Barner v. Rule

Citations

• 116 Miss. 600
• 77 So. 521

Syllabus

<p>1. Executors and Administrators. Disputed claims. Review. Questions of fact.</p> <p>Where on the trial of a contest by the administrator of a claim against the estate of his decedent, the books of the claimant were introduced and their correctness duly attested by the bookkeeper, who in addition testified positively as to paying out all the items of cash charged on the account against the decedent either to the decedent himself or at his request, to his employees, in such case the credibility and weight of this testimony was a matter for the determination of the auditor and the chancellor, who gave full hearing to the auditor’s report.</p> <p>2. Evidence. Booh of account. Cash items.</p> <p>Where there was a custom between a merchant doing a large business and employing clerks and a bookkeeper and keeping the usual elaborate set of books and B. who had a number of hands or employees working for him, whereby the merchant advanced supplies and items of cash from time to time to B and his employees and charged the cash items to B’s account in the same way that the goods were charged,- and his bookkeeper would . make out a statement of the account monthly and submit it to B. for his information and approval, and the integrity of the books and correctness of the itemized account was vouched for by the bookkeeper and his assistant, and there was nothing to indicate any irregularity in the method of keeping the books or any suspicion of improper dealing appearing on their face. In such case the books were admissible on the trial of a claim against the estate of B.' to prove the items of cash charged on the account as well as the items of goods, especially where the bookkeeper had personal knowledge of many of the items and was quite positive about the correctness of all the cash items.</p>