Borrekins v. Bevan & Porter

3 Rawle 23, 1831 Pa. LEXIS 124
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 10, 1831
StatusPublished
Cited by79 cases

This text of 3 Rawle 23 (Borrekins v. Bevan & Porter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Borrekins v. Bevan & Porter, 3 Rawle 23, 1831 Pa. LEXIS 124 (Pa. 1831).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Rogers, J.

After the testimony, which is particularly set forth, in the bill of exceptions, was closed, the court charged, the Jury, that the plaintiff could not recover, unless an express warranty, or fraud was proved: That a description in a bill of parcels of the article sold, as blue paint, does not amount to a warranty, that it is so ; and that in order to support his action, it is incumbent on the plaintiff to shew, that before bringing suit, he tendered or redelivered the article to the defendants. If the court were correct in any one of these propositions, there was an end of the plaintiff’s case. The counsel for the plaintiff in error, and plaintiff below, have filed exceptions, which embrace the whole charge.

- It is conceded, that with regard to the goodness of wares purchased, the vendor is not bound to answer, unless he expressly warrants them to be sound and good, or unless he knew them to be otherwise, and hath .used any art to disguise them, or unless they turn out to be different from what he represented to the buyer. 2 Bl. Com. 451. The rule is as respects the quality of the article, caveat emptor.

‘ According to the modern cases, warranties are divided into two kinds; express warranties, where there is a direct stipulation, or something equivalent to it, and implied warranties, which are conclusions and inferences of law, from facts, which are admitted, or proved before the Jury. If the learned judge intended to say, that there can be no warranty, without an express agreement, or stipulation, or there be fraud, then his opinion is in opposition to the whole current of modern decisions. It must now be taken to be the law, (for they have conceded this in England, and even in New York, where the cases of Chandelor v. Lopus, and Seixas v. Wood, were decided,) that where property is sold by sample, there is an implied warranty, that the article corresponds with the sample, although it has at the same time been held, that it is sufficient if the bulk corresponds with the sample. This has been considered as equivalent to an express warranty and is doubtless a departure, so far, from the law as formerly understood. From a critical examination of all the cases, it may be safely ruled, that a sample, or description in a sale note, advertisement, bill of parcels, or invoice, is equivalent to an express warranty, that the goods are what they are described, or represented to be, by the vendor. [38]*38In the absence of proof, to rebut the presumption, it is of equal efficacy, to charge the vendor, as if the seller had expressly said, 1 warrant them to correspond with the description, or representation. 13 Mass. Rep. 139. Bradford v. Manly, 5 John. Rep. 395. 1 Camp. 113. Hibbert v. Shee, 1 Peters, 317. Willings v. Consequa, 1 Eng. Com. Law Rep. 327. 20 John. Rep. 196. 204. 4 Cowen, 440. 19 John. Rep. 290. 6 Cow. 354. 4 Barn. & Alder. 387. 6 Eng. Com. Law Rep. 456.

Without intimating an opinion how the fact may be, yet there was proof, from which the jury would have been justified in saying, that this was a sale by sample. The paints were originally the property of Junius Smith of London, and were sent out to Adams and Sift of Baltimore. After the failure of Adams and Sift, they came into the hands of Mr. Humphreys, a witness examined by the defendants. Mr. Humphreys brought samples of the paints to Philadelphia, and with Mr. Bevan, one of the defendants, exhibited the samples to the plaintiff. Mr. Borrekins declined coming to any arrangement at that time, but enough passed to induce the witness to send them to the Philadelphia market; and accordingly on his return to Baltimore, he sent the paints to Bevan and Porter, to be subject to a re-examination. The witness further states, the first arrangement was indefinite, but was to become absolute, if on delivery, the articles corresponded with the samples.

After the purchase, the paints were carried to the plaintiff’s manufactory, and some time after they were delivered, Mr. Borrekins brought a sample of the stuff, as the witness Isaac Blanchard termed it, and directed him, Blanchard, to go down to Messrs. Bevan and Porter, and say, that he claimed the money paid, because the article was not according to sample. The witness then exhibited the sample, which Mr. Borrekins had given him, and told Mr. Bevan, that was a sample of. the blue, which Borrekins had purchased of him. Mr. Bevan took a little in his hand, and said, “ This is not blue. It does not look as if it ever had been blue.” He then stated, there would be no difficulty about settling it; that Mr. Humphreys was not then in the city, but was expected shortly; and that there was no' doubt, the matter would be adjusted amicably. On this evidence it is very far from being clear, that this was not a sale by sample. It strikes me, that the evidence tends to prove that it was so sold, and moreover, that Bevan intended to sell, and Borrekins to purchase blue paint. If the parties had not so understood it, Bevan would have denied, that it was a sale by sample, and would, at the same time, have asserted, that Borrekins took upon himself to judge of the quality and kind of the article sold. At any rate, taken in connection with the admission of Mr. Humphreys, the jury should have been permitted to judge, whether it was a sale by sample. There was also some evidence, whether sufficient for the purpose, I shall not say, that the article did not correspond with the sample. This was evidently sold as blue paint. It was the intention of the vendor to sell blue paint, as such a sample [39]*39was exhibited by Humphreys to Mr. Borreldns. The article received, was, by the admission of Bevan, not blue, nor did it look, as if.it ever had been blue. Henry Troth, who has been accustomed to deal in paints, and verditer among the rest, says, this might be called blue paint, but it does not resemble any paint we sell under that name. This is a mixture of some blue paint with a part dirt, different from any thing we are accustomed to deal in. He thinks, there is inferior blue verditer among it mixed in with dirt. He says, there is a variety of qualities in the market. This would not be considered in the market, as blue verditer. He should not consider this as any paint.

It is not pretended, that this was not the same article, which Borrekins purchased of the defendants, nor do I understand fraud to be alleged, either on the one side or the other.

It was the duty of the court to submit the facts to the jury, with the instruction, that if they believed, that this was a sale by sample, and were further of the opinion, that the bulk did not correspond with the sample, the plaintiff was entitled to recover. It is possible, from the manner, in which this case has been removed, we may do injustice to the charge of the learned judge, yet from the record, we are compelled to say, a material question has been withdrawn from the jury, in which we concede, there is error.

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