Hercules Incorporated v. Jones

228 So. 2d 9, 284 Ala. 692, 1969 Ala. LEXIS 1170
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedSeptember 18, 1969
Docket3 Div. 346
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 228 So. 2d 9 (Hercules Incorporated v. Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hercules Incorporated v. Jones, 228 So. 2d 9, 284 Ala. 692, 1969 Ala. LEXIS 1170 (Ala. 1969).

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal by the defendant, Hercules Incorporated, from a judgment rendered in the Circuit Court of Conecuh County in favor of plaintiffs in the sum of $6,624. A jury verdict for $10,624 was reduced by the trial court on motion, a remittitur of $4,000 having been ordered and accepted by the plaintiffs. The subject matter of the litigation involved an alleged trespass to land, the cutting down of trees, and the removal of stumps. All of this was alleged to have occurred in 1961. The complaint was filed in court against Hercules Powder Company and three individuals on March 10, 1962. It appears that the case was permitted to lie dormant thereafter for over four years until service was had on the corporate defendant by serving the designated statutory agent on August 29, 1966.

A plea in abatement was then filed. Demurrers were filed by plaintiffs to this plea. Thereafter on September 15, 1967, plaintiffs filed an amendment striking the three original individual defendants and changing the name of the defendant Hercules Powder Company to read Hercules Incorporated, a corporation. The same day parties filed a plea in short by consent. Also on the 15th day of September, 1967, a judgment order was signed and filed indicating a ruling by the court sustaining the demurrers to the plea in abatement. Thereafter the jury trial was commenced and completed with the verdict against the defendant for $10,624, but later reduced as indicated a’'ove.

[695]*695The original complaint contained five •counts, but Count Two was stricken by-plaintiffs. Count One was a statutory •count alleging trespass to land and destruction of timber. Count Three was based on negligence; Count Four on conversion; and Count Five claimed damages, charging •a willful destruction of trees, based on Title 47, § 272, Code 1940, and seeks to recover statutory penalty of $20 per tree destroyed.

There are twenty-two assignments of error, but appellant argues only ten, and these we will now consider.

Assignment of Error 15

Appellant contends there was error in failing to grant motion to exclude evidence of plaintiffs’ witness A. E. Beasley given on direct examination as follows:

“Q: * * * Did you see the trucks and equipment that went in there?
A: I did.
Q: Did you look at those trucks— observe them?
A: I did.
Q: What did they have written on them?
A: Hercules.
Q: Do you remember what color trucks they were?
A: Gray looking to me.
Q: Do you remember what kind of lettering they had on them?
A: Black and red.
Q: Black and red letters, and those letters said ‘Hercules’ ?
A: They did.”

There was no objection to any of these questions. The motion to exclude was properly overruled. The marking or lettering was relevant evidence to show ownership. Appellant cites Dortch Baking Co. v. School, 239 Ala. 266, 194 So. 807. There the case was reversed because the finding by the jury “as to the fact of agency,” as against the contention “that indicating that Mattison was an independent dealer and contractor” was contrary to the great weight of the evidence. There was no ruling in this case on the admissibility of the evidence that the name “Dortch” appeared on the truck. See also: Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Hamm, 38 Ala. App. 258, 81 So.2d 915; Barber Pure’Milk Co. v. Holmes, 264 Ala. 45, 84 So.2d 345.

Assignment of Error 16

On direct examination, plaintiff H. A. Jones was asked: “You testified * * that some man whose name was Karl or Kohn came to see you on Saturday morning after you got home and found out your twenty acres had been cut and I am going to ask you now — how did he identify himself there?” There was objection, which was overruled, and an exception reserved. The witness answered: “ * * * as W. PI. Karl as wood supervisor of Plercules Powder.” There was a motion to exclude and this was overruled and an exception reserved. Appellant contends that this violates the rule that the “declaration or conduct of one professing to act as an agent of another cannot be shown without independent proof of his authority.” Appellant relies on American National Insurance Co. v. Brooks, 210 Ala. 317, 97 So. 790. There the ruling was to uphold the -contention that two or more unknown individuals claiming to be superintendents of an insurance company could' not be quoted by plaintiff, “They said they came to pay me off, * * The opinion upheld the rule that: “ * * * the declarations of conduct of one professing to act as the agent of another cannot be received as evidence against the principal without independent proof of his authority.”

We note the question here put to the witness dealt only with his “identifying himself” rather than with the merits of the controversy. These questions did come later and were answered without objection.

[696]*696Appellees cite Wilson & Co. v. Clark, 259 Ala. 619, 67 So.2d 898. There one Rudder told plaintiff, “I am working for the Wilson & Company plant and whatever I say goes.” The question to be decided was: Did Rudder have the authority to make a cattle feeding contract? The court observed:

“The general rule of evidence is that agency cannot be proven by the declarations of the agent, though his declarations as to other matters on certain occasions may be admissible to prove other facts Corona Coal & Iron Co. v. Callahan, 202 Ala. 649, 81 So. 591.
"There are some authorities to the effect that declarations of the agent are never admissible to prove the agency. This rule, however, is not adhered to in all its strictness by the more recent decisions of this court.’’ (Emphasis supplied) — 259 Ala. 622, 67 So.2d 901.

We hold that the ruling of the court was without error.

Later on, the same question was put to the witness, who answered without objection that “he identified himself as the field representative for Hercules Powder.” This was repetition and we again assert, for reasons above indicated, the ruling was without error.

Assignment of Error 21

This assignment relates to the ruling of the court on direct examination of plaintiff H. A. Jones, as follows:

“Q: I will ask you if you had any conversation there with this gentleman about why they went over on your land ?
MR. PAGE: We object.
THE COURT: Overrule your objection.
MR. PAGE: We except.”

The question was repeated and the witness answered :

“I asked him if he didn’t know whose property that he was on and he said, ‘we have an aerial map’, and I said, ‘Well, didn’t you know — couldn’t you tell when you got to this fence?’, and he said, ‘we went over the fence’, and I said, T know you did’.”

Several questions and answers followed with no obj ections until there was a motion to exclude, raised in Assignment 17 (later).

It would appear that the objection in no way indicated to the court the basis of the objection.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Self v. Self
275 So. 2d 345 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 1973)
Lammers v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
261 So. 2d 757 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 1972)
Central of Georgia Railway Company v. Steed
248 So. 2d 110 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1971)
Cobb-Kirkland Motor Company v. Rivers
248 So. 2d 725 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
228 So. 2d 9, 284 Ala. 692, 1969 Ala. LEXIS 1170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hercules-incorporated-v-jones-ala-1969.