McIver v. Katsiolis

1923 OK 399, 217 P. 422, 93 Okla. 49, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 316
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJune 19, 1923
Docket11397
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 1923 OK 399 (McIver v. Katsiolis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McIver v. Katsiolis, 1923 OK 399, 217 P. 422, 93 Okla. 49, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 316 (Okla. 1923).

Opinion

Opinion by

RUTH, C.

This action was brought in the comity court of Oklahoma county by Alice Katsiolis, plaintiff in error against William F. Mclver, the defendant in error, and from a judgment in ‘favor of the plaintiff, the defendant apepals, and for convenience the parties will be designated as they apepared in the court below.

The plaintiff alleges in her petition that she was the owner of, and entitled to immediate possession of, certain household goods of the value of $650, and that the said goods were in a. rooming house in Oklahoma City, and that the defendant wrongfully attached the same, and took them into his possession; that she gave bond in replevin and the defendant executed a redelivery bond and retained possession of the property. Attached to her petition as an exhibit is an itemized statement of the character and value of eadh and every article, showing the defendant seized more than 40 articles of furniture, including rugs, beds, chairs, davenports, dressers, and all articles going to furnish rooms in a rooming house or hotel; and that the plaintiff further alleges .that the goods had a usable value for rooming Ibiouse purposes, and that by reason of their unlawful detention by the defendant, she was damaged i-ru the further sum of $350. The defendant, for his answer, for justification, sets up the fact that he was a constable and that he had a writ of attachment before judgment against one Mrs. O’Brien, and that he seized the goods under such attachment, and that the sum claimed by the party issuing against Mrs. O’Brien was but $20.

The ease was duly tried to a jury in the county court of Oklahoma county, and a-verdict returned for the plaintiff, Alice Kat-siolis, wherein the jury found the reasonable market value of the goods at $433, and that the reasonable usable value of the good's was $183.53, and judgment was duly rendered for the said amount. The defendant reserved exceptions to the introduction of certain testimony, and to the giving of certain instructions which will be considered in their order. The defendant in his brief presents two assignments- of error: First, the verdict -of the jury is not sustained by sufficient evidence, and the verdict of the jury *51 is contrary to law, which assignments lie joins and argues as one assignment; and, second, tie presents argument on his Objection to certain instructions. Examination of the record discloses the fact lilmt the defendant neither demurred to the evidence of the plaintiff, nor did he request an instructed verdict after all the evidence had been introduced and both sides had rested.

It has been well settled by this court that where an objection is made that the verdict is “contrary to law,” it is meant “contrary to the instructions,” and in. order to obtain a new trial upon that ground, it must be made to appear that there was instruction which was disregarded; it is not enough that a principle of law not embodied in an instruction was disregarded by the jury. Constantin Refining Co. v. Thwing Instrument Co., 72 Oklahoma, 178 Pac. 111. It is not pointed out to this court where any instruction given by the court w.as in any manner disregarded by the jury, and upon authority of the case last cited, such assignment of error is without merit. Turning to the proposition that the verdict is contrary to the evidence, we find from examination of the record that the defendant during the trial failed either to demur to the evidence or to ask for an instructed verdict, or in fact in any form attempted to raise the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence to support a verdict for the plaintiff. This question has received the consideration of this court on repeated occasions, as will be seen from an examination of the opinion in Norman v. Lambert, 64 Okla. 238, 167 Pac. 213, and it may mow be said to be the settled rule of this court that where the plaintiff submits his case to the jury, and the defendant neither demurs to the evidence mor asks an instructed verdict, the question whether there is any evidence reasonably tending to support the plaintiff's case is not presented for review by the defendant’s motion for a new trial. Authorities supporting this rule are numerous. The reason for the rule is well settled in Hecla Powder Company v. Sigua Iron Co., 157 N. Y. 437, 52 N. E. 650, affirming 91 Hun, 429, 36 N. Y. Supp. 838, in which the court says:

“In a civil action, we can only review upon exception and are compelled to disregard all errors committed by the trial court, unless they are pointed out by an objection and saved by an exception, no matter how serious those errors may be. Wicks v. Thompson, 129 N. Y. 634, 29 N. E. 301.
“It is necessary for a party who wishes to preserve a point for the consideration of this court to give the trial court a chance to act advisedly by interposing a proper objection which raises the point, and by taking an exception which saves the point. No objection, not taken upon the trial, can be urged or considered here. Serviss v. McDonnell, 107 N. Y. 260 & 265, 14 N. E. 314.
“The position now taken by the appellant that the evidence does not warrant the verdict cannot be sustained because they did not take that position at the trial. Duryea v. Vosburgh, 121 N. Y. 57, 24 N. E. 308.
“No motion was made to direct the verdict or in the nature of a nonsuit or to dismiss the counterclaim, or to take any issue from the jury. So far as it appears from the record, which is the only authentic evidence of the proceedings at the trial, the appellant acquiesced in the submission of all the issues to the jury and it cannot now be heard to claim that this was error. By not making the objection then, it waived) its right to make the objection now.”

Norman v. Lambert, 64 Okla. 238, 167 Pac. 213; Myers v. Hubbard, 80 Okla. 97, 194 Pac. 433.

It is contended by the defendant.that the plaintiff was not qualified to testify as to the value of the goods, but examination of the record discloses that Gus Katsiolis, former husband of the plaintiff, testified at the trial that he had purchased as much as $10,000 worth of second-hand furniture, and was familiar with the reasonable market value of goods of that character, and that he set down on a piece of paper each article as it was removed from the house and placed his value thereon, and .that the values so placed by him were correct, and the plaintiff’s testimony was that she stood there with her former husband and agreed that the values so placed by.him were the reasonable values of the property, and upon the presentation to her of the list of goods so seized, with the values set opposite the same, she testified that those values were the correct values of the property, and the list, with values attached, was introduced and became a part of the evidence which the jury might consider. She further testified that she ¡had purchased rooming houses and purchased furniture of this character about four years prior to this time, and knew the value thereof, and further testified that the property had a usable Value to her in th’e rooming house.

This court has repeatedly held that opinion evidence, may be given as to the reasonable market value of articles in common use, *52 such as household furniture and wearing apparel, and a citation of a long list of authorities would serve no good purpose.

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Bluebook (online)
1923 OK 399, 217 P. 422, 93 Okla. 49, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 316, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mciver-v-katsiolis-okla-1923.