Citation Numbers: 69 Fla. 27, 67 So. 572
Judges: Cockrell, Ellis, Shackleford, Taylor, Whitfield
Filed Date: 1/19/1915
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 10/19/2024
The Tampa Electric Company, a Corporation, brings here for review a judgment recovered against it by Lavinia Charles as damages for personal injuries, alleged to have been caused by the negligence of the defendant corporation.
Eleven errors are assigned, but only the last four are urged before us, the plaintiff in error stating in.its brief that it relies upon these assignments for reversal of the
And thereupon counsel for the defendant then and there objected to the foregoing questions and the answers thereto with reference to the rent paid for the house, and also to the questions and answers in reference to the amount paid by the plaintiff for taking care of the house, and moved the court, then and there, to strike the said testimony from the record, and from the consideration of the jury on the following grounds, to-wit: First, Because there is no allegation in the declaration of the plaintiff upon which to base such testimony, and the same is therefore immaterial, irrelevant and incompetent testimony in the case.
But the said Judge did then and there overrule the said objection of the defendant and did then and there deny the said motion and refused to strike the said testimony from the record and the consideration of the jury.
. And to which ruling and judgment of the Court the defendant by counsel did then and there except.
Q. You say you pay twenty dollars a month for your house now? . A. Yes, sir. Q. And you pay to have your house attended to, three dollars and a half per week ? A. Yes, sir. Q. That is fourteen dollars a month, is it? A. Yes, sir. Q. What other expenses have you ? A. Laundry bill.
And the said plaintiff further to maintain the issues herein joined on behalf of the plaintiff then and there propounded to the said witness the following question, to-wit: Q. Laundry bill for that house?
But to the said question so propounded to the said witness and to the answer as given there counsel for the defendant did then and there object on the following ground, to-wit: First, Because the said question calls for and the said answer is immaterial, irrelevant and incompetent testimony.
And the said judge did then and there sustain the said objection and struck the said question and answer from the record and the consideration of the jury, and to which ruling and judgment of the court the said plaintiff did then and there object and except. Q. Lavinia, are you able to do any work in your house now? A.. No, sir. Q. Were you prior to this accident? A. Sir. Q. Were you able to do any work prior to this accident? A. No, sir. Q. Before the accident were you able to do your work? A. Yes, sir; before the accident I done all my work then.”
Upon the admission of this testimony the four assignments insisted upon are predicated. We are of the opinion that they have not been sustained. In Hoodless v. Jernigan, 16 Fla., 213, 35 South. Rep. 656, we held as follows: A party who objects to evidence or the competency of witnesses should state specifically the grounds of his objections, in order to apprise the court and his adversary of the precise objection he intends to make. General objections to evidence proposed, without stating the precise ground of objections, are vague and nugatory, and are without weight before an appellate court, unless tke evidence objected to is palpably prejudicial, improper and inadmissible for any purpose or under any circumstances, when the general objection thereto is sufficient.
In actions at law the party objecting to the introduction of evidence must not only state specifically the grounds of his objections thereto, seasonably except to the ruling of the court thereon, and base his assignment of error upon the objections as made in the court below and upon the ruling thereon, but must argue the assignment as made, in this court.
We have followed this holding in a number of subsequent cases. See Brown v. Bowie, 58 Fla. 199, 50 South. Rep. 637, wherein we held as follows: Where the only grounds of objection interposed to proffered evidence were that the “same was immaterial, irrelevant and not pertinent to any issue made in the pleading,” such grounds of objection are properly overruled, unless the evidence so objected to is palpably prejudicial, improper 'and inadmissible for any purpose.
In view of what the defendant elicited from the witness on the cross-examination, we cannot declare that the testimony brought out on the re-direct examination of the witness was “immaterial, irrelevant and incompetent testimony,” therefore no error has been made to appear in the rulings of the trial court upon which these assignments are based. Conceding the correctness of the contention that the allegations in the declaration would not warrant the recovery of money paid out by the plaintiff for house rent or for a servant as elements of damage, that of itself would not sustain these assignments.