Title: Tice v. Mandel
Citation: 76 N.W.2d 124
Docket Number: 7558
State: north-dakota
Issuer: north-dakota Supreme Court
Date: March 22, 1956

76 N.W.2d 124 (1956) Norman TICE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Irvin W. MANDEL, Defendant and Appellant. No. 7558. Supreme Court of North Dakota. March 22, 1956. *127 Henry G. Owen, Samuel Rubin, Grand Forks, and Lashkowitz &amp; Lashkowitz, Fargo, for defendant-appellant. Robert A. Alphson, Grand Forks, for plaintiff-respondent. JOHNSON, Judge. This is an action for alienation of affections. The plaintiff recovered judgment against the defendant for $5,000 compensatory damages, and $10,000 exemplary damages. A motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or in the alternative for a new trial was made by the defendant. *128 The trial court entered an order, dated August 10, 1955, granting the defendant a new trial, unless the plaintiff, within twenty days, consented to a reduction of the exemplary damages to $2,500. This reduction was accepted and the judgment was entered in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant for $7,500. Thereafter the trial court entered an order denying the motion for a new trial. The defendant appeals to this court from the judgment and the order denying defendant's motion for a new trial. The complaint in this action is so similar to the complaint set forth in the decision of this court in the case of Rott v. Goehring, 33 N.D. 413, 157 N.W. 294, L.R.A.1916E, 1086, as to appear to have been patterned thereon. The defendant interposed an answer in which he neither admits nor denies some of the allegations of the complaint and puts the plaintiff on his proof in that connection. Otherwise he denies generally the allegations of the complaint and asserts that the plaintiff and his wife, Jennet Tice, were in collusion to entrap him into a compromising situation by use of a clever trick, scheme, and device in the nature of a conspiracy whereby the plaintiff would be in a position to sue the defendant for a large sum of money. The appellant sets forth forty-nine specifications of error, five specifications of the insufficiency of the evidence, to sustain the verdict, seven specifications of fact that he says are "conclusively established and not established", and twelve ultimate specifications of error. He argues these matters under seven separate headings: 1. Nature of action for alienation of affections. 2. Intent and motive. 3. Insufficiency of the evidence. 4. Exemplary damages. 5. Sequestration of witnesses. 6. Excessive damages. 7. Swearing of witnesses. We will deal with the matters argued and presented in the order enumerated. Appellant's first contention is that alienation of affections and criminal conversation are separate and distinct wrongs. He sets forth numerous citations of authority from other jurisdictions in support of this argument. We need not consider these authorities as the law has been established in the case of Rott v. Goehring, supra, in this state. The appellant made the same contentions at the opening of this trial in the district court at which time the appellant objected to the selection of a jury on the ground that the complaint in the action set forth more than one cause of action. The trial court construed the complaint and ruled that it was solely based upon alienation of affections. In Rott v. Goehring, supra [33 N.D. 413, 157 N.W. 295], this court said: After setting forth the contents of the complaint the court further observed: This also is the gist of the complaint in the action at bar. *129 The main burden of the appellant's argument rests on the fact that the association of the defendant with the plaintiff's wife did not cause an abandonment of the marriage relationship of the plaintiff and his wife, nor disrupt it in any manner; that during the entire period she worked for the Mandel Department Store and the Mandel Fur Company, at which time the incidents complained of took place, they lived together as husband and wife, and were living together at the time of the trial, and that, therefore, there was no basis for an action of alienation of affections. "A cause of action for alienation of affections consists of three elements; (1) Wrongful conduct of the defendant; (2) loss of affection or consortium; and (3) a causal connection between such conduct and loss." 27 Am.Jur., Husband and Wife, Section 523, p. 125. In this state it is established that an action for alienation of affections will lie even though the plaintiff has not abandoned his spouse. The rule was announced in Rott v. Goehring, supra, as follows: In this connection the court said: This applies with equal force where a husband is the plaintiff. It is asserted that as a general rule no cause of action for alienation of affections is complete unless there is an intentional malicious enticing away of a spouse. The intent or motive is to be gathered from the acts involved. "Malice", as the term is used in this type of action, does not necessarily mean that which must proceed from a spiteful, malignant, or revengeful dispositionit means no more than the intentional doing of a wrongful act without just cause or excuse. 