McCarthy v. Sleight

72 N.W. 165, 114 Mich. 182, 1897 Mich. LEXIS 1077
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 14, 1897
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 72 N.W. 165 (McCarthy v. Sleight) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCarthy v. Sleight, 72 N.W. 165, 114 Mich. 182, 1897 Mich. LEXIS 1077 (Mich. 1897).

Opinion

Moore, J.

October 15, 1892, the plaintiff and William K. Smith leased from the defendant his farm of 320 acres for a period of three years from the 1st of the following March. On the 12th of October, 1892, they gave the defendant their note, payable in one year, for $133.65, for things purchased by them of defendant. At this time they were both single men, who intended to be married a little later, which fact was communicated to the .defendant. Through some arrangement, about which the parties are not agreed, McCarthy and Smith moved upon the farm soon after October 15th, and remained upon it until the lease took effect, taking care of the stock belonging to themselves and also of that belonging to the defendant. It is the claim of the plaintiff that he and Mr. Smith did some work for the defendant during the winter, for which they should receive pay. It is admitted by defendant that McCarthy and Smith drew lumber, cut ties, and did other work for him, for which he ought to pay them. McCarthy and Smith used hay and grain belonging to the defendant, which it is admitted they should account for. When March 1st arrived, Smith and McCarthy began to work the farm under the lease, and continued to do so until Smith died, August 15,1893. Some time after his death, the defendant, McCarthy, and Mrs. Smith attempted to arrive at some arrangement to adjust the differences which had grown up between them and Mr. Sleight, the latter to have possession of the farm. Two men were called upon to settle the dispute between them. The testimony is con[184]*184flicting as to what was submitted to these men, and what was done. The parties were not able to adjust all their differences, and on September 6, 1894, Maggie Smith, widow of William "K. Smith, brought suit against Mr. Sleight to recover-what was due her husband growing out of these various transactions, and to recover for various items personal to Mr. Smith. She obtained judgment against defendant, from which judgment an appeal was taken to the circuit court, by the defendant October 23, 1894. On October 22, 1894, this suit was commenced in the circuit court by Mr. McCarthy to recover for his interest growing out of the various transactions between McCarthy and Smith and the defendant. Bills of particulars were filed by the plaintiffs in both of these cases, and a bill of particulars, of set-off was filed in both cases by the defendant, and in both of these particulars of set-. off some of the same items appear. The same attorneys appeared for the plaintiffs in both of these cases. On February 11,' 1895, Mr. Sleight consented in open court that a judgment should be rendered against him in the Smith case, but he claims that it was upon the condition that it should not affect any defense he might have in the McCarthy case. His claim in that regard was disputed. This case was tried before a jury, who rendered a verdict in favor of the defendant in the sum of $155. Plaintiff appeals.

The trial judge was asked to charge the jury that they must disregard all of the items of set-off that were involved in the Smith case. He was also asked to charge them that they could not allow the promissory note as a set-off in this case, because it was not a mutual claim within the meaning of the statute. He was also asked to charge that defendant testified in justice’s court in the Smith case, that he had released McCarthy on all of the items of set-off in this case, and that they could not include those items in this case. He was also asked to charge that, if defendant testified in justice’s court that he had released McCarthy on all the items of set-off, he could not be allowed [185]*185for them in this case. The court declined to give these requests except as incorporated in his general charge. The trial court charged the jury at great length. It will be necessary, however, to quote only a portion of his charge, to raise the questions involved:

‘1 It seems that, after the death of Mr. Smith, his widow, Maggie Smith, brought an action in justice’s court to recover, as I understood the claim to be, for a share of this property, and perhaps some other items that have been discussed here, and I need not refer to them, that her husband would have been entitled to were he alive at that time. I don’t understand that any personal claim, aside from that, was concerned in that suit. If I am wrong about that, counsel will correct me; but I think I am not. It further appears that, in the bill of particulars presented by Mr. Sleight — -and that action, you know, was against Mr. Sleight — and passed upon by the jury in the justice’s court, a large number of items now offered as an offset here were contained and set out in that bill of particulars, and Mr. McCarthy and his attorneys claim that all of the matters are named, or at least a large number of the matters now concerned were litigated there; that Mr. Sleight presented them there as a claim or offset against the claim made by Maggie Smith; and that, having once presented them in a court competent to try that question, and the jury having considered them as to whether or not they were owing, and owing in such a way that they were a proper set-off, that he is now precluded from offsetting them in this case. I think it is conceded that in that bill of particulars, as to all these claims about the property, and the matters arising there, including some personal property and some farm tools, that the claim was made on the part of Maggie Smith for one-half of the amount that was owing to her husband, and that Mr. Sleight, in his bill of particulars, asked for the entire amount owing by Mr. Smith and Mr. McCarthy to him; and they say that, that having been litigated and passed upon there, he is barred from presenting or having it allowed here.
“If it was passed upon there, — if Mr. Sleight did present the accounts, and they were passed upon there, — and the jury there decided whether or not it was owing Mr. Sleight in such a way as he could offset, and nothing had occurred since then to change that relation, then that would be a good defense to that claim, because Mr. Sleight [186]*186would then have litigated that in a proper court, and submitted it to the jury to pass upon, and he would be bound by the finding there, and he could not have it allowed or disallowed here again, as he would be bound by the determination of the jury. There is some question of evidence in the case, however. I am going to submit that to you upon the question as to whether he is so bound or not, and you will find from the evidence whether that was the truth or not. It is the evidence given by Mr. Sleight and by Mr. Dooling, with any other evidence in the case that may bear upon that issue, and will be considered by you in arriving at the truth,' — the evidence wherein Mr. Sleight claims that, at the time he made the arrangement here, after he appealed that case to this court, that a judgment was to be rendered here of $120 against him. He claims that an arrangement was made at that time whereby it was agreed by Mr. Dooling, on behalf of Mrs. Smith, and he claims that he also represented at that time Mr. McCarthy, — and you have heard the evidence as to that point, — whereby it was said that as to his claim against McCarthy, or his right to offset his account against McCarthy, should not be affected by the entering of this judgment here. Mr. Dooling says, as you have heard his evidence and his argument here, that no arrangement of that kind was made; that he had no idea of it. You will find from the evidence in the case what the truth is as to that, and that will determine the right of Mr. Sleight to offset any matters that were litigated there.

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Bluebook (online)
72 N.W. 165, 114 Mich. 182, 1897 Mich. LEXIS 1077, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccarthy-v-sleight-mich-1897.