Howe v. Superior Court

THOMPSON (R. L.), J.

This is an application for a writ of

certiorari

to review the order of the trial judge directing certain witnesses to answer interrogatories which were propounded upon the taking of depositions before a notary public.

The petition alleges that an action for money had and received was pending in the Superior Court of the County of Sacramento. The complaint in that action was couched in the simple form of

assumpsit.

No specific fund was described in the complaint, or sought to be recovered. All of the defendants in that action appear as petitioners in this proceeding. Certain other witnesses, who are not parties to that action, also join as petitioners herein. Prior to the trial of that case a notice to take the depositions of these petitioners before a notary public was given. In the taking of these depositions, on the advice of counsel, each of these witnesses refused to answer questions which sought to elicit information regarding the existence and disposition of a joint bank account, assumed to be owned and held by Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Parker, and which the questions infer was transferred or disposed of by them to the defendants. These questions were objected to on the ground that they were incompetent. The relevancy of this bank account to the issues of the suit in

assumpsit

does not appear. Subsequently, upon notice of such refusal to answer the interrogatories, pursuant to section 1991 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the trial judge directed the witnesses to answer the questions. Thereupon, this petition for a writ of review was presented to this court.

[771]

It appears that the petitioners Mary Helen Parker and Jack W. Parker, her husband, were not parties to the action for money had and received, incident to which the depositions were being taken; they were strangers to that record, and are therefore not entitled to review the order of the trial court in this proceeding of

certiorari.

(Sec. 1069, Code Civ. Proc.;