Austin v. Montgomery

336 So. 2d 745, 1976 WL 357203
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 10, 1976
Docket48722
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 336 So. 2d 745 (Austin v. Montgomery) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Austin v. Montgomery, 336 So. 2d 745, 1976 WL 357203 (Mich. 1976).

Opinion

336 So.2d 745 (1976)

W.E. AUSTIN et al., a partnership d/b/a Austin Farms
v.
J.M. MONTGOMERY and R.L. Maxwell, d/b/a V & M Cotton Company.

No. 48722.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

August 10, 1976.
Rehearings Denied August 31, 1976.

*746 Townsend, McWilliams & Holladay, Drew, for appellants.

Lyon, Crosthwait & Terney, Indianola, Wells, Gerald, Brand, Watters & Cox, Jackson, for appellees.

Before INZER, SMITH and LEE, JJ.

LEE, Justice, for the Court.

Appellees, J.M. Montgomery, Jr. and R.L. Maxwell, d/b/a V & M Cotton Company, filed a bill of complaint in the Chancery Court of Sunflower County seeking temporary and permanent injunctions against appellants, W.E. Austin, Gary Lynn Austin, Janet Sue Austin, and Deborah J. Austin, d/b/a Austin Farms, to prohibit them from disposing of their 1973 cotton crop on certain lands and seeking specific performance of a contract involving same. From a decree making permanent the temporary injunction previously issued and ordering specific performance of the contract, appellants appeal here.

The bill of complaint charged that (1) on February 26, 1973, the parties executed a written contract for the sale by appellants of their 1973 cotton crop to appellees on Farms B-251, B-33, B-163, B-220, B-230 and the Adams place, as shown by the ASCS records on file in Indianola, Mississippi, which lands approximated twenty-five hundred (2,500) acres, for a top price of thirty cents (30¢) per pound; (2) appellants advised appellees in June, 1973, there would be an overplant of three hundred twenty-three (323) acres which appellees considered to be covered by the contract, and that appellees bought the overplant of 323 acres in June, 1973, for forty-four cents (44¢) per pound; (3) on July 28, 1973, appellants notified appellees that they refused to deliver the 1973 crop and considered there to be no contract because their February 26, 1973, offer of sale was not accepted; (4) appellees had previously sold the Austin cotton to Carolina Textile Mills, it was impossible to obtain cotton elsewhere, and appellees would be required to default on their contract to Carolina Textile Mills; (5) the price of cotton had increased to seventy cents (70¢) or more per pound and as a result of the refusal to deliver the cotton, appellees would suffer irreparable damage.

Appellants answered that (1) negotiations were entered into for the sale and purchase of the cotton, (2) appellees prepared the written contract which appellants took to their attorneys for inspection, and on which they made certain changes; (3) appellant, W.E. Austin, executed the instrument for all appellants and left it with appellees; (4) the contract was never executed and accepted by appellees, and appellants withdrew the offer of sale on July 28, 1973; (5) no oral or written contract was made for the sale of the 323-acre overplant; (6) four hundred twenty (420) acres of cotton on Farm B-251 were sold by appellants to Dunavant Enterprises, Inc., Memphis, Tennessee; and (7) appellants offered to sell the cotton to complainants at the prevailing market price when the cotton was delivered to the compress.

I.

Appellants contend the trial court erred in holding that any contract to purchase and sell was made since appellees failed to overcome the required burden of proof.

*747 The evidence for appellees showed that prior to February 23, 1973, appellees and appellant, W.E. Austin, acting for the partnership, negotiated a contract for the sale and purchase of all cotton on Farms B-251, B-33, B-163, B-220, B-230 and Adams place, being approximately 2,500 acres of land, for the top price of thirty cents per pound. On February 23, 1973, the contract was reduced to writing, Austin picked up the contract for the purpose of carrying it to his lawyer for examination, and after some suggested changes, the contract was returned to appellees on February 26, 1973. Austin signed the contract and took an executed copy with him.[1] On June 11, Austin carried maps and certifications from the ASCS office on file in Indianola to appellees' office and discussed the acreage, telling appellee Maxwell that he had planted three thousand two hundred and forty-three (3,243) acres, that four hundred twenty (420) acres of the Bradshaw land (acquired after February 26, 1973, and combined with Farm B-251) was included therein, and that there was an overplant of 323 acres. Detailed notes and figures of the conversation were made. Subsequently, Austin returned to appellees' office and asked for a copy of the contract, saying that he had lost his copy. On July 12, Austin contacted appellees and told them he was going to sell the overplant to another buyer, unless appellees paid him 44¢ per pound for the cotton by eight o'clock the next morning. There had been some discussion about a higher price for the overplant, and appellees agreed to pay 44¢ per pound for the overplant.

Austin admitted he signed the contract on February 26, 1973, and left it in appellees' office, but he denied he took a copy with him. He admitted he went to appellees' office on June 11 with his maps and ASCS certifications and again on June 17, when he asked for a copy of the contract, but denied he said he had lost his copy. He also denied there was any conversation or negotiations for the purchase and sale of the 323-acre overplant. There was a sharp issue as to whether or not the document was signed by appellees prior to July 28, 1973, the date appellants notified appellees they would not deliver the cotton for the reason that their offer of sale had not been accepted.

The contract in question is a sales transaction involving the forward contracting of cotton, whereby a farmer sells cotton to be produced by him either before it is harvested or before it is planted. Such contracts have become common in Mississippi and other cotton producing states.

Mississippi Code Annotated § 75-2-201 (1972) (UCC), provides as follows:

"(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a contract for the sale of goods for the price of five hundred dollars ($500.00) or more is not enforceable by way of action or defense unless there is some writing sufficient to indicate that a contract for sale has been made between the parties and signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought or by his authorized agent or broker. A writing is not insufficient because it omits or incorrectly states a term agreed upon but the contract is not enforceable under this paragraph beyond the quantity of goods shown in such writing." (Emphasis added)

Mississippi Code Annotated § 75-2-204 (1972) (UCC), provides further:

"(1) A contract for sale of goods may be made in any manner sufficient to show agreement, including conduct by both parties which recognizes the existence of such a contract.
(2) An agreement sufficient to constitute a contract for sale may be found even though the moment of its making is undetermined.
*748 (3) Even though one or more terms are left open a contract for sale does not fail for indefiniteness if the parties have intended to make a contract and there is a reasonably certain basis for giving an appropriate remedy."

The Supreme Court of Georgia had the identical question before it in the case of Harris v. Hine, 232 Ga. 183, 205 S.E.2d 847 (1974).

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Related

Ivey's Plumbing & Electric Co. v. Petrochem Maintenance, Inc.
463 F. Supp. 543 (N.D. Mississippi, 1978)
Perdue Farms, Inc. v. Motts, Inc. of Mississippi
459 F. Supp. 7 (N.D. Mississippi, 1978)

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Bluebook (online)
336 So. 2d 745, 1976 WL 357203, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/austin-v-montgomery-miss-1976.