Air Engineers, Inc. v. Reese

217 So. 2d 66, 283 Ala. 355, 1968 Ala. LEXIS 1045
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedOctober 3, 1968
Docket3 Div. 66
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 217 So. 2d 66 (Air Engineers, Inc. v. Reese) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Air Engineers, Inc. v. Reese, 217 So. 2d 66, 283 Ala. 355, 1968 Ala. LEXIS 1045 (Ala. 1968).

Opinions

LIVINGSTON, Chief Justice.

Warren S. Reese, Jr., Appellee, brought suit against five defendants for breach of a written contract, dated August 22, 1957, for the purchase and installation of heating and air conditioning equipment in his building at 132 South Perry Street, in Montgomery, Alabama.

The five defendants are D. R. Totten, individually, and d/b/a Modern Electric Company; Mrs. Mary E. Totten, individually, and d/b/a Modern Electric Company; General Electric Company, a Corporation; Lewis J. Mason, Jr.; and Air Engineers, Inc., a Corporation.

The written contract entered into on August 22, 1957 was attached to and made a part of the complaint and all amended complaints as “Exhibit A.” The gravamen of the plaintiff’s claim is for damages caused by breach of contract to supply and install suitable heating and air conditioning equipment in plaintiff’s building.

Defendant Totten filed a plea denying doing business as Modem Electric Company, and his wife, defendant, Mrs. Totten, filed a plea affirming d/b/a Modem Electric Company. The defendants filed demurrers which were sustained and plaintiff amended his complaint.

On October 9, 1962, plaintiff struck General Electric Company as a party defendant and filed another complaint on October 10, 1962, to which the remaining four defendants assigned additional grounds of demurrer. The respective demurrers to plaintiff’s last amended complaint, and each count thereof, were overruled. A motion to strike portions of plaintiff’s last-amended complaint filed by Air Engineers, Inc., a Corporation, and defendant Mason, was overruled.

[357]*357The case was tried October 10, 1962 upon the five counts of plaintiff’s last-amended complaint, and on the pleas on behalf of the respective defendants of the general issue in short by consent in the usual and accepted form.

At the conclusion of plaintiff’s case, the defendants rested and severally requested the general affirmative charge. The court granted defendant Mason the general affirmative charge to the entire complaint, and granted the remaining three defendants the general affirmative charge as to Counts 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the complaint.

The case was submitted to the jury on Count 3 of the plaintiff’s last-amended complaint. Count 3 claimed damages for the breach of a joint contract between the defendants.

Plaintiff claims to have entered into a contract with defendants Totten and Mrs. Totten on August 22, 1957, which was subsequently allegedly assumed by defendants Mason and Air Engineers, Inc., a Corporation, with the original contractors Totten and Mrs. Totten.

On October 11, 1962, judgment was entered in favor of the defendant Mason, pursuant to the court’s directions, and in favor of the plaintiff and against defendants Totten and Mrs. Totten and appellant, Air Engineers, Inc., pursuant to the jury verdict rendered against those defendants.

On November 10, 1962, Air Engineers filed a motion for a new trial. The motion was continued by the court but never ruled upon. Therefore, this appeal is from a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against Air Engineers, Inc.

On this appeal, we are concerned only with Count 3 of plaintiff’s last amended complaint.

Plaintiff did not appeal the judgment in favor of defendant Mason, nor did the defendants, Mr. and Mrs. Totten, appeal the judgments against them. Air Engineers, Inc., is the only appellant here, and, inasmuch as it offered no evidence, its chief concern is whether or not Count 3 as last amended states a cause of action against it. Appellant also questions the refusal of certain written charges for defendant.

Appellant urges on this appeal that the aforementioned judgment rendered by the trial court against it was erroneous and should be reversed on these basic grounds:

“(1) Count 3, on which judgment was rendered, is incapable of comprehension for a defense and appellant’s demurrer thereto was erroneously overruled;
“(2) It was entitled to have granted it the requested general affirmative charge on the grounds of (a) plaintiff’s failure of proof, (b) the fatal variance between plaintiff’s pleadings and proof;
“(3) The prejudicial admission into evidence by the trial court of the depositions of two codefendants, who were both personally present in court, subject to being called as witnesses by plaintiff, as evidence against appellant over its objections.”

We think that the evidence conclusively shows that Warren Reese entered into a contract with the Tottens, d/b/a Modern Electric Company, for the installation of certain specified air conditioning and heating equipment for his building at 132 South Perry Street, Montgomery. The contract price was $4,517.00, which amount Reese paid the Tottens, less $300.00.

We are also clear to the conclusion that the equipment later installed in the building was not at all satisfactory and did not meet the specifications called for by the contract between Reese and the Tottens. We are also clear to the conclusion that there is sufficient evidence to support the jury finding that Air Engineers, Inc., distributor of the General Electric Company for the State of Alabama, did assume, along with the Tottens, the obligations of the Tottens under the [358]*358contract between them and Reese (for reasons sufficient to Air Engineers) and did undertake to satisfy the requirements of the contract on several occasions, i. e., (1) placing a fan in the duct work, (2) reworking the plenum chambers, (3) enlarging and reinstalling the duct work, (4) providing, by construction, more space for the equipment, (5) and adding fans to the blowers. The evidence conclusively established that none of said undertakings proved to be sufficient to remedy the existing defective operative condition of the equipment and its installation. In short, Mr. Reese bargained for, paid for, and for almost two years forbore suit for an adequately air conditioned and heated office building which he has not yet received. From a jury verdict, in the amount of $5,000.00, against the three defendants, Air Engineers alone brings this appeal.

Assignment of error 1 asserts, in substance, that the trial court erred in not construing the complaint most strongly against the pleader when tested by the defendant’s (appellant’s) demurrer which contained 69 grounds.

Assignment of error 2 asserts, in substance, that the trial court erred in overruling defendant’s demurrer to Count 3 of plaintiff’s last-amended complaint. The appellant incorporates his argument for assignment 2 in his argument for assignment 1. Because of the similarity in the substance of these assignments, we shall treat them here together. For the sake of continuity, we shall first consider the several grounds of demurrer argued, considering as waived those grounds not argued, Hayes v. Bets, 227 Ala. 630, 151 So. 692(8), 95 A.L.R. 1484.

Grounds 10 and 52 take the point that Count 3 is too vague, indefinite and uncertain to apprize appellant of the claim against which it must defend, while grounds 1 and 65 charge that no cause of action is stated against defendant. All of these grounds are general and without merit. United Insurance Co. of America v. Pounders, 279 Ala. 410, 186 So.2d 125(2), citing Bright v. Wynn, 210 Ala. 194, 97 So. 689(2); Section 236, Title 7, Code 1940; 16 Ala. Digest, Pleading, '®=3201.

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Air Engineers, Inc. v. Reese
217 So. 2d 66 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1968)

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Bluebook (online)
217 So. 2d 66, 283 Ala. 355, 1968 Ala. LEXIS 1045, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/air-engineers-inc-v-reese-ala-1968.