Bigler v. Barnes

Headnote

This was an action to recover for a quantity of timber alleged to have been sold to defendant. The answer was that the timber was purchased by defendant as agent for the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad Company, which was known to the plaintiffs at the time of the purchase, and that they gave the credit to said company. It was tried before a referee, who found in favor of plaintiffs. The General Term

reversed the judgment on the law and the facts. The principal part of the testimony was extracts from books of account, letters and other memoranda in writing.

The court here held, that while usually much weight was to he given to the findings of a referee on questions of fact, yet, that as written testimony has no different aspect in one court than another, and as it indicated clearly that plaintiffs dealt with the company and looked to it for payment, the referee’s findings of fact and the conclusion of law therefrom, that defendant was personally liable, were erroneous.