Volume 295 — Minnesota Reports

<bold>Taxation — sales and use tax — exemption — sales of property</bold> <bold>with out-of-state destination — meaning of ultimate</bold> <bold>destination</bold>. <block_quote> Where sale property was removed from Minnesota by the purchaser immediately after delivery and was not thereafter returned to a point within Minnesota except in the course of interstate commerce, the "ultimate destination" of the property was outside Minnesota. As used in Minn. St. <cross_reference>297A.25</cross_reference>, subd. 1(d), "ultimate destination" is the point at which the first beneficial use is made of the sale property.</block_quote>

<bold>Courts — shareholders' derivative suit against Minnesota</bold> <bold>corporation — jurisdiction over non-resident directors</bold>. <block_quote> In a shareholders' derivative suit, a Minnesota district court has personal jurisdiction over the nonresident directors of a Minnesota corporation where there are sufficient minimum contacts and no other state would provide a more convenient forum.</block_quote>

<bold>Attorney and client — action to recover fees — sufficiency of</bold> <bold>evidence — amount</bold>. <block_quote> In an action involving the propriety of an attorney fee arrangement, the rulings of the trial court and the verdict of the jury will not be overturned where the record discloses ample evidence to support such rulings and verdict. The amount of the fee is only one factor to be considered in addition to the other factors found in the record herein. Where we find no abuse of discretion on the part of the trial court, and the jury's verdict is based on substantial evidence to sustain it, the result is affirmed.</block_quote>

<bold>Negligence — proximate cause — failure of proof — lack of</bold> <bold>direct evidence preferring any of probable causes</bold>. <block_quote> In a counterclaim for negligence, where the evidence in the record and the specific evidence on causation are in the nature of an expert's opinion that there are several possible causes for the damage claimed and that of the three most probable, one is more probable than the others, if there is no direct evidence preferring<page_number>Page 241</page_number> any one over the other, the jury cannot be allowed to speculate as to whether actionable negligence exists and whether there is causal connection by engaging in speculation and conjecture. In such a situation the action of the trial court in dismissing defendants' counterclaim and ordering judgment for plaintiff will be affirmed.</block_quote>

<bold>Public employee — discharge — sufficiency of evidence —</bold> <bold>propriety of procedure</bold>. <block_quote> Substantial evidence was adduced before the Civil Service Board to sustain appellant's dismissal from employment, and appellant was not deprived of procedural due process.</block_quote>

<bold>Evidence — admissibility — death certificate — purpose</bold>. <block_quote> 1. A death certificate may be introduced to show the cause of death but not to indicate the manner in which death occurs.</block_quote><page_number>Page 307</page_number> <bold>Same — same — opinion of medical expert on manner of death</bold>. <block_quote> 2. A medical expert who prepared the death certificate may not testify as to the manner of death unless foundation has been laid to show that his opinion is based on the application of special skill, learning, or experience. If based on facts or assumptions equally available to the jury and understandable by them, the opinion of the expert should not be admitted.</block_quote> <bold>Same — same — sheriff's opinion on manner of death</bold>. <block_quote> 3. The opinion of a sheriff as to manner of death should not be admitted unless proper foundation can be established.</block_quote> <bold>Same — presumption — cause of death</bold>. <block_quote> 4. In Minnesota there is a presumption of accidental death as against suicide. Where the evidence permits different conclusions, the determination of the jury should stand.</block_quote> <bold>Appeal and error — review of verdict</bold>. <block_quote> 5. The evidence in this case sustains a finding by the jury that the death was accidental.</block_quote>

<bold>Trial — instructions — instructions on party's theory of case</bold> <bold>— necessity of evidence supporting theory</bold>. <block_quote> A party is entitled to reasonable instructions consistent with his theory of the case, but there must be evidence to support the theory before he is entitled to the instruction. <italic>Held</italic>, the trial court did not err in refusing plaintiff's requested instruction.</block_quote>

<bold>Criminal law — robbery conviction — contention without merit</bold> <bold>— consistency of verdicts</bold>.

<bold>Highway traffic regulation — speeding conviction — issues</bold> <bold>without merit</bold>.

<bold>Landlord and tenant — action against guarantor for rent —</bold> <bold>acts not constituting reentry in derogation of lease</bold>.

<bold>Criminal law — murder conviction — sufficiency of evidence to</bold> <bold>prove second-degree murder</bold>.

<bold>Trespass — reassessment of damages on remand from appeal —</bold> <bold>propriety</bold>.

<bold>Habeas corpus — proceeding challenging finding of probable</bold> <bold>cause — quashing of writ — propriety</bold>.

<bold>Criminal law — robbery conviction — review of claimed</bold> <bold>errors</bold>.

<bold>Workmen's compensation — heart attack — causal relationship</bold> <bold>with employment — conflict in expert testimony</bold>.

<bold>Criminal law — search and seizure — probable cause —</bold> <bold>authorization of nighttime search — propriety</bold>.