Griffin v. Lower

Summary

The Mississippi Supreme Court held that a defendant was improperly permitted to testify regarding a promissory obligation involving a deceased person’s estate, because the statutory witness-competency proviso barred testimony establishing or discharging a claim exceeding fifty dollars. The court also held that the trial court erred by directing a general defense verdict if the jury found less than fifty dollars due, because the statute required additional findings concerning jurisdictional amount and intentional evasion. The judgment was reversed and the cause remanded for a venire de novo.

Holdings

1. Under the proviso to article 190, section 17 of the Mississippi Code, a party defendant may not testify in a suit brought against himself by the representative of a decedent's estate when the testimony is offered to establish his own claim or defense, such as payment, failure of consideration, or usury, in an amount exceeding fifty dollars.
2. When an action is brought in circuit court for more than fifty dollars but the evidence shows that a lesser amount is due, the plaintiff is not subject to a general nonsuit or defense verdict unless the jury also finds that the greater amount was demanded for the purpose of evading the statute requiring smaller claims to be brought before a justice of the peace.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a defendant may testify in a circuit-court action brought by the representative of a deceased person's estate to establish payment, failure of consideration, usury, or other defenses concerning a claim exceeding fifty dollars.
2. Whether the circuit court may direct a general verdict for the defendant merely because the jury finds that less than fifty dollars is due when the action was brought for fifty-four dollars, absent a finding that the larger amount was demanded to evade the jurisdictional statute.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded