Court Opinion

ID: 9846790
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:48:31.35489+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:19:49.884199
License: Public Domain

CROCKETT, Chief Justice
(dissenting).
Accounts which are properly kept are competent evidence. But their credibility is subject to the judgment of the fact trier the same as other evidence. It may depend somewhat on the circumstances, but generally the credit of a witness’s testimony would not necessarily be improved, and certainly not insured, by the fact that it is reduced to writing. Accounts are as subject to error, change or falsification to suit a purpose as is any other evidence. The main opinion adequately states the position of the defendant. This being a lone dissent, I shall not belabor the detail, but record these observations.
In this controversy, viewed in broad perspective, we have on the one side the testimony of the plaintiff, which if standing alone, would support the judgment. On the other side, there are the accounts of the defendant. There are aspects of the evidence of both sides which may be regarded as tending to its credit or discredit. As to the latter, this includes the fact of self-interest and that there were shown to be some discrepancies and that some changes had been made in the accounts. See Page v. Federal Security Insurance Company, 8 Utah 2d 226, 227, 332 P.2d 666. The trial court, whose prerogative it is to judge the credibility of the evidence and find the facts, chose to believe and found in accordance with the plaintiff’s evidence. On that basis the judgment should be affirmed.