Huttig Sash & Door Co. v. Fuelle

143 F. 363, 1906 U.S. App. LEXIS 4644
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Eastern Missouri
DecidedMarch 1, 1906
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 143 F. 363 (Huttig Sash & Door Co. v. Fuelle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Eastern Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Huttig Sash & Door Co. v. Fuelle, 143 F. 363, 1906 U.S. App. LEXIS 4644 (circtedmo 1906).

Opinion

TRIEBER, District Judge

(after stating the facts). At the hearing of the exceptions to the master’s report, counsel for the defendants attacked the propriety of the granting of the restraining order, and also objected to some of the testimony which had been admitted by the master, although a considerable part of that testimony which was objected to was not considered by the master in preparing his findings-of facts.

As to the first proposition, it is sufficient to say that this court is not an appellate court, with power to review the actions of the other judges of this court. If defendants felt themselves aggrieved by the action of the judge who originally granted the injunction, they had a complete and adequate remedy by appealing to the Circuit Court of 'Appeals for this circuit or the Supreme Court of the United States. Act June 6, 1900, c. 803, 31 Stat. 660, U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 550. [367]*367As to the admission of the improper evidence by the master, it was cured by his disregarding it when making his findings of facts.

In this connection, it may be advisable to call the attention of the profession to the rule laid down by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for this circuit in Dowagiac Mfg. Co. v. Lochren et al. (lately decided) 143 Fed. 211, where it was held that the proper rule of practice in taking testimony before a commissioner or examiner, or before a master empowered to determine the admissibility of evidence under the equity rules, is to elicit and transmit to the court, not only the evidence which is confessedly competent, relevant, and material, but also that which is deemed incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial, to the end that, if the reviewing court is of the opinion that the evidence deemed inadmissible should have been received, it may at once consider it and render a final decree without the delay of re-referring the case to procure the rejected evidence. To this general rule the court says there are two exceptions:

“They are, that it is the duty of the court or chancellor eliciting the evidence to consider and determine the claim of privilege of a witness or other party and to refuse to compel him to produce evidence in violation of it, and that, if it clearly and affirmatively appears that the evidence sought cannot possibly be competent, material, or relevant, and that it would be an abuse of the process of the court to compel its production, it may refuse to do so.”

Any other rule would be productive of delay. Suppose that the master should have sustained the objections of the defendants and refused to allow the witnesses to answer the questions objected to, and the court should afterwards hold that it was error for him to do so, or, if the trial court should sustain the master in his findings, and upon appeal to the appellate court that court should hold that the evidence should have been admitted, it would necessitate a re-reference to the master in order to take that proof; while, on the other hand, if the evidence is improperly admitted, the court, or upon appeal the appellate court, can disregard it and make a final determination of the cause without a re-reference. In view of the importance of this case, the master was right in permitting all the evidence offered to be taken, in order that the court may determine its admissibility.

In passing upon findings made by the master, it is the well-settled rule that such findings are prima facie deemed to be correct, and if there is substantial evidence to sustain his findings of fact, although there may be a serious conflict in the evidence, the findings of the master should be sustained. A master has the advantage of hearing the testimony and of seeing the demeanor of the witnesses on the stand, while the court, upon the hearing of the exceptions, has only a transcript of the evidence, with no opportunty to see the witnesses and notice their demeanor while testifying.

Another question, which should be determined before passing upon the merits of the case and determining the exceptions to the master’s report, is whether this court has jurisdiction in this proceeding of Bohnen, Crowe, and Mellville, who were now parties to the original suit and had never been restrained by any order of the court. In Re Reese, 107 Fed. 942, 47 C. C. A. 87, the United States Circuit Court of Ap[368]*368peals for this circuit had occasion to pass upon this identical question, and the rules there laid down are so clear and convincing that it is unnecessary for the court to refer to any other authorities on this subject. Judge Adams, who delivered the opinion of the court, there held:

“That contempt being a crime, it follows that one accused thereof must be tried on the charge made and no other, and hence one not a party nor bound by an injunctional order cannot be tried and convicted on a charge of contempt proceeding wholly on the theory that he was a party, bound by the order, and his commitment sustained on the ground that he was otherwise guilty in interfering with its enforcement.”

In that case Judge Adams calls attentions to the fact that:

“Reese was not charged in the motion for commitment with aiding, abetting, or assisting, or combining, confederating, or conspiring with the defendants, or either of them, nor was he charged with doing the acts complained of as their servant or agents.”

He then proceeds:

“It is entirely consonant with reason, and necessary to maintain the dignity, usefulness, and respect of a court, that any person, whether a party to a suit or not, having knowledge that a court of competent jurisdiction has ordered certain persons to do or abstain from doing certain acts, cannot intentionally interfere to thwart the purposes of the court in making such order. Such an act, independent' of its effect upon the rights of the suitors in the case, is a flagrant disrespect to the court which issues it, and an unwarrantable interference with, and obstruction to, the orderly and effective administration of justice, and as such is and ought to be treated as contempt of the court which issued the order.”

Among the cases cited by the learned judge in his opinion, and which throws considerable light on this question, is Wellesley v. Mornington, 11 Beav. 180, 181. There were two cases before the court. In the first case, reported on page 180, the motion was to commit for ■contempt for a breach of the injunction to which he was not a party, and the Master of the Rolls, Lord Langdale, held that the objection was fatal to this form of notice of motion, but he proceeds:

“But X by no means think that, because Batley is not enjoined in his character of servant and agent, he cannot be punished for knowingly aiding and assisting Lord Mornington in doing that which the court has expressly prohibited.”

Thereupon another motion was filed against Batley to commit him for contempt “in being party and privy to, and in aiding and assisting the breach of, the injunction which restrained the defendant from cutting timber; Batley at the time knowing that these acts were forbidden.” Upon these allegations being proved, the Master held it would have been his duty to commit Mr. Batley for his contempt in intermeddling with these matters, had it not been waived by the complainant.

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Bluebook (online)
143 F. 363, 1906 U.S. App. LEXIS 4644, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/huttig-sash-door-co-v-fuelle-circtedmo-1906.