Case ID: misc_59/html/0445-01.html
Source: Caselaw Access Project
Author: {"author": "Gerard, J. Dayton, J. (dissenting).", "license": "Public Domain", "url": "https://static.case.law/"}
Date Created: 2024-08-24T03:29:51.129683

Troy T. Rimes, Respondent, v. M. L. Carpenter et al., Appellants.
    (Supreme Court, Appellate Term,
    June, 1908.)
    Evidence — Relevancy — Intent, motive or understanding — Undisclosed motive.
    In an action to recover money deposited as margins for the purchase of cotton, the plaintiff may not testify as to why he ordered cotton to be purchased at .1180 and yet refused to accept a purchase at .1171; and the admission of the testimony, over objection, is error for which a judgment for the plaintiff should be reversed. Dayton, J., dissented on the ground that the appellant was not prejudiced by the error.
    Appeal by defendants from a judgment in favor of plaintiff, rendered in the Municipal Court of the city of Mew York, ninth district, borough of Manhattan.
    Miller & Hartcom, for appellants.
    S. A. Crummey, for respondent.
   Gerard, J.

This is an appeal by defendants from a judgment entered for $536.50 damages and costs in plaintiff’s favor. The action was brought by plaintiff to recover the sum of $500 deposited with the defendants as margins for the purchase of cotton. The defendants are cotton commission brokers and the plaintiff was one of their customers.

The defendants purchased 100 bales of May cotton at .1171 and notified the plaintiff of this purchase. Plaintiff did not repudiate this sale until the next day and it was claimed by defendants that he had had a reasonable time to ratify or repudiate and had by his acquiescence ratified. It was in evidence that, on the same day on which the defendants made the purchase claimed to be for plaintiff’s account, the plaintiff -himself ordered the purchase of 100 bales of May at .1180. On his direct examination the plaintiff was asked by his counsel the following question: “ Q. Explain to the jury why, on Monday, the 20t'h, you ordered 100 bales of May to be bought at .1180 and yet refused to accept the purchase bought at .1171.” To this question defendants’ counsel objected as immaterial, irrelevant and as calling for a conclusion. The plaintiff answered: “A. Because he had told my wife that the market would sell through 12 cents that day sure; that he knew what the large operators were doing, and to tell me to buy 200 bales right away. She came back and I then gave the order to buy at .1180 if the market sold above .1180; and my idea for that was that, if the market was strong enough and if there was enough buying to put the market above .1180, that it would probably go through 12 cents, and I wanted 100 bales bought above .1180; and, for another reason, the higher the market went the more I would have to my credit as profits on the 200 bales that I held.”

We think that the admission of this testimony was error. In his direct examination, a party called as a witness cannot testify to the operations of his mind which might have rendered more probable the doing of the acts which he testified were done by him.

This case was tried before a jury, and testimony of this character cannot but have affected the minds of the jury. For this reason the judgment should be reversed and a new trial ordered, with costs to appellants to abide the event.

Judgment reversed and new trial ordered, with costs to appellants to abide the event.

Gildersleeve, J., concurs.

Dayton, J. (dissenting).

The appellants contend that the trial court erred in both excluding testimony and admitting certain evidence over their objection and exception. To warrant the reversal of a judgment entered upon the verdict of a jury it must be reasonably clear that the errors claimed must have prejudiced the appellants’ case in the eyes of the jury, so that in effect they did not have a fair trial. The errors alleged in this case are not such, inasmuch as the record contains abundant evidence to sustain the verdict aside from the testimony claimed to have been improperly admitted.

The judgment must be affirmed, with costs.

Judgment reversed and new trial ordered, with costs to appellants to abide event.