Simpson v. Armstrong

Decision Date06 January 1887
Citation20 Neb. 512,30 N.W. 941
PartiesSIMPSON v. ARMSTRONG.
CourtNebraska Supreme Court

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Syllabus by the Court.

Immaterial and irrelevant testimony admitted over defendant's objection, and which may have a tendency to mislead the jury, is good ground for a new trial. Harrison v. Baker, 15 Neb. 43;S. C. 14 N. W. Rep. 541.

Error from Brown county.

E. F. Gray, for plaintiff.

Holmes & White, for defendant.

REESE, J.

This was an action against the sheriff of Brown county for the conversion of personal property. On the eighth of May, 1884, defendant in error purchased a stock of goods from one George R. Reed, paying therefor the sum of $900 in cash. He took possession, and left the store in charge of a clerk, and returned to his residence in Clay county. On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, plaintiff in error levied on the goods as the property of Reed, and took them from the possession of defendant in error, who brought suit for their value, and recovered a judgment. The sheriff, as plaintiff in error, brings the case to this court by proceedings in error.

The defense relied upon by plaintiff in error was that the alleged sale of the goods to defendant in error by Reed was a fraudulent transaction, and done for the purpose of defrauding the creditors of Reed. As a new trial must be had, we refrain from expressing any opinion upon the merits of the case, or the bona fides of the parties to the transaction, but will confine ourselves to the one or two propositions which it is deemed necessary to notice.

On the trial the plaintiff in the action, defendant in error here, took the witness stand, and testified to the purchase of the goods from Reed, the payment of the consideration, etc., and introduced certain documentary evidence, and then rested his case. Plaintiff in error introduced oral testimony, by which he sought to prove the indebtedness of Reed to a considerable amount, and also the alleged fraudulent character of the transaction. He also introduced some documentary evidence for the purpose of showing his authority to levy on the property of Reed. Defendant in error then introduced L. K. Adler, Esq., an attorney residing in Ainsworth, who testified, in substance, that on the eighth day of May, 1884, he prepared the documents by which the property was transferred to defendant in error, and also a lease of the building from one McCoid to defendant in error, and stated that at the time he knew nothing about the indebtedness of Reed. His testimony was as follows: Question. State what, if anything, you learned about the indebtedness of Reed soon after the conveyance, and what occasioned your seeking the information. Answer. Sometime after the sale, Mr. Reed came into my office, and requested me to write to his creditors, and ascertain the amount of his indebtedness, and gave me a list of them. It was from two to five days after...

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3 cases
  • Bee Publishing Company v. World Publishing Company
    • United States
    • Nebraska Supreme Court
    • 7 November 1901
    ...to have his case go before the jury without being encumbered with illegal or irrelevant matter." To the same effect is Simpson v. Armstrong, 20 Neb. 512, 30 N.W. 941; Darner v. Daggett, 35 Neb. 695, 53 N.W. 608. speaking of the principles applicable to the admission of incompetent evidence ......
  • Bee Pub. Co. v. World Pub. Co.
    • United States
    • Nebraska Supreme Court
    • 6 November 1901
    ...to have his case go before the jury without being incumbered with illegal or irrelevant matter.” To the same effect is Simpson v. Armstrong, 20 Neb. 512, 30 N. W. 941;Darner v. Daggett, 35 Neb. 695, 53 N. W. 608. In speaking of the principles applicable to the admission of incompetent evide......
  • Simpson v. Armstrong
    • United States
    • Nebraska Supreme Court
    • 6 January 1887

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