Dean v. Ross

Citations

• 105 Cal. 227
• 38 P. 912
• 1894 Cal. LEXIS 1141

Syllabus

<p>Instructions—Question of Fact.—An instruction to the jury, which assumes as undisputed a question of fact which ought to be submitted to the jury, is prejudicial error.</p> <p>Id.—Withdrawing Question of Fact from the Jury.—It is only where a fact is admitted, or there is no shadow of conflict of evidence with respect to it, that the court is justified in taking the fact from the consideration of the jury.</p> <p>Id.—Part Ownership of Vessel—Liability for Construction—Erro- . neous Charge to Jury.—In an action to recover a balance due on an account for lumber used in the construction of the vessel, in which one of the defendants is claimed to have been a part owner, at the time of the furnishing of the lumber, where the evidence of the defendant is such that a finding in favor of the contention that the defendant did not become a part owner of the vessel until after it was built, would be sustained, an instruction to the jury that there was no question of fact to be submitted to the jury as to the question of ownership, and that the defendant was liable for the lumber as part owner in the vessel, erroneously charges the jury upon a question of fact, contrary to section 19 of article VI of the constitution of this state.</p> <p>Evidence—Declarations of Codefendant.—Evidence as to the declarations of one defendant are not admissible against a codefendant, where they are not joint defendants in a sense which would make the declarations of one binding upon the other.</p>