McGehee v. Shafer
Texas Supreme Court
Appeal from Caldwell. The appellee sued the appellant for a trespass committed by the latter upon the person of the former by the infliction of stripes.
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Appeal from Caldwell. The appellee sued the appellant for a trespass committed by the latter upon the person of the former by the infliction of stripes. The defendant justifies the trespass, pleading- specially in bar of tiie action, in substance, that- the plaintiff on the night previous to tiie whipping, which lie admitted, had endeavored to entice away his negro, and had made an appointment to come and take him away two months thereafter, and that the whipping was necessary to prevent the contemplated injury- He also pleaded '• not guilty.” The plaintiff excepted to the special plea. The…
1Opinion of the CourtWheeler, J.
It is clear that the matters specially pleaded by the defendant did not constitute in law a justification of the trespass committed by him or a good plea in bar of the action. Those matters could only avail the defendant in extenuation of the trespass and in mitigation of damages. Matters which go merely in aggravation or in extenuation, and whose effect is hut to enhance or diminish the damages, need not he pleaded. They are necessarily incidental to or intimately connected with and inseparable from the facts which constitute the cause of action or ground of defense, which they merely serve…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Coffin v. CoffinMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1808
3Cited by10 opinions
- Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. WadeCourt of Appeals of Texas · 1946
- Wilson v. HallWyoming Supreme Court · 1926
- Ætna Life Ins. Co. v. LoveCourt of Appeals of Texas · 1941
- Houston & Texas Central Railway Co. v. BatchlerCourt of Appeals of Texas · 1904
- Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. GodairCourt of Appeals of Texas · 1893
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