McChristian v. Popkin

75 Cal. App. 2d 249
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 3, 1946
DocketCiv. Ho. 14997
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 75 Cal. App. 2d 249 (McChristian v. Popkin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McChristian v. Popkin, 75 Cal. App. 2d 249 (Cal. Ct. App. 1946).

Opinion

WHITE, J.

By this action plaintiff sought damages for injuries claimed to have resulted from an assault and battery committed upon him by the defendant Willie B. Chiselm, a “special officer” at the Lincoln Theatre, operated by the remaining defendants. Plaintiff also asserted that the defendant Chiselm, in committing the assault, acted within the scope of his employment by the proprietors of the theater. In the second cause of action of his complaint plaintiff alleged that the defendant proprietors ratified the wrongful act of the defendant Chiselm and retained him in their employ, “to plaintiff’s further damage by way of punitive damages” in the sum of $35,000. The prayer was for general damages, punitive damages, and special damages “to be later included herein by amendment, ’ ’ but no such amendment was filed. Trial before a jury resulted in a verdict in favor of plaintiff and against all defendants awarding damages in the sum of $10,000. From the judgment entered on such verdict, the defendants have appealed.

It is asserted by the defendant proprietors of the theater that the judgment and verdict are not supported by any evidence that defendant Chiselm was acting within the scope of his authority and course of his employment; that the wrongful acts were committed outside the theater by direction of “a police officer of the City of Los Angeles” and therefore were not within the scope of Chiselm’s authority; that the court *252 erred in its instructions to the jury, and that the damages are excessive. On behalf of appellant Chiselm, who has filed a separate brief, it is likewise urged that the court gave erroneous instructions.

Respondent, a young man of the age of 19 years, who had worked at intervals at odd jobs around the theater during the preceding five years, testified that he knew the defendant Chiselm although he had not talked to him because he did not like him very much; that he had seen Chiselm at various times taking tickets and cheeking stubs in the theater. He testified that he entered the theater Sunday afternoon, March 26, 1944, in company with two young ladies; that during the performance he left his seat to go to the lavatory; that as he was crossing the lobby defendant Chiselm asked to see his ticket stubs, which he showed to Chiselm, who said that since he had seen the picture he would have to go out. He denied that he had seen the picture, but said that he would leave if he could go back into the theater and get the girl he had brought; that he would go to another show where he could see the same picture “without a special officer bothering me”; that Chiselm refused to let him go back; that respondent insisted upon going back, whereupon Chiselm hit him and knocked him to the outside of the ticket office. Plaintiff then ran out of the theater and defendant Chiselm chased him around the corner from the theater, knocked him down, got astraddle of him, hit his head against the pavement and also against an automobile. Chiselm then told him to go home, but he waited for the two girls to come out. Plaintiff went to the police station and was directed as to where he should go to make a complaint. He then returned and stood across the street from the theater. At this time the manager of the theater came over to him and told him that Chiselm said he was drunk to which he replied that he had not been drinking. In addition to his own testimony, plaintiff introduced the testimony of three physicians as to the extent of his injuries, as well as the testimony of several witnesses in corroboration of plaintiff’s story as to the circumstances of the assault. Plaintiff’s version of the episode was contradicted by defendant Chiselm, by the head usher of the theater and by a police officer on duty outside the theater, all of whom testified that plaintiff was drunk, disorderly, profane, and struck the first blow. It was admitted that a scuffle took place in ejecting respondent from the theater.

It is not contended that the evidence is insufficient to *253 support the finding of the jury against appellant Chiselm. The appellant theater proprietors urge, however, that no evidence was introduced to show that the assault was committed by Chiselm while acting within the scope of his authority and course of his employment. It is argued that aside from the evidence that Chiselm’s duties included checking ticket stubs, “there was no evidence introduced by respondent nor any testimony whatsoever as to the nature of the duties of appellant Chiselm; the purpose for which he was employed; whether he did nor did not have any authority to, or whether it was or was not a part of his duties to, eject any person from the theater; whether or not that which it is alleged he did was in the transaction of the business of these appellants.”

The record reflects that defendant Chiselm was a special police officer of the city of Los Angeles, admittedly employed by defendant theater owners. As to defendant Chiselm’s duties, the manager of the theater testified as follows;

“Q. And among Mr. Chiselm’s duties has been the checking of tickets, ticket stubs? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. And he put people out of the theater who remained there longer than one show? A. No, not necessarily longer than one show. He checked the tickets to see—we had a lot of people sneaking into the theater, breaking into the theater, and we check stubs, and we also had to check tickets of a lot of little kids who came in and stayed all day, and at parents’ request we checked the theater, but we never objected to anyone in the theater staying over through a show.”

That defendant Chiselm’s duties were not confined to checking tickets or ticket stubs is shown by his own testimony, when he stated that he did not remember checking any tickets on the afternoon in question because “I was a little busy that afternoon after the extra officer came on, and I had business that took me upstairs.” The “extra officer” was Arthur D. Wilson, a regularly appointed and acting police officer of the city of Los Angeles, who according to his own testimony was employed and paid by defendant theater owners for his work ‘ ‘ on special detail at the theater that day, ’ ’ in which capacity he had served “on numerous occasions.”

Andy Allen, employed as head usher and assistant manager of the theater, testified that on the day with which we are here concerned he noticed the plaintiff standing in the “aisle-way” and asked him “to find a seat and sit down”; that subsequently he encountered plaintiff near but outside of the men’s *254 restroom, where he was “talking loud, and acting like someone did when he was drunk. ’ ’ The witness then requested plaintiff to “find a seat inside or outside,” to which the plaintiff replied that he “ain’t going to do either one.” The assistant manager did not attempt to enforce his order given the plaintiff, but instead, according to his testimony, he “went upstairs and got Chiselm . . . and told him about this fellow and he came back down.” The admitted altercation which gave rise to this litigation then ensued. While the evidence concerning the encounter was in markéd conflict, the jury adopted the version thereof as given by plaintiff and the witnesses produced in his behalf. Appellants concede that under oft-repeated rules, this court cannot interfere with the conclusion arrived at by the triers of fact and the legally constituted arbiters thereof.

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Bluebook (online)
75 Cal. App. 2d 249, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcchristian-v-popkin-calctapp-1946.