Court Opinion

ID: 9833526
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 22:47:37.407539+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:44:03.905764
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
Appellant contends that the language of the charter provision is plain and unambiguous. In' order to arrive at this conclusion the words “damages of any kind” must be construed to mean damages, whether arising from breach of contract or tort of any kind, and the words “person injured” must be construed to mean person who has suffered damages. Although the language is subject to that construction it does not follow that it must be so construed, for if it is susceptible of a different construction not in derogation of common right, such latter construction must be given thereto. When we speak of “damages of any kind,” reference may be had either to the method in which the damages were caused or the description of the damages with respect to class. The words “person injured” may mean person who has sustained bodily injuries or person who has sustained damages by virtue of any deprivation of a right. Appellant relies particularly upon the statement in the opinion in the case of city of Dallas v. 'Shows, which reads as follows:
“The phrase in this provision ‘damages of any kind,’ considered alone, would, of course, be sufficiently broad to include damages to either person or property.”
The same might be said if the words, “of any kind,” had been omitted. The statement made by the court, as we understand it, is simply that the language is subject to the construction that it relates to damages to either person or property, but not that it cannot be given any other construction. The court recognizes the fact that the words “person injured,” are subject to more than one construction. If there had been no ambiguity or doubt as to the meaning of the provision with respect to notice of claims, the court would doubtless not have injected any ambiguity or doubt into it by referring to a provision regarding notice of a different kind. We do not find anything in the opinion in said case which leads us to believe that the rule of law quoted by us therefrom would not be applicable to the facts of this case.
Appellant also relies upon the case of Nichols v. City of Minneapolis, 30 Minn. 545, 16 N. W. 410. In that case the word “injuries” is explained by the. subsequent use of the words “injury or damage.” The reasoning of the court as to the purpose to be accomplished by notice of claims would apply in this case and also in the City of Dallas Case above referred to. There may be wisdom in requiring notice of any character of claim for damages caused by a defect in street or sidewalk, but nevertheless claims for property damage may so seldom arise and be ’ of such small amount that the Legislature would deem it unnecessary to place them upon the same plane as damages on account of personal injuries. It is also to be borne in mind that if the first part of the San Antonio charter section is construed as appellant contends it must be construed, it would even require notice of damages suffered by reason of a breach of contract by the city.
Appellees, in their motion for rehearing, assume that in deciding the questions relating to interest we relied principally upon the Addison Case. That case was cited and relied upon on the proposition that the judgment must follow the verdict, and that the court cannot add interest to the verdict in cases where it is recoverable as part of the damages when the verdict constitutes a general finding of the amount of damages sustained.
In support of the proposition that no interest is sued for, and therefore none can be recovered, we relied upon the cases of Railway v. Mathews and Railway v. Rayzor, but the Addison Case is also authority for such holding. There can of course be no doubt that if interest is not a part of the amount in controversy, for jurisdictional purposes, it is also not in controversy for the purpose of being awarded in the judgment. The reasons relied on by us for holding that under said decisions interest was not sued for in this case are sufficiently disclosed in the original opinion. Appellees do not undertake to show why the rules laid down in the Ray-*210zor and Mathews Cases would not apply in this ease, but rely upon other cases, most of which do not relate to the question of pleading involved, but merely the question whether interest is recoverable if sued for. They cite, however, a late case, that of Wiess v. Gordon, 209 S. W. 486, which we are unable to distinguish from this case. We regret this conflict, but, being of the opinion that said case is in conflict with other decisions and incorrectly decided, must decline to follow it. In that case the court undertook to distinguish same from the case of St. L. S. W. Ry. Co. v. Starks, 109 S. W. 1003. The distinction drawn was that in the Wiess v. Gordon Case there was a prayer for general relief, while in the other case the court failed to state that- there was such a prayer. The prayer for general relief has become such a well-understood feature of our pleading that it is difficult to conceive of its omission, and we think the assumption that it was omitted cannot well be indulged from the mere fact that an appellate court failed to mention it. We do not understand Judge Hodges’ opinion as containing any expression from which it might be inferred that the court found no prayer for general relief in the petition, or that it regarded such a prayer as material in determining what was put in controversy by the pleadings. As we understand Judge Hodges’ opinion the court held that in order to recover interest it should either be specially claimed, or the damages should be alleged at a sum in excess of the value of the property, so that the inference would arise that interest was claimed. In that case and in this the averments with respect to damages exclude the idea that interest was claimed. The prayer for general relief does not put that in controversy which is not in controversy in the averments relating to the damages suffered. In the Rayzor Case, supra, the prayer was for “judgment for his said damages in the sum of $975, with legal interest thereon, for costs of suit, and for general relief.”. The court held the words “with legal interest thereon" to be subject to the construction that interest on the judgment was prayed for, and that therefore only $975 was involved in the controversy. The prayer for general relief did not affect the ruling.
In the case of Wiess v. Gordon the court relies strongly on the cases of Watkins v. Junker, 90 Tex. 588, 40 S. W. 11, and Railway v. Greathouse, 82 Tex. 111, 17 S. W. 834. The first of these cases does no more than lay down the general rule that interest is recoverable as part of the damages in certain cases. The second contains language which, if not read in the light of the pleading, might be construed as a holding that interest could be recovered, although not sued for, but as a matter of fact in said case the items of damage sustained aggregated about $1,033, but the damages were alleged at $1,200. It was a case in which the pleadings were subject to the construction that interest was claimed, for upon no other hypothesis could the discrepancy between the damages claimed and the items of loss be accounted for. It therefore appears that what the court held was that, although there was no prayer for interest, and although it was not specifically mentioned in the pleadings, it could be recovered under a prayer for general relief if it appeared that it must have been claimed as a part of the damages alleged. The fact that the court had in mind the proposition that there was no prayer for interest is shown by the citation of the case of Railway v. Jackson, 62 Tex. 209, in which the court stated there was no prayer for interest, but that, as plaintiff sought to recover an item of interest paid out by him, and in connection therewith asked for the recovery of interest at the rate of 1 per cent. per month during the time the cotton was detained, it sufficiently appeared that interest was sued for, and it was therefore recoverable.
Railway v. Addison, supra, is not in conflict with any of the cases herein referred to except, as we understand it, that of Wiess v. Gordon. In the Greathouse Case the court did not undertake to add interest to the verdict, and the Jackson Case was tried before the court, so there can be no conflict on the point decided in the Addison Case in answer to the first question certified. In the Addison Case the suit was for $130; no prayer for interest but a prayer for general relief. The court held that the recovery was necessarily limited to $130. In the Greathouse Case the damages were alleged at $1,200, which sum exceeded the items of actual loss, about $160. Therefore interest was recoverable, but not more than $1,200 could be recovered. The verdict and judgment were for $900. The court’s discussion related to the point whether interest could be estimated in deciding whether the $900 was excessive. It is obvious that there is no conflict between the Addison Case and the cases of Railway v. Greathouse and Railway v. Jackson with respect to the holding concerning the recovery being limited to the pleadings. In the Wiess v. Gordon Case the court appears to have approved a judgment for $297.50 and interest, although the damages were alleged at $297.-50, and there was no prayer for interest, but only for general relief. If we understand that case, it appears to us to be in conflict with the Addison Case, as well as the case of Railway v. Starks.
The motions for rehearing are overruled.