182 F.2d 342 - Chambless v. Woods — 182 F.2d 342

How this case has been cited

Cited by 17 later decisions — most recently July 1970

13 federal appellate · 2 state decisions

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.

¶1Edward C. Fritz, Dallas, Texas>, for appellant.

¶2Francis X. Riley, Sp. Litigation Atty., Benjamin I. Shulman, Sp. Litigation Atty., Ed Dupree, Gen. Counsel, Huge V. Prucha, Asst. Gen. Counsel, Office of Housing Expediter, Washington, D. C., for appellee.

¶3Before HOLMES, WALLER and BOR-AH, Circuit Judges.

¶4WALLER, Circuit Judge.

¶5The local rent attorney was allowed, over the objection of counsel for the defendant, to give oral testimony as to what was the maximum allowable rental on the housing accommodations involved in this case.

¶6We think that the objection was well taken and should have been sustained. The record, which was available to the Government and which apparently was in custody of the witness, was the best evidence. See Woods v. Swank, 5 Cir., 170 F.2d 885.

¶7It will not do to say that the defendant was offered access to the records h-y the Court and that defendant could have offered same in evidence had she seen fit. The burden of making proof as to the maximum rental was on the plaintiff.

¶8Since the judgment must be reversed for the aforementioned error in the trial, it is not necessary that we pass upon the specification of error based upon the refusal of the Court below to dissolve the injunction.. Cf. Moore v. U. S., 5 Cir., 182 F.2d 332; U. S. v. Moore, 5 Cir., 182 F2d 336; Jackson v. Woods (Woods v. Jackson), 5 Cir.,182 F.2d 338.

¶9Reversed and remanded.