Dicken v. Winters

Citations

• 169 Pa. 126
• 32 A. 289
• 1895 Pa. LEXIS 1080

Syllabus

<p>Replevin — Contract—Evidence— Competency of witness.</p> <p>On the 17th of November, 1892, R. confessed judgment to his wife, upon which execution was issued and the personal property of R. seized and sold by the sheriff. Among the propierty thus sold was a pair of bay horses, wagon and harness. Plaintiff, who was attorney for Mrs. R. in the writ, attended the sale, bid in the property for his client and paid the sheriff for the same, sometime subsequently taking from Mrs. R. as security for his advances, a bill of sale of all the property purchased for her. There was evidence tending to show that M., an employee of R., had been driving this team for some years before the sale, and desired to become the owner ; that Mrs. R. favored this disposition of it; that M. attended the sheriff sale, and bid the price at which it was knocked down, but, by an arrangement with Mrs. R., it was returned as sold to her; that before the date of the bill of sale to plaintiff she agreed with M. that he should take the team at his bid, and pay for it as fast as he could out of the hauling he expected to do; that in pursuance of this agreement, M. took possession and thereafter paid a considerable part of the price in hauling for plaintiff, as agent for Mrs. R., and continued in possession of the team for seven months afterwards, when he suddenly died. At the time of his death*, and for about three months before, he had kept the horses in the stable of defendants, for whom at times he did hauling. After M.’s death, plaintiff made demand on defendants for the horses, which was refused, and thereupon he issued a writ of replevin. Held, (1) that plaintiff was incompetent to testify to a parol agreement between him and M.; (2) that evidence on the part of defendants that Mrs. R. or her agent exercised acts of ownership over the other personal property was admissible to show that no real transfer to plaintiff had been made; (8) that the incompetency of the widow of M. must be determined b