27 Am.Jur., Husband and Wife, Sec. 527, pp. 129, 130. An actual intent to alienate the wife's affections is not necessary if the defendant's actions are inherently wrong and seductive and tend to and do have the effect complained of. 42 C.J.S., Husband and Wife, § 662, Motive and Intent, p. 317; Maggay v. Nikitko, 117 Conn. 206, 167 A. 816; Martin v. Ball, 30 Ga.App. 729, 119 S.E. 222; Wendt v. Wendt, 106 Neb. 554, 184 N.W. 66; Moore v. Grimes, 169 Okl. 4, 35 P.2d 944, 945; Eklund v. Hackett, 106 Wash. 287, 179 P. 803. If the loss of consortium is proven then a cause of action exists for which damages are recoverable, and the motive and intent of the defendant in this type of action consists of the intentional doing of a wrongful act, without just cause or excuse. Even if it is conceded for the sake of argument that some blame lies with the wife of the plaintiff, the evidence here shows and the jury must have so believed, that the defendant was primarily the instigator and promoter of the wrongful associations that existed. It is asserted that the evidence in this action is insufficient to sustain the verdict; that the plaintiff has failed to prove by competent evidence that the defendant alienated the affections of the plaintiff's wife; that the evidence fails to establish that the plaintiff suffered compensatory damages of $5,000; that even after the reduction of the exemplary damages the total judgment of $7,500 is grossly excessive. The defendant did not testify in his own behalf. The plaintiff testified for himself as to how the marriage relationship had been affected by the matters involved here. His wife testified in detail to the relations that had existed between her and the defendant. On all these matters the record stands undisputed. How this unhappy interlude has affected the marriage of the plaintiff and his wife is, of course, a matter peculiarly within their knowledge. We will set forth the most pertinent evidence on this issue. The plaintiff's wife was 19 years of age when she started working for the Mandel Department Store and the Mandel Fur Store. The defendant is a man more than twice her age. He was married and the father of children. The plaintiff's wife testified to her indiscretions with the defendant and their illicit relations upon three different occasions. It it true that upon the discovery on May 7, 1954, of what had been taking place between the plaintiff's wife and the defendant, the plaintiff did not abandon his wife. He asserts that he and his wife are trying to forget the past and trying to make a success of their marriage. They are the only ones who can relate or determine how this unhappy interlude has affected or is affecting their marriage. The plaintiff, after taking the movies in Riverside Park of his wife and the defendant on the afternoon of May 7, 1954, proceeded to his home. He arrived there twenty minutes later. Upon his arrival he found his wife had already gotten home; that she had locked herself in the bathroom, and was sobbing loudly. She refused to open the door. The plaintiff stripped *131 the lock and when he got inside he found that his wife was slashing her neck and chest with a razor blade. He took the razor blade away from her and proceeded to stop his wife's bleeding. He testified as follows: On cross examination the plaintiff testified: The plaintiff also testified: that he was quite upset at the time. On redirect examination he testified: Jennet Tice, the wife of the plaintiff, testified that she started working for the Mandel Department Store about March 15th. She worked there for about two weeks. Thereafter she was transferred to the Mandel Fur Store upon the request of *132 the defendant, who gave her a raise of $20 per month. She describes in detail the beginning of the association between herself and the defendant. If her version of the relationship between her and the defendant is to be taken as true, and it is undisputed, and the jury must have believed it, there can be no doubt that the defendant was the one that enticed her to go to lunch with him many times, ride around with him, made love to her, and otherwise courted her affections. Eventually they both forgot their marriage vows. The trial court discussing this case, upon the motion for a new trial, said: We feel that the question of whether the acts of the defendant alienated the affections of the plaintiff's wife was properly submitted to the jury, and that it was within its discretion to determine under all of the evidence what damages, if any, were to be awarded to the plaintiff. We now come to the issue of whether or not the court properly instructed the jury upon the question of exemplary damages. It is claimed that the instructions given were wholly inadequate and insufficient. In the case of Lindblom v. Sonstelie, 10 N.D. 140, 86 N.W. 357, 358, this court in dealing with a charge for instruction upon exemplary damages in a similar action said: The trial court in this action defined "malice" and stated that it was "not limited to a malignant and revengeful disposition and intent but includes wrongful and improper motives or intent to do a wrongful and improper act. In cases of adultery committed without the privity, consent or connivance of the spouse (plaintiff's husband in this case) malice is presumed as a matter of law." Then the court further instructed: Upon this subject the case of Lindblom v. Sonstelie, supra, had this to say: In the case at bar the trial court had given the jury the necessary basis for determination of exemplary damages. They had been told that if, based upon the preponderance of the evidence, the defendant *133 committed the acts complained of willfully and maliciously as the word "malice" had been