Greeno v. Wilson
| Decision Date | 28 January 1891 |
| Citation | 27 Fla. 492,8 So. 723 |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
| Parties | GREENO v. WILSON. |
Appeal from circuit court, Duval county; JAMES M. BAKER, Judge.
Syllabus by the Court
A change of venue in a civil action is not warranted, under the provisions of section 112, p. 837, McClel. Dig., upon a petition and affidavit stating 'that the adverse party has been mayor of a city in the county where the suit is brought for three terms, and has great influence over the inhabitants of such county,' etc., unsupported by other proof or facts showing the existence of an undue influence.
C. P. & J. C. Cooper, for appellant.
Victor D. L. Mudge, for appellee.
H. A Wilson, appellee, as plaintiff in the court below, on the 29th of April, 1887, instituted his action in assumpsit in the circuit court of St. Johns county, fourth judicial circuit, against the appellant, George S. Greeno, as defendant in the court below, for the recovery of $400 alleged to have been due to him by Greeno as commissions for services rendered by Wilson as real-estate agent in selling a piece of real estate in the city of St. Augustine, in St Johns county.
Summons ad respondendum was issued, and served by the sheriff of St. Johns county, citing the defendant to appear before the court in St. Johns county on the ruleday in November, 1887.
To the declaration the defendant pleaded the general issue, and upon this plea issue was formally joined on the 31st of December, 1887. On the 14th of March, 1888, the plaintiff, Wilson, filed his petition in the circuit court of St. Johns county, for a change of venue of said cause, which petition was as follows:
On the same day, March 14, 1888, the plaintiff, Wilson, filed in the clerk's office of St. Johns county the following affidavit to support said petition for change of venue:
'State of Florida, county of St. Johns: Before the subscriber, a notary public in and for the state of Florida, St. Johns county, personally came Herbert A. Wilson; who, being duly sworn, says that he is the plaintiff in an action against George S. Greeno, in assumpsit, in the circuit court of the fourth judicial circuit, St. Johns county, Florida, to recover the sum of four hundred dollars, amount of commission which he claims to be due to him for the sale of certain lands in St. Augustine; that the said George S. Greeno has filed his pleas disputing the said claim, and that the said cause is now at issue and ready for trial; that the venue is laid in the said county of St. Johns; that the court for the trial of said issue will commence in the city of St. Augustine upon the thirteenth day of March, instant; that he, the said plaintiff in said action, fears that he will not receive a fair trial in the court where the said cause is now depending, on account that the said George S. Greeno has an undue influence over the minds of the inhabitants of the said county of St. Johns, being the county where the said suit is depending; that the cause of such fear is that the said George S. Greeno is now mayor of the said city of St. Augustine, and has been mayor of the said city for three terms, and that the said George S. Greeno has great influence in the said city of St. Augustine and in the said county of St. Johns, and over the class of people comprising the jurymen of the said county.'
On the 14th of March, 1888, the following order was made by the judge presiding, changing the venue in said cause, towit: 'And now comes the plaintiff, H. A. Wilson, who files his petition for change of venue, and the affidavit of the plaintiff, and upon reading the said petition and affidavit, and the pleadings and proceedings in this cause, and hearing what was alleged by counsel for all parties, and it appearing to the court that the said plaintiff fears he will not receive a fair trial in the said county of St. Johns, being the court where the said cause is now depending, on the ground that the defendant, George S. Greeno, has an undue influence over the minds of the inhabitants of the said county of St. Johns, it is ordered that the venue in this cause be changed from the county of St. Johns to the county of Duval, in said fourth judicial circuit, and that the clerk of this court do send forward to the clerk of said county of Duval by some fit person all the papers in this suit.'
In May, 1888, the cause was tried in the circuit court of Duval county, which trial resulted in a verdict and judgment for the plaintiff. Motion for new trial was made and refused, and from this judgment the defendant, Greeno, appeals to this court.
The first error assigned raises the question of the propriety of the order changing the venue of the cause from St. Johns county to Duval county. The application for and the order changing the venue were predicated upon the provisions of section 112, p. 837, McClel. Dig., which provides that 'in all suits...
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Hysler v. State
...that he could not receive a fair trial. This provision of law has been before this court in a number of cases. In the case of Greeno v. Wilson, 27 Fla. 492, text pages 499, 8 So. 723, 725, this court said: 'And if, upon the trial of the issue before the judge, he shall be 'satisfied' from t......
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Board of Public Instruction for Lafayette County v. First Nat. Bank
... ... alone would, if decided in favor of defendant, effectually ... dispose of this appeal. Greeno v. Wilson, 27 Fla ... 492, 8 So. 723; Tampa, etc., R. Co. v. Tampa S. R ... Co., 30 Fla. 595, 11 So. 562, 17 L. R. A. 681 ... The ... ...
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Deeb v. State
... ... by the proofs of facts alleged as required by the statute ... authorizing a change of venue, as was the case in Greeno ... v. Wilson, 27 Fla. 492, 8 So. 723. See, also, Curry ... v. State, 17 Fla. 683; Turner v. State, 87 Fla ... 155, 99 So. 334 ... ...
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Garcia v. State
... ... interfere where there is a palpable abuse or grossly ... improvident exercise of such discretion. Greeno v ... Wilson, 27 Fla. 492, 8 So. 723; McNealy v ... State, 17 Fla. 198; Irvin v. State, 19 Fla ... 872; Adams v. State, 28 Fla. 511, 10 ... ...