White v. Int'l Text-Book Co.

• Citation: 164 Iowa 693,146 N.W. 829
• Parties: WHITE v. INTERNATIONAL TEXT-BOOK CO. ET AL.
• Decision Date: 14 April 1914
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

164 Iowa 693

146 N.W. 829

WHITE

v.INTERNATIONAL TEXT-BOOK CO. ET AL.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

April 14, 1914.

Appeal from District Court, Linn County; Milo P. Smith, Judge.

Action for malicious prosecution. Trial to a jury. Verdict and judgment for plaintiff in the sum of $2,800, and defendants appeal. Reversed.F. L. Anderson, of Marion, and D. C. Harrington, of Scranton, Pa., for appellants.

John N. Hughes and C. R. Sutherland, both of Cedar Rapids, for appellee.

DEEMER, J.

This is the fourth appearance of the case in this court. For former opinions, see 144 Iowa, 92, 121 N. W. 1104;150 Iowa, 27, 129 N. W. 338; and 136 N. W. 121, 42 L. R. A. (N. S.) 346. The nature of the case, the issues, and the facts relied upon by either party are sufficiently stated in the former opinions. It is sufficient to say that the action is for malicious prosecution, and the damages awarded manifestly included exemplary damages. Indeed, under an instruction given by the trial court, the jury was bound to award such damages. That instruction read as follows: “If you find for the plaintiff, then you are instructed that you should allow him by way of damages: (1) Such expenses as he was put to as shown by the evidence, if any, because of such arrest; (2) the loss of time and value thereof, if any; (3) the injury, if any, to his business; and (4) such sum as will in your judgment fairly and reasonably compensate him for the humiliation, mental anguish, and distress of mind he suffered, if any, including the distress and anguish of mind caused by the humiliation and disgrace he felt, if any, at being arrested on the charge of embezzlement and confined in the city jail, as you, as reasonable men, believe the evidence will fairly compensate him therefor; (5) you will also allow him, in addition to the above, such sum by way of exemplary damages, that is by way of punishment to the defendants for the wrong done to the plaintiff, if any, as you, as fair-minded men, believe is just and right, but the total amount of your verdict must not exceed $5,000. But you will not allow plaintiff any damages for loss of time caused by the defendants discharging him from their employment before the arrest.” Under well-settled rules established by an unbroken line of authorities, this instruction was erroneous. Sheik v. Hobson, 64 Iowa, 146, 19 N. W. 875, and an exhaustive collection of cases found in Fink v. Thomas, 66 W. Va. 487, 66 S. E. 650, 19 Ann. Cas. 574.

[1] Save as provided by statute, exemplary damages are never recoverable as a matter of legal right. Whether or not they shall be allowed in any case depends: First, on a finding of actual damages; and, second, upon whether or not the jury, in the exercise of a wise discretion, believes they should be assessed, not as compensation for the wrong done, but as punishment to the wrongdoer. Exemplary damages are punitive in character, and do not follow as a result of the wrong done. It is within the discretion of the jury to allow or disallow them, even though defendant's wrong be malicious, oppressive, wanton, willful, or reckess; and it is erroneous for the court to direct the jury to allow them as a matter of right. See cases collected in 12 Am. & Eng. Enc. of Law (2d Ed.) p. 51; 1 Sedgwick on Damages, § 357; 1 Joyce on Damages, § 118, and cases cited; Fink v. Thomas, supra.

The instruction is in no manner qualified, save by the expression “for the wrong done to the plaintiff, if any.” In other words, the only qualification was that such damages should be assessed unless the jury found that no wrong was done to the plaintiff.

[2] Again the instruction was faulty in that it failed to specify the conditions under which the jury might allow such damages. Under the instruction as given, plaintiff was entitled to recover exemplary damages, although nothing else was...