Grisell v. Noel Bros. Flour, Feed Co.

36 N.E. 452, 9 Ind. App. 251, 1894 Ind. App. LEXIS 29
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 13, 1894
DocketNo. 1,220
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 36 N.E. 452 (Grisell v. Noel Bros. Flour, Feed Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Grisell v. Noel Bros. Flour, Feed Co., 36 N.E. 452, 9 Ind. App. 251, 1894 Ind. App. LEXIS 29 (Ind. Ct. App. 1894).

Opinion

Reinhard, J.

This action was commenced before a justice of the peace, and from there appealed to the court below. At special term the cause was tried by a jury, and a verdict was returned and judgment rendered in favor of appellant for $125. On appeal to the general term, the judgment of the special.term was reversed. From this ruling an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court, and that tribunal ordered the case transferred to the docket of this court.

The only error assigned in the Supreme Court was that the court in general term erred in reversing the judgment of the court in special term. The sole ground upon which the judgment of reversal was based was the insufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdict.

At the time of the rendition of the judgment at special term, the appellee was awarded sixty days’ time to prepare and file a bill of exceptions for its appeal to the general term. The record shows that this bill was filed within the time required. It further appears, however, that before the bill of exceptions was filed the appellee (who was the appellant in the general term of the court below) had filed its transcript of entries and assignment of errors; and that in fact the cause had been submitted on appeal before the filing of the bill of exceptions.

It is urged on behalf of the appellant here, that, for the reasons stated, the superior court in general term had no right to consider this bill of exceptions, and that a reversal based upon errors disclosed by such bill only, was a nullity.

Appeals from a special to the general term of the superior court are governed by the rules that apply to appeals from the circuit courts to the Supreme and Appellate Courts, except when the statute otherwise provides. Bartholomew v. Preston, 46 Ind. 286; Elliott’s App. Proced., section 310, and cases cited.

[253]*253Under the statute, however, no transcript need be filed in such appeal, as is required in appeals to this court, the cause being heard and determined “upon the original papers and records filed and made in the cause at special term, and such matters as are properly made part thereof by bills of exceptions.” Acts 1871, p. 53, section 25.

As it was not necessary to copy the bill of exceptions into a transcript before it could be looked to and considered by the general term, the same strictness can not be required that obtains in an appeal to this court or the Supreme Court in such matters. Of course, a bill of exceptions could not be considered by this court unless the same were copied or incorporated into the transcript, and hence in practice it can seldom, if ever, happen that a bill of exceptions will be filed in this court subsequently to the assignment of errors, unless it be by reason of a writ of certiorari; for in all cases the assignment of errors is made upon the transcript into which the bill of exceptions is copied or incorporated. This, as we have said, is not the rule in the superior court, and, therefore, the rules of procedure governing in the Supreme and Appellate Courts, in this respect, can not be strictly applicable to the question in hand.

If we should concede that in strict practice the appellee should have postponed the submission of his cause to the general term until after the filing of its bill of exceptions, we do not think it must follow as a necessary result that the present appeal be sustained and the judgment of the general term reversed. If the court’s attention had been directed to the matter, it would doubtless have set aside the submission and permitted the appellee to refile its assignment of errors after the filing of the bill of exceptions. If the court had this power, of which we entertain no doubt, since the bill of exceptions was [254]*254filed within the time granted, no harm could have resulted to either of the parties if the court treated the assignment of errors and submission as having been made after the filing of the bill of exceptions.

But we do not think it necessary that- the bill of exceptions be filed prior to the assignment of errors and the submission of the cause. The general term of the superior court is not a different court from the special term, but only a different branch or division of the same court. The general term takes judicial cognizance of all the record proceedings of the special terms, and vice versa. The statute requires no transcript of any such proceedings to bring them to the notice of the court. The court may, of course, make such rules for its own convenience and the arrangement and dispatch of its business as it may deem necessary, and in the making-and interpretation of these rules it has a very wide discretion. The court at general term, being also an appellate court, assignments of errors are, of course, necessary under the general practice in order to bring to its attention the points relied upon for a reversal or modification of the judgment at special term. But we know of no legal requirement that will prevent the court at general term from receiving a bill of exceptions after errors have been assigned and the cause is submitted, provided such bill is filed within the time granted by the trial judge. One of the objects of a bill of exceptions is to enable the complaining party to establish in the appellate tribunal the errors complained of. The assignment of errors is the complaint, and the bill of exceptions the proof in support of such complaint; and it is proper that the court should receive the proof at any time during the hearing of the cause. We are, therefore, of the opinion that the court, in general term, may act upon a bill of exceptions, [255]*255and take notice of the same, though-it has been filed after the submission of the cause after appeal.

Appellee’s counsel further insist that the bill of exceptions does not purport to contain all the evidence given in the cause. At the close of the evidence it is certified that "this was all the evidence given said cause.” We think this is a substantial compliance with the law. The exact formula that was once required by a rule of the Supreme Court is no longer necessary, since the abrogation of that rule. It is sufficient if equivalent terms be employed. Jones v. Layman, 123 Ind. 569; Beatty v. O’Connor, 106 Ind. 81; Brock v. State, ex rel., 85 Ind. 397.

By a clerical error which is obvious, we think, the word "in” was doubtless omitted from the above statement, but there is enough left in it to amount to a certification that the bill contains all the evidence. Nor do we think it apparent on the face of the bill, as urged by appellant’s counsel, that the evidence is not all contained therein. The questions propounded to a witness need not be set forth. If the testimony be given in substance, it is all that is required, and where answers are made that are not responsive to questions, the answers will not, on that account, be disregarded, in the absence of objection or motion to strike out. The objections made to the bill of exceptions are not tenable.

We think the only question raised in the superior court at the general term was that of the sufficiency of the evidence, and it is our conclusion, after a careful review of the same, that such evidence was wholly insufficient to sustain the verdict, and that the court did right in so holding.

The testimony of the appellant himself was sufficient to show that he had no valid claim. He testified that he was employed by, and commenced to work for, Noel Bros. [256]

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Bluebook (online)
36 N.E. 452, 9 Ind. App. 251, 1894 Ind. App. LEXIS 29, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grisell-v-noel-bros-flour-feed-co-indctapp-1894.