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74 Cal. 459

Schroeder v. Schmidt

California Supreme Court

Decided December 30, 1887

California Supreme Court · decided 1887-12-30

<p>Practice—Nonsuit — Appeal — Exception to Order — Specification of Error. — Error in granting a nonsuit is an error of law, and cannot be reviewed on an appeal from an order refusing a new trial, unless it was excepted to on the trial, and specified as error in the statement or bill of exceptions.</p> <p>Evidence—Parol cannot Contradict Writing—Bill of Sale.—Parol evidence as to what was intended by a bill of sale, or what was included in it, is not admissible to contradict or add to the writing.</p> <p>Id. — Offer of Proof must be Specific.—An offer of proof which is not directed to some specific material fact should be denied on account of its vagueness.</p>

Cited by 12 later decisions — most recently April 1908

12 state decisions

Relies on Cravens v. Dewey · Donahue v. Gallavan · Smith v. East Branch Mining Co.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1887-12-30

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Hayne, C.

¶1The plaintiff was nonsuited at the trial. He took no exception to the ruling, and the statement does not specify it as error.

¶2An error in granting a nonsuit is an error in law, and should be excepted to and specified as such. (Donahue v. Gallavan, 43 Cal. 576; Cravens v. Dewey, 13 Cal. 42.) It cannot be reviewed on the ground that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the decision. This is a ground for the review of questions of fact, not of law.

¶3There was no error in the ruling on the plaintiff’s offer to prove what was intended by the bill of sale, or what was included in it. Such evidence was not admissible to contradict or add to the writing. And if it be said that the object was to show the situation of the property so as to explain the writing, the answer is, that the offer was too vague, and the ruling was proper on that ground alone. (Smith v. East Branch Co., 54 Cal. 164.)

¶4We therefore advise that the order denying a new trial be affirmed.

¶5Belcher, C. C., and Foote, C., concurred.

¶6*461The Court.— For the reasons given in the foregoing > opinion, the order denying a new trial is affirmed.

McFarland, J., concurring.

¶7I concur in the judgment because no error appears which would warrant us in disturbing the judgment of the court below. But I am not prepared to say that on an appeal from an order denying a new trial, a final judgment, though following . an order granting a nonsuit, may not be reviewed on a bill of exceptions containing the evidence and the rulings at the trial, even if there was no formal exception to the order granting the nonsuit.

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