defined, in their discretion they could award plaintiff such additional damages as they might deem proper by way of punishment and as an example to others. The jury was told the circumstances under which they might allow exemplary damages, and the reason for them. The instruction was adequate. If the defendant desired more explicit instructions on this matter than were given by the court, he should have presented them to the court in writing with a request that they be given. Carr v. Minneapolis, St. P. &amp; S. S. M. Ry. Co., 16 N.D. 217, 112 N.W. 972; Nevland v. Njust, 78 N.D. 747, 51 N.W.2d 845. No request was made for further or more comprehensive instructions upon exemplary damages. We now come to the consideration of the appellant's request for the sequestration of the witnesses. The defendant was called for cross-examination under the statute by the plaintiff. After the cross-examination of the defendant had been completed, he moved the court to have all of the witnesses removed from the courtroom while the witnesses for either side testified because of the nature of the case. This was resisted by the plaintiff and denied by the trial court. It is argued that the denial of this request constitutes an abuse of discretion by the trial court. The appellant complains that the court made improper remarks before the jury indicating it was of the opinion that this was a rare and unusual motion. It may be noted that the defendant did not make, or request to make, this motion out of the hearing of the jury. The court in response to the motion merely remarked that it did not see any reason for it and that nothing had been brought before the court in that connection, and further stated: "The nature of the case has nothing to do with that feature", and in further colloquy between it and counsel for defendant said: Thereupon the defendant's counsel said: "That is what defendant's counsel is seeking", to which Mr. Alphson said: "Your Honor, this is highly improper". The court thereupon said: No objection was made to this comment of the court. There were other comments and arguments concerning this request. None of the comments or arguments of opposing counsel were prejudicial or prevented the defendant from having a fair trial. The only case cited by appellant in support of his contention is the case of King v. Hanson, 13 N.D. 85, 99 N.W. 1085, 1091, in which it was held that it is within the discretion of the trial judge to exclude witnesses from the courtroom while other witnesses are testifying, and in that case there was no abuse of discretion in so doing. The court in that case said: While the appellant insists that the denial of his motion for sequestration of the witnesses was an abuse of discretion, he does not point out how it prevented him from having a fair trial, except to state that it put him in a very unfavorable light before the jury by making it appear that defendant was seeking something that was not just, *134 fair, reasonable and in accordance with the law as laid down by our supreme court. When the request or motion was made the defendant had been completely cross-examined under the statute. He had either denied the material facts alleged in the complaint, or had claimed his constitutional privilege and refused to answer the questions on the grounds that to answer them might tend to incriminate him. Nothing developed during the trial of the case which indicates that the trial court's denial operated to the disadvantage of the defendant or in any way aided the plaintiff. In this connection it may be stated that insofar as the material facts are concerned the plaintiff and his wife were the only witnesses that testified directly on the issue involved. The denial of the trial court to exclude the witnesses from the court room and the proceedings had and the discussion made in connection therewith in the presence of the jury does not indicate anything prejudicial to the rights of the defendant or which prevented him from having a fair trial. The denial did not constitute an abuse of discretion. We now come to the consideration of the contention that the damages awarded in this case are excessive. The appellant cites the case of Kinneberg v. Kinneberg, 8 N.D. 311, 79 N.W. 337, as a basis for his claim that the damages awarded in the case at bar were excessive. It is argued that the evidence establishes that the plaintiff's regard for his wife has not been disturbed by any of the scandalous matters which appear to have occurred. It is not only the plaintiff's regard for his wife, but also hers for him that is to be considered. We have already set out the testimony. It is undisputed. In our opinion it was sufficient to submit the questions of fact to the jury for their determination as to the amount of damages involved, if any. The jury found that the defendant had alienated the affections of the plaintiff's wife. Kinneberg v. Kinneberg, supra, presented an entirely different situation than is involved in the case at bar. There the plaintiff sought to recover damages for wrongs alleged to have been suffered by her at the hands of the defendant who was her father-in-law. One of the charges was that the defendant had alienated the affections of her husband. The plaintiff obtained a verdict. The defendant made a motion for a new trial which was granted on the third cause of action, but refused on the first. Both parties appealed. The opinion does not discuss the facts, but merely says [8 N.D. 