Hurley v. Boston Elevated St. Ry. Co.

Citation99 N.E. 1056,213 Mass. 192
PartiesHURLEY v. BOSTON ELEVATED ST. RY. CO.
Decision Date27 November 1912
CourtUnited States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
COUNSEL

W. O. Childs, of Boston, for plaintiff.

Abraham E. Pinanski and Geo. E. Morris, both of Boston, for defendant.

OPINION

RUGG C.J.

This case was tried before a judge of the superior court sitting without a jury. On the last day of the trial the plaintiff presented requests for findings of fact and for rulings of law which were taken under advisement. At that time he saved no exceptions and expressed no oral or written desire to have exceptions saved for him in the event that the judge should refuse to give any or all of his requests. Four days later a finding for the defendant was filed, and notice thereof was sent at once to the plaintiff's attorney and received by him on the following morning. No further action was taken until 18 days later, when a bill of exceptions was filed. Some of the plaintiff's requests were given and others refused, but no ruling to this effect was filed with the finding. This bill of exceptions was disallowed because (according to the certificate of the judge) 'no exception was claimed until the bill was filed and 18 days after plaintiff's counsel was notified of the decision in the case, and therefore said exceptions were not alleged within a reasonable time.'

The plaintiff's exception to this ruling is to be decided. It is a proper subject for a bill of exceptions. Purcell v Boston, Halifax & Prince Edward Island S. S. Line, 151 Mass. 158, 23 N.E. 834.

The plaintiff's original bill of exceptions was disallowed rightly. The difference between taking an exception and filing a bill of exceptions is plain. The saving of the exception is the substance. The bill of exceptions is the formal expression of that substance. It can recite only that which has been done. No rule of court or statute expressly defines the time within which exceptions must be taken to a ruling made in the absence of counsel in a trial without a jury. Therefore in such instances the exception must be taken within a reasonable time after the ruling. A finding could not have been made until the requests had been passed upon. An adverse finding without specifically passing upon pertinent requests for rulings is to be construed as a denial of them. John Hetherington & Sons Co., Ltd., v. Wm. Firth Co., 210 Mass. 8, 95 N.E. 961. The failure to take any action...

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22 cases
  • Comm'r of Banks v. Tremont Trust Co.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
    • May 31, 1929
    ...Freedman, Petitioner, 222 Mass. 179, 182, 110 N. E. 161;Barnett, Petitioner, 240 Mass. 228, 230, 133 N. E. 111.Hurley v. Boston Elevated Railway, 213 Mass. 192, 99 N. E. 1056. It follows that the defendant has not raised the question whether a discharge in bankruptcy in the circumstances di......
  • Lawrence v. Briry
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
    • September 16, 1921
    ...where the bill itself is filed under the circumstances disclosed on this record, exception was thereby saved. Hurley v. Boston Elevated Railway, 213 Mass. 192, 99 N. E. 1056;Thurston v. Blunt, 216 Mass. 264, 103 N. E. 478. Exception to a ruling made in absence of counsel must be taken withi......
  • Commissioner of Banks v. Tremont Trust Co.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
    • May 31, 1929
    ...cases collected. Freedman, petitioner, 222 Mass. 179 , 182. Barnett, petitioner, 240 Mass. 228, 230. Hurley v. Boston Elevated Railway, 213 Mass. 192 . It follows that the defendant has not raised the question whether a discharge in bankruptcy in the circumstances disclosed in his answer an......
  • Calcagno v. P.H. Graham & Sons Co.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
    • March 29, 1943
    ...Purcell v. Boston, Halifax & Prince Edward Island Steamship Line, 151 Mass. 158, 159, 23 N.E. 834;Hurley v. Boston Elevated Railway, 213 Mass. 192, 193, 99 N.E. 1056. But even if the defendant could have done so, it was not precluded from raising this question by a petition to establish a r......
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