as aforesaid, and that by reason thereof, and by reason of the carelessness and negligence of the defendant in so operating its said engines and cars and in throwing said coals of fire upon plaintiff’s property, the said hay and straw was set on fire, and all of said property was consumed and burned up and completely destroyed, to his great damage in the sum of $1,250. That the defendant was negligent and careless toward this plaintiff in operating said cars and engines along this plaintiff’s property, and in permitting and allowing said coals of fire to escape from, and be blown from said engines over and upon the property of this plaintiff, and in negligently and carelessly failing to equip said engines with proper equipment and devices to control the said fire and coals and in failing to operate and conduct its said engines and operate the same so that said coals of fire would not light upon and ignite the property of this plaintiff, and in wrongfully permitting said coals of fire to light upon the property of the plaintiff as aforesaid. ’ ’

The defendant demurred to the complaint upon two grounds: (1) That the facts stated were not sufficient, etc.; and (2) that the complaint was uncertain and ambiguous, in that it could not be ascertained therefrom in what manner defendant was negligent, etc. The court overruled the demurrer, and the defendant now; assigns the ruling as error.

While the complaint is not a model in stating the particulars in which it was claimed the defendant was negligent in causing the fire, yet, in actions of this kind, the plaintiff, in the very nature of things, may not know the precise defect in the engine which it is alleged caused the sparks or fire to escape therefrom, for the reason that the same is entirely under the control and management of -the defendant. In view of that fact great precision cannot be required from the plaintiff in stating the precise defects in the engine or in the management thereof by the engineer, either or both of which may have caused the fire. Moreover, the record shows, that the defendant was in no way prejudiced by the general statements in the complaint. Apparently it had no [408]*408more difficulty in presenting its defense than if tbe complaint bad been made entirely specific in every particular. Tbe complaint clearly stated a cause of action. It is clear, therefore, that no prejudicial error resulted from the court’s ruling in that regard.

3 It is insisted that the court erred in admitting the testimony of the plaintiff, over defendant’s objection, respecting the value of a certain shed which was destroyed by the fire in question. The record shows that counsel, in order to prove the value of the shed, propounded the following question to the plaintiff: “And what was the cost of the construction of the shed, if you recall?” Defendant’s counsel objected to the question upon various grounds, among which, that “the proper foundation had not been laid,” that the question did not call for the proper measure of damages and was not proper as “tending to .show the value of the property at the time of the fire.” The court sustained the objection, and plaintiff’s counsel then proved by the witness that the shed was entirely destroyed, and then propounded the following question: “Now are you prepared to state what it would cost to replace that shed?” The witness answered “Yes, sir.” Counsel asked, “What?” Defendant’s counsel objected again for the same reasons before stated. The court overruled the objection, and defendant’s counsel excepted to the ruling. The witness answered: “I valued it at $300.” It was made to appear, however, that the shed had been constructed many years before the fire; that it was constructed by digging cedar posts into the ground, to which the boards constituting the walls were nailed, and that it had a straw-covered roof. We have been quite liberal in allowing evidence of value where, as here, property has been destroyed which had no market value at the time of its destruction. In such cases evidence of the actual value of the property destroyed is always permissible, and the actual value may be ascertained as pointed out in Smith v. Mine & S. S. Co., 32 Utah 21, 88 Pac. 683. The plaintiff was either unwilling or unable to shed any light upon the cost of constructing the shed. Of course the original cost of construction, standing alone, would not be proper [409]*409evidence of its present valne, and, if offered for that purpose, would be incompetent. Chicago, etc., Ry. Co. v. Davis, 78 Ill. App. 58. Yet, as a means of arriving at tbe actual value, if properly guarded by the court as pointed out in Smith v. Mine & S. S. Co., supra, such evidence is admissible. But neither this nor any other court, so far as we know, has ever gone to the length of permitting a plaintiff to prove the value of property by merely showing what he assumed it to be worth or what it was worth to him. To admit such evidence constitutes error. Central Branch U. P. Ry. Co. v. Hotham, 22 Kan. 41; Railway Co. v. Jones, 59 Ark. 105, 26 S. W. 595. The district court, therefore, erred in permitting the witness to answer the question.

4 Nor can it aid plaintiff that defendant’s counsel did not move to strike the answer as not responsive. The answer was responsive; but, even though it had not been, defendant’s counsel did not have the right to have it stricken if it was competent evidence, and the court ruled that it was. In Merkle v. Bennington, 58 Mich. 163, 24 N. W. 779, 55 Am. Rep. 666, Mr. Chief Justice Cooley states the rule upon the subject in the following words:

“The objection that an answer is not responsive is one to he made by the party who puts the question, not hy his antagonist. If the answer is in itself proper evidence, the party who is examining the witness has a right to take and retain it if he chooses to do so. His doing this merely saves him the trouble of putting another question to draw it out.”

To the same effect is Dunahugh’s Will, 130 Iowa 692, 107 N. W. 625.

Indeed, the rule is elementary that the right to move to strike upon the ground that the answer is irresponsive is a shield in the hands of the examiner, and not a sword in the hands of his adversary.

The court, therefore, erred in permitting plaintiff to answer the question and of which error the appellant has a clear right to complain.

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Bluebook (online)
164 P. 484, 49 Utah 405, 1917 Utah LEXIS 124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gleason-v-san-pedro-l-a-s-l-r-utah-1917.