Exclusive Florists, Inc. v. Kahn

• Decision Date: 19 May 1971
• Citation: 95 Cal.Rptr. 325,17 Cal.App.3d 711
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: EXCLUSIVE FLORISTS, INC., Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Yale KAHN and Zelah Kahn, Defendants and Appellants. Civ. 10378.

Page 325

95 Cal.Rptr. 325

17 Cal.App.3d 711

EXCLUSIVE FLORISTS, INC., Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Yale KAHN and Zelah Kahn, Defendants and Appellants.

Civ. 10378.

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1, California.

May 19, 1971.

[17 Cal.App.3d 713] Seltzer, Caplan, Wilkins & McMahon, and Reg A. Vitek, San Diego, for defendants and appellants.

Thompson & Thompson, and David R. Thompson, San Diego, for plaintiff and respondent.

OPINION

COUGHLIN, Associate Justice.

Defendants appeal from a money judgment for floral decorations furnished them by plaintiff.

The issue on appeal is whether the court erred in admitting in evidence, over objection, Exhibits 1, 2 and 8.

Exhibit 1 is a compilation or summary, allegedly based upon plaintiff's business records, showing the quantity, kind, cost to plaintiff and charge against defendants, of flowers used in floral arrangements and decorations for a wedding; the quantity, kind, cost to plaintiff and charge against defendants of ferns, trees and other merchandise used in decorating the wedding site; an itemization of merchandise supplied on a rental basis, which were used in decorating the wedding site, and the charge therefor; and the cost of labor furnished in decorating the site. Although defendants contend the exhibit is inadmissible because it is hearsay, the real issue is whether it is a compilation premised on business records admissible under Evidence Code, section 1509. A summary of business records consisting of numerous accounts or other writings that cannot be examined in court without great loss of time, is admissible in evidence upon a showing the business records are entitled to admission in evidence; actual admission of the records is not a prerequisite to admission of the summary; but the court, in its discretion, may require them to be produced for inspection by the adverse party. (People v. Doble, 203 Cal. 510, 515, 265 P. 184; Evid.Code, § 1509.) The trial court concluded Exhibit 1 was a summary based on plaintiff's business records; ordered those records made available to defendants for inspection; and overruled their objection to admission of the exhibit. The evidence supports this conclusion. The summary was compiled by a vice-president of plaintiff. In preparing it he relied primarily upon purchase orders which were kept in a folder constituting a file for the particular job. The purchase orders were made by an employee following determination of the kind and number of floral arrangements to be used at the wedding site, the areas to be decorated at the site, and the composition of such decorations. Flowers for these arrangements and decorations were ordered from suppliers. Various suppliers filled the orders; shipped flowers filling them and other orders to plaintiff; and accompanied the shipments with shipping slips and invoices. As the invoices covered not only flowers to be used on the job in question, but also for other purposes, the invoices were not placed in the folder. When the flowers arrived at plaintiff's place of business the number and kind thereof were checked against the invoices to insure the delivery accorded with the invoices. Simultaneously the flowers were checked against the purchase orders for the job, and those to be used on the job were segregated from the shipment. The flower arrangements were manufactured at plaintiff's place of business. The number of floral arrangements and the kind of flowers to be used therein were described in the purchase orders, and were checked by an employee when taken to the wedding site to insure compliance with the order. The flowers used in decorating areas at the site were sorted from the shipments; were checked against the purchase orders for this purpose; and were installed in place at the wedding site by employees of plaintiff on the day of the wedding. In the event flowers noted on a purchase order for a particular arrangement or decorative scheme was not shipped and received, the missing item was scratched from the purchase order.

In preparing Exhibit 1, the invoices received from the shipper were compared with the purchase orders for the apparent purpose of determining the cost to plaintiff of the flowers shipped, received and used to fulfill a particular purchase order. Defendants object to consideration of the invoices as a business record because they were not prepared by plaintiff, citing California Steel Buildings, Inc. v. Transport Indemnity Co., 242 Cal.App.2d 749, 759, 51 Cal.Rptr. 797. The use of the invoices in preparing Exhibit 1 was for the purpose of determining the cost to plaintiff of the flowers used on the job. The receipt of the flowers invoiced had been checked by employees of plaintiff. Likewise, the use of a part of the flowers from a...