Breeze v. Doyle

Citations

• 19 Cal. 101

Syllabus

<p>Where the Court sits as a jury in the trial of a cause, it must, in all cases, find the facts specially; and the test of the sufficiency of the findings is this— “ Would they answer if presented by a jury in the form of a special verdict 1”</p> <p>A special verdict must, under section one hundred and seventy-four of the Practice Act, find the facts expressly and specially, and not generally or impliedly.</p> <p>Where the complaint, after stating that defendants were engaged as copartners in the transportation of the United States Mail between the town of San Diego, in the State of California, and the town of San Antonio, in the State of Texas, and were proprietors of the mail line, alleges in the first count an indebtedness to the plaintiff for “ money lent by plaintiff to defendants; for money paid, laid out and expended by plaintiff, to and for the use of defendants, and to and for the use of their said mail line, and for work and labor done and performed by plaintiff for defendants, and for work and labor done and performed by plaintiff for and on account of their said mail lineand in the second count alleges an indebtedness upon an account stated; and the findings were : 1st, that the material allegations in plaintiff’s complaint and replication are true; 2d, that the material allegations in defendants’ answer are not true: Held, that the findings are insufficient, because not referring distinctly to those allegations deemed material, and hence requiring a preliminary examination to determine what allegations are material, instead of leaving nothing for the Court except to draw from the facts as found, “ conclusions of law.”</p> <p>McEwen v. Johnson (7 Cal. 258) distinguished from this case, in this, that there the finding embraced all the allegations of the complaint and answer, and was not restricted to such as were material.</p> <p>The findings of the Court may refer to the pleadings. As for instance, it would be sufficient to find that the promissory note