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126 Ind. 495

Henry v. Adams

Indiana Supreme Court

Decided January 14, 1891

Indiana Supreme Court · decided 1891-01-14

<p>Set-Off. — Plea Of. — Burden of Proof. — Bill of Exceptions. — Judgment.— Where the answer admits the execution of the note in suit, and pleads a set-off, and the general denial is pleaded by way of reply, the burden is on the defendant to establish the set-off; and where the bill of exceptions, which purports to set out the evidence, contains no evidence establishing the set-off, a judgment for the plaintiff will not be disturbed on the evidence.</p>

Cited by 2 later decisions — most recently June 1905

2 state decisions

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1891-01-14

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McBride, J.

¶1— This was a suit by appellee against appellant on a note executed by appellant to one Garrison, and by Garrison endorsed to appellee, and to foreclose a mortgage executed to secure payment of the note.

¶2There was an answer, in one paragraph, admitting the execution of the note and mortgage, pleading, as a set-off to $69.57 of the sum due on the note, a certain due bill, a note and a judgment, which together amounted to that sum, and alleging a tender of the balance due, and that the tender had been kept good, etc.

¶3Reply in three paragraphs, the first of which is the general denial.

¶4There was a trial by the court, a finding for plaintiff, *a motion for a new trial, which was overruled, and an exception by the appellant to this ruling, and the court rendered judgment in appellee’s favor, and a decree foreclosing the mortgage.

¶5The only error assigned is in overruling the motion for a new trial.

¶6The motion for a new trial is upon the ground that the decision (or verdict, appellant calls it) is not sustained by sufficient evidence, and is contrary to law. There is a bill of exceptions, which purports to set out the evidence. The correctness of the judgment depends on whether the evidence sustains the answer of set-off and tender. We have examined the bill of exceptions carefully.

¶7It fails to show that'any evidence whatever was introduced or offered by the appellant to establish any of the items of set-off. While several of the witnesses speak of a note, of a due bill and of a judgment, there is in the record no evidence whatever establishing their existence, nor is there any stipulation or admission waiving the production of such proof. No note or due bill or judgment was put in evidence. It is possible that the bill of exceptions is incomplete, and does not contain all the evidence, but the statement in the bill is that it contains all the evidence given in the case, and, *497as has been held by this court, a bill of exceptions imports absolute verity.

Filed Jan. 14, 1891.

¶8The general denial being pleaded by way of reply, the burthen was upon the appellant to establish his set-off by evidence.

¶9Assuming, as we must, that the bill of exceptions does contain all of the evidence given in the case, we find nothing to justify us in reversing the judgment.

¶10Judgment affirmed, with costs.

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