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142 Ala. 705

Rasco v. Jefferson

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided November 15, 1904

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1904-11-15

Tried before the Hon. John Mooee. This action was brought by the appellee, Catherine Jefferson, against the appellants, W. P. Easco and the sureties on his official bond, and sought to recover for the breach of said bond by reason of the defendant, W. P. Easco, levying an execution issued upon a judgment recovered against the plaintiff’s husband, Bab Jefferson, upon property belonging to the plaintiff. The complaint as filed contained two counts.

Relies on Nelson v. Iverson · Daffron v. Crump · Steiner Bros. v. Tranum

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1904-11-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 14 later decisions — most recently November 1989

14 state decisions

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Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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ANDERSON, J.

¶1The defendants requested, in writing, the general affirmative charge, which was refused, and the refusal of which is here assigned as error. The record discloses the filing of four pleas by defendants, the second plea being the statute of limitation of one year, and the plaintiff took issue thereon.

¶2■ The proof shows that the cows were sold not later than December, 1899, and that the suit was not brought until March 35th, 3901, more than a year after that date.

¶3The court has often held that when issue is joined on an immaterial plea and its averments are proved, the defendant is entitled to the general charge. — McGhee & Fisk v. Reynolds, 117 Ala. 413; Taylor v. Smith, 104 Ala. 538; Lewis v. Simon & Co., 101 Ala. 546.

¶4We hold, however, that the plea in this case was not proven. It- is as follows: “That the cause of action is barred by the statute of limitation of one year,” and is substantially in the Code form. As a matter of law, this action cannot be barred in one year, hence this plea must fall, although .the sjiit was not brought until more than a year after the cause of action arose-. Overruling Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Ry. v. Parker, 123 Ala. 683.

¶5*710Counsel for appellants contends that the complaint in this case is insufficient to support any kind of a judgment. We cannot agree with him in his contention. The complaint avers a breach of the bond by levying on and selling personal property, which: makes out a cause of action when coupled with the claim of |300.00 as damages. If the complaint fails to particularize the property or is otherwise vague and indefinite, the defect should be raised by demurrer, as it is only a complaint that fails to set out a cause of action, that can he reached by the general affirmative charge, not one that is vague and indefinite.

¶6The defendant should have been permitted to ask witness Rasco, “Whose property was that?” Ownership of personal property is a fact to which a witness may testify.- — Steiner Bros. & Co. v. Tranum, 98 Ala. 315; Daffron v. Crump, 69 Ala. 77; Nelson v. Iverson, 24 Ala. 9.

¶7The court erred in not excluding the testimony of the plaintiff, “I told him to look at my twelve babies.” It was not matexfial to the issue before the jury and was highly prejudicial to the defendaxxts, as it ivas calculated to arouse the sympathy of the jury ixx favor of the plaintiff.

¶8The trial court did not err in refusing to exclude remarks of plaintiff’s counsel, or in sustaining the demurrer to the defendant’s plea.

¶9Reversed axxd remanded.

McClellan, O. J., Haralson, Tyson, Dowdell, Simpson and Denson, J.J., concurring.
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