Balch v. Newberry

1953 OK 23, 253 P.2d 153, 208 Okla. 46, 35 A.L.R. 2d 1267, 1953 Okla. LEXIS 707
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 3, 1953
Docket34228
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 1953 OK 23 (Balch v. Newberry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Balch v. Newberry, 1953 OK 23, 253 P.2d 153, 208 Okla. 46, 35 A.L.R. 2d 1267, 1953 Okla. LEXIS 707 (Okla. 1953).

Opinion

JOHNSON, V.C.J.

This is an appeal from a judgment entered in the court of common pleas of Tulsa county. Plaintiff in error, Balch, designated the action for rescission. Defendant in error, Newberry, designated the action as one to recover damages for breach of warranty.

The action was commenced by defendant in error, Brainard Newberry, herein referred to as plaintiff. In his petition as filed plaintiff alleged, in substance, that for several years prior to March 24, 1947, defendant was engaged in the business of breeding and selling thoroughbred pointer bird dogs at Tulsa, Oklahoma, and that plaintiff had for many years been engaged in the business of operating kennels at Arkansas City, Kansas, which facts are well known to both parties; that on or about March 27, 1947, defendant, in consideration of the payment of $800 cash, sold and delivered to plaintiff one certain pointer dog known as “Joker” or “Tornado”, whose name was later changed to “Titano”; that plaintiff informed defendant that he desired the aforesaid male dog for breeding purposes, and that he contemplated the use thereof in his aforesaid business and that defendant sold said dog to plaintiff to be used by plaintiff for breeding purposes only; that defendant stated to plaintiff the pedigree of said dog and represented that said dog was in good physical condition, without blemish, and would produce pups of unmatehable strain and quality if mated with bitches of good strain and pedigree.

Plaintiff further alleged that he relied upon the aforesaid representations made by defendant, and believed the same to be true, and that he paid the aforesaid consideration by reason thereof and took said dog to his kennels at Arkansas City, Kansas.

Plaintiff further alleged that he relied upon the implied warranty in said sale that- said dog was fit for plaintiff’s intended uses and purposes and that from about March 30, 1947, to about August 29, 1949, plaintiff caused said dog to be mated with some six bitches of good strain and pedigree, all owned by plaintiff; that further relying upon said representation plaintiff expended $307 in advertising said dog for breeding purposes in the American Field magazine, a magazine of national circulation among owners and breeders of pointer dogs; that as a result of said advertisement the breeding of bitches was accepted by some eleven named persons at a fee of $100 each.

Plaintiff further alleged that after the lapse of a reasonable time after the breeding of said bitches, it developed that none of said bitches became pregnant as a result of mating same with said dog “Joker” or “Titano,” and that said male dog was sterile and wholly unable to produce pups; that thereupon plaintiff notified defendant that said dog was sterile and unable to beget pups, and offered and tendered the return of said dog to defendant and demanded the return of the consideration paid by plaintiff to defendant for said dog, and that said defendant refused to accept said dog and refused to return the consideration paid by plaintiff for the purchase of said dog.

Plaintiff further alleged:

“That said dog was unfit as a sire for breeding purposes, and unfit for the purpose and use intended by the plaintiff in the purchase of said dog, all of which said facts were well known to the defendant, or in the exercise of due diligence, the defendant should have known of such facts. That said dog prior to the foresaid sale by the defendant to plaintiff had suffered a severe illness, accompanied by a high fever and other complications well known to the defendant but unknown to the plaintiff, which rendered said dog unfit for breeding purposes; but, notwithstanding said knowledge, the defendant sold said dog to the plaintiff as a sire or stud dog for breeding purposes only.”

Plaintiff renewed the tender of said dog to defendant in his petition and *48 demanded the return of the purchase price, and further alleged that plaintiff kept said dog for a period of about fourteen months after March 27, 1947, and the reasonable cost of $15 per month or a total of $210 (this was later raised to a period of seventeen months); that plaintiff had expended the sum of $307 in advertising said dog as above stated; that he had expended the sum of $22 for veterinary services and had lost the $100 fee on each of the eleven bitches bred or contracted to be bred to said dog by other persons, and had lost a like sum for each of the six bitches owned by plaintiff, which were bred to said dog. In all plaintiff claimed $2,839.50 damages, including the $800 purchase price. The total amount claimed was later raised to $3,129.50.

The first pleading filed by defendant was a “motion to elect” as follows:

“Comes now the defendant and moves the court to require plaintiff to elect whether he seeks to rescind or affirm the sale.”

The motion to elect came on for consideration by the court on August 23, 1948, and the record shows:

“Motion to Elect sustained and plaintiff announces that he elects to rescind the contract sale. Defendant given 10 to plead or 15 to answer.”

Thereafter, on September 1, 1948, defendant filed a motion to strike from the petition all allegations, and the prayer with reference to damages other than for the return of the consideration of $800. .

On October 2, 1948, the motion to strike was presented to the court and was taken under advisement until October 5, 1948. On October 5, 1948, the motion to strike was overruled by the court. Exception was allowed and defendant was given five days to plead or ten days to answer. On October 7, 1948, time for defendant to plead or answer was extended to ten and twenty days. October 25, 1948, defendant filed his answer denying generally all the allegations contained in the petition excepting only that a pointer dog known as “Joker” was purchased by plaintiff from defendant and. in the latter part of March, 1947, for the sum of $800, which is specifically admitted.

The answer further specifically denies that defendant is engaged in the business of breeding and selling pointer dogs and states that, on the contrary, field trial dogs have been his hobby for years. The answer specifically denies that any fraud was perpetrated upon the plaintiff in connection with the sale of said dog, or that any misrepresentation of fact was made, and denies that the dog was sterile at the time of the sale, and finally alleges:

“And for further answer defendant states that the said dog ‘Joker’ at the time of the sale, was being trained solely as a field trial dog, had considerable value as such and had never been bred, which fact was well known to plaintiff. That as a result of lack of training for a considerable period of time said dog now has little or no value for field trial purposes.”

October 28, 1948, plaintiff filed his reply consisting of a general denial of every. material allegation in the answer except as such are admitted or qualified in his petition.

The cause was, by agreement, tried to the court without a jury.

The trial court made findings of fact substantially in accord with the allegations of plaintiffs petition, including the various elements of alleged damages other than the $800 purchase price.

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Bluebook (online)
1953 OK 23, 253 P.2d 153, 208 Okla. 46, 35 A.L.R. 2d 1267, 1953 Okla. LEXIS 707, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/balch-v-newberry-okla-1953.