LAW.coLAW.co

W. D. Kuhn, as Guardian, etc., Appellant, v. Peter Johnson et al., Partners, etc., et al., Appellees

Kansas Supreme Court1914-01-10No. No. 17,885
91 Kan. 188

Summary

Holding. The judgment of the district court is affirmed. The trial court properly denied a jury trial in this equitable action for rescission based on mental incapacity, and the court's findings of fact were supported by the evidence.

The plaintiff sought to rescind a transaction on the ground that Oswald E. Thieme lacked mental capacity to enter into it. The action requested equitable relief including restoration of money, cancellation of documents, and other remedies rather than simple monetary recovery. Because the case was fundamentally equitable in nature, the trial court properly denied a jury trial.

The plaintiff challenged numerous evidentiary rulings on appeal, claiming the trial court excluded relevant evidence. The court found that while some exclusions may have been debatable, they did not prejudice the outcome. The plaintiff failed to present the disputed evidence to the trial court during the motion for new trial hearing, which constituted a waiver of these objections under applicable rules. The trial court's findings of fact were internally consistent and adequately supported by the evidence when read as a whole, particularly findings relating to mental state considered alongside findings establishing the plaintiff's failure to demonstrate incapacity.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether jury trial was proper in an action to rescind based on mental incapacity
  • Whether excluded evidence warrants reversal when not presented at motion for new trial hearing
  • Whether trial court findings support conclusion regarding mental capacity to contract

Procedural posture

The plaintiff appealed from a district court judgment denying rescission of a transaction allegedly entered into by a person lacking mental capacity.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

Per Curiam:

The action was not one for the recovery of money. It was an action to rescind a transaction on the ground of mental incapacity, involving restoration on both sides, including money to the plaintiff, the cancellation of instruments, and other equitable features. Therefore a jury trial was properly denied.

It is not practicable and would be unprofitable to discuss one by one the various assignments of error, although they have all been examined.

Many of the objections to evidence which was excluded were well founded. Matters like the Texas trip, the condition of mind of Oswald E. Thieme’s mother, and his conduct on several occasions were investigated with sufficient fullness, and the evidence concerning them which was rejected would not have changed the result. The rulings relating to evidence excluded as not proper cross-examination were correct. Such evidence extended to matters and occasions not “directly connected with the facts testified to in chief.” . (Blake v. Powell, 26 Kan. 320, 326.) If, however, the testimony were regarded as important by the plaintiff, he should have made the witnesses his own, or asked later to open the case to admit the evidence as a part of his case in chief, or at least have presented the evidence to the court for consideration on the motion for a new trial. The last observation meets all the assignments of error relating to excluded evidence. It may be conceded that the court, might well have been more liberal in its rulings. Still, if the plaintiff believed that the rejected evidence ought to have been considered, and that if considered it would probably have changed the result, he should have gathered it up and presented it to the court at the hearing on the motion for a new trial when the court was finally determining whether or not the decision was wrong. (Civ. Code, § 307.) When this is not done claims of error in the exclusion of evidence at the trial are waived.

The findings of fact cover all the essential facts in the case. The findings are not inconsistent with each other. Those upon which the plaintiff relies as showing an abnormal mental condition must be considered with others, such as findings 24 to 30, inclusive, and when so considered they, do not overcome and do not conflict with the very direct, positive and explicit findings numbered 38, 39, 40 and 41. The findings show that the court considered the evidence in the light of the law governing the case, which was clearly comprehended, and its conclusions are abundantly sustained. The case is one depending entirely upon the solution of a question of fact. All the material testimony was oral. Its weight and credibility and the inferences to be drawn from it were matters for the trial court to determine. The court appears to have fairly and candidly performed its function as a trier of the facts, and no reason which the law deems sufficient appears authorizing this court to disturb the result.

The judgment of the district court is affirmed.