Court Opinion

ID: 9854331
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:05:33.319372+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:23:01.527953
License: Public Domain

DAVISON, J.
(dissenting). I am unable to agree with the majority opinion. There can be no question that the plaintiff in error voluntarily entered the card game for the purpose of winning money from his opponents.
Where the parties voluntarily engage in a gambling game, which is prohib*573ited by law, neither courts of law nor of equity, in the absence of a statute authorizing a recovery of gambling losses, should aid or assist either party to enforce rights growing out of the illegal transaction. Courts should not become the arbiters of incidental acts of participants in gambling games which are prohibited by law. Public policy prompts the courts to decline to distinguish between degrees of turpitude of parties who engage in outlawed transactions, since otherwise courts might be compelled to decide which party cheated the most.
In the case at bar, plaintiff actually went through with the gambling game and lost his money for which he executed checks. Then, in exchange for the checks, he executed the conveyances. The most nearly analogous case in the reports is that of Wallace v. Opinham, 73 Cal. A. 2d 25, 165 P. 2d 709, wherein,
“* * * The piaintiff and defendant voluntarily engaged in that unlawful game, in the course of which plaintiff lost the money he now seeks to recover by this suit. The second count of the complaint is necessarily founded on plaintiffs participation in that unlawful and prohibited game. He could not prove the alleged fraud and deceit, by means of which he lost his bets, without evidence showing that the fraud was exercised incident to his participation in that game of cards which is prohibited by statute. * * *.
The court, in that case, used the following language, particularly applicable here:
“* * * Where a party acts illegally, he is to suffer the loss of his money as the consequence, if the money is sought to be recovered, except where he may have a remedy under the particular provisions of some statute. Here is a case of gaming accompanied with cheating. Clearly if the gaming had been fair, the law would give no remedy. The only question then is, whether the fraud will alter the case. We think it will not. If a man thus voluntarily puts himself in a condition to be cheated, through his illegal act he cheats the government, and the other person cheats him, and they must be left to settle the affair' between themselves.
In my opinion, public morals and the good of society would be best served by following the rule in the above-cited case. The trial court felt that the courts should not decide issues regarding payment of gambling debts, since none of the participants of the unlawful and illegal gambling game could come into court with clean hands. I am, therefore, of the opinion that the trial court should have been upheld in sustaining defendants’ demurrer to the petition.
I, therefore, respectfully dissent.
I am authorized to state that Mr. Justice BLACKBIRD concurs, in the foregoing views.