Kingsbury v. Vreeland

58 Colo. 212
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedSeptember 15, 1914
DocketNo. 7687
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 58 Colo. 212 (Kingsbury v. Vreeland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kingsbury v. Vreeland, 58 Colo. 212 (Colo. 1914).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Hill

delivered the opinion of the court:

As no bill of exceptions has been preserved, our consideration of alleged errors must be limited to matters covered by the record proper. This action was instituted in the District Court of the City and County of Denver to recover a part of the purchase price, etc., for an automobile sold and delivered by the plaintiff to the defendant, also for services and expenses alleged to have been rendered and incurred in connection therewith. Judgment was in favor of the plaintiff.

It is claimed that the court erred in overruling the defendant’s motion to change the place of trial to Sum-[214]*214mil county, where he resided. This motion came too late, for which reason, we will not determine whether it should have been granted, had it been filed in apt time. The record discloses that summon^ was served upon the defendant in the City and County of Denver on July the 2nd, 1910; that on August 15th he filed a demurrer to the complaint; that on October 17th this demurrer was sustained; that on November 5th an amended complaint was filed; that on January 11, 1911, the defendant filed his answer; that on March 11th, following the plaintiff filed his replication; that on March 30th, following, the defendant filed his motion for a. change of venue. The right to have the place of trial changed in this class of actions because brought in an improper county, is not jurisdictional; it is a mere personal privilege which may be waived, and ordinarily, is to be considered as waived by a general appearance and pleading to the merits. It is also waived unless the motion is interposed in apt time. It will be observed that the defendant did not interpose this motion until about nine months after service of summons, which was made in the residence county of the plaintiff, and not then until after the issues had apparently been settled in the county in which the action had been brought. Under such circumstances, were he originally entitled to the change, the motion came too late.—Burton v. Graham, 36 Colo. 199, 84 Pac. 978; Kirby v. Union Pacific Co., 51 Colo. 509, 119 Pac. 1042, Ann. Cas. 1913B, 461; 22 Ency. Pl. & Pr. 815; Denver, S. P. & P. R. R. Co. v. Roberts, 6 Colo. 333; School District v. Waters, 20 Colo. App. 106, 77 Pac. 255; Wasson v. Hoffman, 4 Colo. App. 491, 36 Pac. 445; D. & R. G. R. Co. v. Cahill, 8 Colo. App. 158, 45 Pac. 285; Forbes v. Grand Co., 23 Colo. 344, 47 Pac. 388; Smith v. Merrill, 12 Colo. App. 233, 55 Pac. 824.

The alleged motion for judgment on the pleadings, [215]*215the overruling of which is assigned as error, does not appear in the record proper. It was evidently not in writing. Counsel have included in their abstract of record a purported lengthy colloquy between Court and counsel, which purports to include an oval motion for judgment on the pleadings. It was at this time that the plaintiff was allowed to amend his replication. This court has repeatedly held that a motion for judgment on the pleadings cannot take the place of a general demurrer. It follows that it should not be sustained where the defect complained of is proper to be cured by an amendment. Such were the facts here.—Fehringer v. Martin Drug Co., 56 Colo. 445, 138 Pac. 1007; Williams v. Fuel Co., 55 Colo. 133, 133 Pac. 742; Richards et al. v. Stewart, 53 Colo. 205, 124 Pac. 740; Thomas v. Ray, 48 Colo. 423, 110 Pac. 77; Roberts v. C. S. & I. Ry. Co., 45 Colo. 188, 101 Pac. 59; Cache La Poudre I. Co. v. Hawley, 43 Colo. 32, 95 Pac. 317; Rice v. Bush, 16 Colo. 484, 27 Pac. 720.

It appears that the plaintiff was allowed to file an amended replication during the progress of the trial, which it is claimed, was to the prejudice of the defendant. Without the evidence before us, we cannot say that the court abused its discretion in this respect. Amendments and the time when they can be filed are largely within the discretion of the trial court.—Jordan v. Greig, 33 Colo. 360, 80 Pac. 1045; Davis v. Johnson, 4 Colo. App. 545, 36 Pac. 887; Cascade Ice Co. v. Water Co., 23 Colo. 292, 47 Pac. 268; Harrison v. Carlson, 45 Colo. 55, 101 Pac. 76.

Trial was to the court. It is claimed that the judge expressed and exhibited bias and prejudice against the defendant and his counsel, which disclose that he could not give him a fair trial, and for this reason the motion for a new trial should have been granted. The only record presented is alleged statements of the judge set forth [216]*216in the motion for a new trial and in the affidavit of the defendant in support thereof, wherein he states that when testifying the court made certain remarks. The testimony and remarks set forth are as follows:

“Q. What instructions did Mr. Yreeland give Pavelka? A. I don’t know; I says to him, you stay here and make this run, or see if you can. Don’t go away until you see that. They are willing to say that the colored boy is competent, and he told me the colored boy was competent, and he slipped away without letting me know he was going. And he attempted to do certain things, I can say that, and he did, but it didn’t run right while he was there. They tried to run it, but they couldn’t get it to go, unless it was down hill fifty feet. When he came back here, he, Mr. Yreeland, wrote me and said everything was all right.
Mr. Grant: I object to that as hearsay.
The Witness: I have got it in it.
The Court: That will all be stricken out.
Mr. Franklin: To what point?
The Court: The Court asked you to control your witness.
Mr. Franklin: I am trying to control him.
The Court: No you are not. You and your client cannot run this court.
Mr. Franklin: I thought that was competent evidence. If you mean to strike out the part concerning the conversation with Vreeland, why, I want to save an exception. But I don’t understand just where it begins.
The Court: Do you think witness can answer counsel, both of you talking to him at the same time? Have him proceed.
Mr. Franklin: Colonel, you are not to speak to counsel.
[217]*217The Witness: I beg pardon, he spoke to me first, so I spoke back.
The Court: Proceed.”

The plaintiff contends that this is not a part of the record proper and has moved to strike it. We think it unnecessary to consider this question. When passing upon the motion for a new trial the judge, in a way, had before him the entire evidence and the remarks of court and counsel, he had heard it all. The small part set forth in this motion discloses that there was other testimony and evidently other remarks which preceded, as well as followed, this,, as there is in all cases. It is not claimed such was not the case here. Without anything further before us we are unable to say this discloses that the judge was prejudiced against the defendant, or his counsel, or at all, or to the extent that he could not.give the defendant a fair trial.

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Bluebook (online)
58 Colo. 212, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kingsbury-v-vreeland-colo-1914.