311, 79 N.W. 338]: The orders of the lower court were both affirmed. *135 In the case at bar the court instructed the jury as to the law applicable to the determination of damages, if any, as follows: These instructions adequately set forth the proper basis for the determination of damages in an action of this kind. Common sense tells us that although the parties never separated, the events involved in this case have perhaps cast a permanent cloud upon their marriage. These past events may well be a constant source of anguish to the plaintiff and trouble between him and his wife. In the case of Amellin v. Leone, 114 Conn. 478, 159 A. 293, 294, decided March 8, 1932, a verdict of $3,500 in an action for alienation of affection was held not to be excessive. Commenting on the verdict the court said: It would serve no purpose to attempt to make a comparison of the size of the verdict in this action with verdicts involved in other cases, as the facts and circumstances differ in each case. However, many cases can be found in the books where much larger damages have been upheld for alienation of affections. We will point to a few. In the case of Mulock v. Ulizio, 129 A. 204, 3 N.J.Misc. 631, a verdict for $25,000 was not deemed excessive; in Regenvetter v. Ball, 131 Wash. 155, 229 P. 321, a verdict of $27,500, reduced to $20,000, was affirmed; in Bradbury v. Brooks, 82 Colo. 133, 257 P. 359, a verdict for $23,000 compensatory damages and $2,000 exemplary damages was upheld. The tendency of the court is towards liberality in fixing compensation in actions of this kind. 27 Am.Jur., Husband and Wife, Damages, Sec. 543, p. 142. In the case of Judah v. Goldsmith, 90 Ind.App. 81, 164 N.E. 496, it was held that the jury's award of damages for alienation of wife's affections will seldom be interfered with in absence of prejudice or passion. The reason for this rule lies in the fact that there is no method for the determination of exactly the proper pecuniary compensation which should be awarded. See also Annotation: DamagesExcessiveness or Inadequacy, 36 A.L.R.2d 548. There is also to be considered in determining whether the verdict is excessive that the purchasing and earning power of the dollar has been greatly reduced. In the case at bar the trial court upon the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or in the alternative for a new trial reduced the exemplary *137 damages from $10,000 awarded by the jury to $2,500. This was based on the belief of the court that the jury perhaps had a very exaggerated idea of the financial worth of the defendant. No specific evidence on that matter was submitted. In disposing of the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a new trial, the trial court in discussing the amount of exemplary damages indicated that its reduction thereof was based upon the fact that although there was no specific showing by either party as to the wealth or lack of wealth of the defendant, there was, however, evidence in the record from which it could be inferred that the defendant was wealthy. The evidence did show that he was a partner in the Mandel Fur Store; that he had an interest in the Mandel Department Store; that he lived in a beautiful home in Grand Forks and operated a Cadillac car; all of which may have tended to indicate substantial wealth. The affidavits submitted upon the motion for a new trial were considered by the court in the determination of this matter. They indicate that the defendant is not a wealthy man. Under the state of the record we believe that the court exercised its discretion in this connection properly and that its action in reducing the exemplary damages was both proper and just. We cannot say, as a matter of law, under the record that the verdict is unconscionable, and the result of passion and prejudice or clearly not warranted by the evidence. It is next asserted that the failure to swear Clayton Ness, who operated the movie projector to show the moving pictures taken by the plaintiff on May 7, 1954, constitutes prejudicial error. Section 31-0122, NDRC 1943 provides the form of oath required to be taken by all witnesses. However, Clayton Ness did not give any testimony. He merely exhibited the plaintiff's film with a Bell Howell projector. He was not called to testify. He was called to exhibit by mechanical means evidence already in the record. The record affirmatively shows that he did not give any evidence whatsoever upon the issue or issues involved in this action. The remarks of the court were directed to him merely to ascertain if the setting and lighting were satisfactory for the exhibition of the film. While it was being exhibited the attorney for the plaintiff asked the jury if they could see and they nodded to indicate that they could. The object of the rule (requiring an oath) is first to affect the conscience of the witness and thus compel him to speak the truth, and also to lay him open to punishment for perjury in case he willfully falsifies. 