Hurt v. Monumental Mercury Mining Co.

206 P. 184, 35 Idaho 295, 1922 Ida. LEXIS 43
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 30, 1922
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 206 P. 184 (Hurt v. Monumental Mercury Mining Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hurt v. Monumental Mercury Mining Co., 206 P. 184, 35 Idaho 295, 1922 Ida. LEXIS 43 (Idaho 1922).

Opinion

BUDGE, J.

This action was brought by appellant to recover the sum of $5,170 on account of the alleged conversion by respondent of 51,700 shares of the capital stock of respondent corporation.

The facts as disclosed by the record, so far as material to the disposition of this case, are substantially as .follows: On June 25, 1918, appellant was a part owner of an option to purchase certain mining claims, and on said date he entered into a contract with the remaining co-owners of the option for the formation of a corporation to develop and operate said claims, in which it was agreed that the option should be assigned to the corporation and that appellant should receive 60,000 shares of the capital stock of the corporation in full payment for his interest in the option. Pursuant to this contract, respondent corporation was there[298]*298after organized, and on Nov. 1, 1918, the option was assigned to it by the holders thereof. Subsequent to the execution of the contract, appellant sold some of his stock, and certain deductions were made therefrom for various purposes which it is unnecessary to mention here.

Appellant contends that he is the owner of 51,700 shares which respondent refuses to deliver to him upon demand, but has converted to its own use and benefit, while respondent denies that appellant is the owner of any greater number than 25,850 shares, denies that any demand was made upon it by appellant for said stock and that it has coiiverted the same.

Respondent has moved to strike appellant’s brief from the files for the reason that the name of the judge who tried the case does not appear on the cover or first page of the brief, and the brief does not contain a statement of points and authorities as required by rule 42 of this court. The brief is subject to the criticisms directed against it by respondent, but we have concluded not to strike it.

A motion has also been made by respondent to strike appellant’s bill of exceptions from the transcript, on the ground that it purports to set out an alleged colloquy between the court and counsel, but contains no ruling *of the court to which an exception could be taken.

It appears that twelve jurors were called, examined upon their voir dire and passed for cause, and that appellant and respondent each exercised, alternately, three peremptory challenges, after each of which the jury was again filled. Counsel for appellant then stated that he would accept the jury, and the court announced that appellant waived his last and fourth peremptory, whereupon appellant’s counsel approached the bench and stated that he did not waive his peremptory but accepted the jury. Respondent then exercised its fourth peremptory challenge,-after which the jury was again filled. Thereupon appellant’s counsel again approached the bench, stating that he was not satisfied, to which the judge replied that appellant had no further peremptory, and would have to keep the last juror called or [299]*299disqualify him for cause, which appellant’s counsel made no effort to do.

Counsel for appellant took no exception to the court’s statement, no particular juror was challenged, and the court did not rule on the question, nor was anything before it upon which it might properly have ruled. As was held by the supreme court of Minnesota in Fink v. United American Fire Ins. Co., 114 Minn. 177, 130 N. W. 944: “A statement by the court that it was inclined to hold that the right of peremptory challenge of a juror did not exist was not a ruling on the question; no particular juror having been, challenged. ’ ’

A question not raised upon the trial (Miller v. Donovan, 11 Ida. 545, 83 Pac. 608), or as to which no objection was taken, cannot be urged on appeal. (Grant v. St. James Min. Co., 33 Ida. 221, 191 Pac. 359; Dahlstrom v. Walker, 33 Ida. 374, 194 Pac. 847.)

Nevertheless, in view of the fact that the question as to whether appellant was entitled to exercise a fourth peremptory challenge under the facts, disclosed above has been briefed by both appellant and respondent and should be disposed of in order to settle the-practice in future litigation, we will proceed to consider it.

C. S., sec. 6843, provides that: “ .... The challenges are to individual jurors, and are either peremptory or for cause. Each party is entitled to four peremptory challenges. If no peremptory challenges are taken until the panel is full, they must be taken by the parties alternately, commencing with the plaintiff.”

In civil actions each party has the right to examine the whole twelve jurors, unless a jury consisting of less than twelve shall have been agreed upon in open court, before exercising his right of peremptory challenge as to any, and if some are excused for cause the deficiency must be supplied with other names, who may in like manner be examined until there shall be found in the box twelve men, or the lesser number agreed upon, whom the court shall adjudge to be competent and qualified jurors, and thereupon each [300]*300party may exercise his right of peremptory challenge, a new juror being called after the exercise of any such challenge. These peremptory challenges must be taken by the parties alternately, commencing with the plaintiff. Either party may waive or exercise his right of peremptory challenge, and this must be done alternately. This practice has long been followed in this state and we see no reason to depart from it. A provision practically identical with sec. 6843, supra, is found in several jurisdictions, and has been construed by the supreme court of Montana in the case of O’Malley v. O’Malley, 46 Mont. 549, Ann. Cas. 1914B, 662, 129 Pac. 501, in which the court held: “Where a party plaintiff has used two of his four peremptory challenges allowed by the Montana statute (Mont. Rev. Codes, see. 6740), and waived his third and fourth, he is not thereafter entitled to challenge the juror placed in the box to fill the vacancy occasioned by the exercise of the defendant’s fourth challenge.”

Assignments 3 and 4 appear to be directed against the action of the court in refusing to permit appellant to vary by parol the contents of plaintiff’s exhibit “B,” the contract of June 25, 1918, above referred to. Counsel for appellant asked the following question, to which proper objection was made and sustained: “Reading plaintiff’s exhibit ‘B,’ in-troduced in evidence, I will ask you if the terms of your agreement and your understanding thereof are embodied in this contract.”

The rule is well -settled in this state that where parties have entered into a contract or agreement which has been reduced to writing, in the absence of fraud or mistake, if the writing is complete upon its face and unambiguous, parol evidence is not admissible to contradict, vary, alter, add to or detract from the terms of the contract. (Tyson v. Neill, 8 Ida. 603, 70 Pac. 790; Idaho Fruit Land Co. v. Great Western B. S. Co., 18 Ida. 1, 107 Pac. 989; Jarrett v. Prosser, 23 Ida. 382, 130 Pac. 376.) The contract here involved is complete upon its face and unambiguous, and there is no allega[301]*301tion in the complaint of fraud or mistake in its procurement or execution.

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Bluebook (online)
206 P. 184, 35 Idaho 295, 1922 Ida. LEXIS 43, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hurt-v-monumental-mercury-mining-co-idaho-1922.