Pratt v. New York Central & Hudson River Railroad

The plaintiff is the owner of a lot 216 feet front abutting on the southerly side of a street in the city of Buffalo, known as the Terrace. He is also the owner, as tenant in common of the undivided one-half of the fee of the street in front of his said lot. The defendant, in the year 1879, wrongfully entered upon said street and constructed therein in front of plaintiff’s said premises two railroad tracks and has ever since main

The plaintiff was called as a witness in his own behalf and testified to the rental values of his property with the railroad in the street. He was then asked the following questions : “ What, in your j'udgment, Mr. Pratt, would be the rental value of that property during the years from 1885 to 1891 with the railroad absent ? ” Mr. Cluck: “That I object to, on the ground that it is incompetent, improper and speculative, and not the proper method of proving damages.” The question was not then answered ; the witness went on to give a review of the changes in the location of the retail business in the city, showing that it had, during the time that defendant had maintained said tracks, moved up town and in a measure away from the plaintiff’s premises. The •question was repeated and before any objection was interposed the witness answered :■ “ Ten thousand dollars.” Counsel for the defendant, immediately thereafter, said : “ I object to that, on the ground that it is incompetent and improper, and. that the proper foundation has not been laid for the asking of that question ; that was speculative and not the proper method of proving damages.” The objection was overruled and the defendant excepted. The court, thereupon, asked the question : “ Ten thousand dollars per year?”. The witness answered: “Yes, sir.” The witness evidently answered the question propounded by the plaintiff’s counsel, before the defendant’s counsel had time to interpose his objection, and we think it must be held that the objection was timely made. It is the contention of the defendant’s counsel that the question was improper, as it called for the opinion of the witness; and that presents one of the questions for our decision. The competency of such evidence has been discussed of late by the court of appeals. McGean v. Manhattan R. R. Co., 117 N. Y. 219 ; 27 St. Rep. 337 ; was an. action brought to recover damages for damages occasioned to the easements of air and light and access to the property of the plaintiff by the erection and maintenance of an elevated railroad in a street of the city of New York. The court held that the opinions of witnesses, as to the causes which occasioned the decrease of rental values, as well as the amount of damages done therebjr, were improper; that witnesses must state facts and not draw conclusions or give opinions. The question was again before the court of appeals in Roberts v. N. Y. El. R. R. Co., 128 N. Y. 455 ; 40 St. Rep. 454 . The prevailing opinion elaborately reviews the authorities upon the question of the adrnisibility of such evidence, and it was held to be inadmissible; and the doctrine of McGean v. Man. R. R. Co., supra, was commented upon and approved as laying down the correct rule. The court of appeals has

We, therefore, come to the question, whether the grounds of the objection to the evidence are sufficiently broad and specific, so as to avail the appellant upon appeal. The grounds stated were, that it was incompetent and improper ; that the proper foundation had not been laid for asking the question ; that it was speculative and not the proper method of proving damages. The grounds of the objection in the case of McGean v. Man. R. R. Co., supra, were that the evidence was incompetent, irrelevant, hypothetical and the witness not competent to give an- opinion. The court held that they were not sufficiently specific to raise the question as to the admissibility of the evidence, and remarked : “ The objections seem to imply that opinions were competent on the subject. The trial seems to have been conducted on both sides and more particularly on that of the defendant, upon the theory that all opinions were admissible as to rental value of the premises and the causes which affected it.

In Carter v. N. Y. El. R. R. Co., 134 N. Y. 68 ; 45 St. Rep. 848 , the grounds of the objection were that it was immaterial, incompetent and hypothetical, and that the difference in value was not the measure of damages. It was held that the objection was not sufficiently specific. In Ward v. Kilpatrick, 85 N. Y. 416 , it was held that the objection that the witness was nota competent judge and the inquiry involved a conclusion of law, would not answer.

In the Roberts case, supra, an objection that the evidence was incompetent; that it was for the'court alone, and not for the witness, to determine the amount of damage, was held to be suffic’ent, as it called the attention to the vice in the question, that is, that it made the witness the judge of the damages,' while that was the province of the court or jury. In the case at bar, in addition to the grounds which were held not to be sufficient in the cases cited, there was added, “ That it was speculative and not the proper method of proving damages.” It was held in the- Roberts case that the-objection that the evidence was “speculative” was sufficient. Judge Peckham, in his opinion, says: “ it is. speculative upon the very question and upon the only question which the court or the jury is called upon to decide, and the question calls for the opinion of the witness upon the very subject; it. had, as eve have seen, been held that the word “ hypothetical ” was not sufficiently, specific. This rule was approved in Doyle v. Man. R. R. Co., 128 N. Y. 494 ; 40 St. Rep. 474 . As to the second

The defendant asked, at the close.of the case, for a dismissal of the action because it appeared that the plaintiff was not the sole owner of the fee in the street. The plaintiff was the owner of the entire fee of the abutting lot and the damages he sought to recover were to the rental value of that lot. The damages to the fee of the street were nominal. The jury were instructed by the court that the plaintiff was entitled to recover six cents only for the injury to the street proper. Plaintiff’s co-tenants in the fee of the street were not interested in the question of the damages claimed in the complaint. They, at most would have been entitled to only one-half of the six cents. If the action had been simply for injury to the fee of the street, the damages would have been nominal. City of Buffalo v. Pratt, 131 N. Y. 299 ; 43 St. Rep. 278 . Judgments will not be reversed to allow a party to retry a cause of action where only nominal damages are involved.

The judgment and order appealed from should be reversed,, and a new trial granted, with costs to abide the event.

Dwight, P. J„, Haight and Bradley, JJ., concur.