58 Am.Jur., Witnesses, Oath, Sec. 549, p. 306. There was no reason under this rule why Clayton Ness should be sworn. Since Clayton Ness was not called to testify to any facts involved in this action, it was not necessary to place him under oath. It is strenuously contended that the verdict of the jury in this case is based on passion and prejudice incited, at least in part, by inflammatory argument by plaintiff's counsel. The argument was not taken by the court reporter. We have, therefore, no way of knowing the exact nature of the argument, except upon affidavits which are not properly a part of the record, and which are based only on recollection as to what was said. *138 We can well believe that the nature of this case would lend itself to heated jury arguments. But if the plea was impassioned on one side, it appears that it was also of the same nature on the other. Only one objection was made to argument of plaintiff's counsel. He was referring to the failure of the defendant to take the witness stand on his own behalf and it is claimed by the defense that the argument amounted to castigating the defendant for exercising his constitutional privilege of refusing to answer questions upon the ground that they might incriminate him while under cross-examination under the statute. As soon as the objection was made the court reporter was called and plaintiff's counsel was asked to repeat what he had said for the record. This is what he said: The defendant took exception and the court ruled as follows: The court's comment was proper. In civil actions counsel may properly comment on the failure of a litigant present at the trial to testify to an issue of fact as well as the failure of a party present at the trial to contradict material testimony introduced. The right to comment is not affected by the fact that the party refuses to answer pertinent questions on the ground that the answer might intend to incriminate him. 53 Am.Jur., Trial, Failure of Parties to Testify, Section 469, pp. 374, 375; Johnson v. Kinney, 232 Iowa 1016, 7 N.W.2d 188, 144 A.L.R. 997; Morris v. McClellan, 154 Ala. 639, 45 So. 641, 16 Ann.Cas. 305. After further exchanges between defendant's counsel and the court, the court said: After further remarks, the court stated: "We can excuse the reporter until something else may develop." No objection was voiced by either party. No insistence was made by the defendant for the continuous presence of the court reporter. It is argued that such insistence would have put the defendant in a bad light with the jury. It was within the right of defendant's counsel to have the presence of the court reporter. When the court inquired about this it certainly is not clear that the defendant's counsel wanted the continuous presence of the reporter nor that he wanted the entire argument taken. If he had specifically requested the presence of the court reporter under the circumstances it is certain that the court would have granted that request. No further objections were made to the argument. It must, therefore, be presumed that it was within the record and proper inferences to be drawn therefrom. Counsel is allowed great latitude in presentation of argument, subject, however, *139 to regulation and control of the court, whose duty it is to confine the argument within proper limitations. Impassioned bursts of oratory, picturesque language, even the use of poetry, as long as it introduces no facts not disclosed by the record, has been held permissible. 88 C.J.S. Trial, § 169, pp. 335, 336 and 337. In absence of the record of the argument, although no doubt it was emphatic and impassioned, we cannot say that it was prejudicial or improper, or that the verdict was based on passion and prejudice resulting therefrom. The appellant relies heavily on the fact that there was no actual abandonment by the plaintiff of his wife, nor did she abandon him. He also contends that the moral and spiritual background of the plaintiff and his young wife was such as to indicate that this whole matter was of no great concern to them; that this was evidenced by the fact that they had adopted out their first-born child. The defendant also argues that he was in fact entrapped, inveigled, and enticed into this situation for the very purpose of trying to procure damages from him; that the whole conduct of the trial was such as to make it impossible for the defendant to procure a fair and impartial trial; that the atmosphere thereof was charged with prejudice against the defendant. These assertions are mere conclusions. We have thoroughly and closely examined the record with all these matters in mind, and have failed to find substantiation for these contentions. The record discloses that while there was no doubt intense interest in this trial, as a trial of this kind usually generates considerable morbid curiosity, the record fails to disclose prejudice on the part of the trial court, or incidents in the trial that would prevent the defendant from procuring a fair and impartial trial of the issues involved. Mild laughter occurred twice during the trial and on each occasion the court admonished the audience. One spectator stood leaning against the jury box and when this was called to the court's attention, it was forbidden. Many specifications of error urged are neither briefed nor argued by the appellant. He merely refers to them in comments which are pure conclusions. He makes no attempt to show how these alleged errors affected the verdict in this action. While errors assigned but not argued will be deemed abandoned, Mevorah v. Goodman, N.D., 68 N.W.2d 469; Clark v. Josephson, N.D., 66 N.W.2d 539, we have, nevertheless, carefully considered all the errors assigned and find that they have no merit. Since there are no prejudicial errors in the record, the judgment and order of the trial court denying the motion for a new trial are affirmed. BURKE, C. J., and GRIMSON, MORRIS and SATHRE, JJ., concur.