Bracken v. Jackson

140 N.W. 892, 159 Iowa 424
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedApril 12, 1913
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 140 N.W. 892 (Bracken v. Jackson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bracken v. Jackson, 140 N.W. 892, 159 Iowa 424 (iowa 1913).

Opinion

Gaynor, J.

The plaintiff for cause of action states: That on or about September, A. D. 1909, and .prior thereto, under verbal contract, he employed the defendant, Geo. H. Jackson, to contract and sell a certain tract of real estate owned by this plaintiff and situated in Floyd county, Iowa, and described as follows: The S. E. *4 of section 36, township 97, range 17, and the S. W. 14 of section 31, except east thirty-eight acres in township 97, range 16, containing two hundred and fifty-seven acres more or less. That the defendant, Geo. H. Jackson, was to receive for commission in contracting and making sales of said premises for this plaintiff the sum of $1 per acre. That in pursuance of said contract, and on or about September 12, A. D. 1909, the defendant, Geo. H. Jackson, as agent of this plaintiff, represented and stated to plaintiff that he had a customer or purchaser for said land from Iowa Falls, Iowa, at $65 per acre, saying to this plaintiff that $65 per acre was the highest and best price he could obtain for said land from said customer or purchaser, and that $65 per acre was the highest price obtainable for said land. That this plaintiff believed and relied upon said statements and representations, as made by the defendant, Geo. H. Jackson, and consented to make sale of said land. That, in pursuance of the said statements and representations [426]*426made by- the defendant, a deed was executed for said premises by' the plaintiff, on or about September 14, A. D. 1909. That, at the time of the making of said deed, this plaintiff believed that a sale of the said land had in fact been made by the defendant to some bona fide purchaser. That, when said deed was presented to this plaintiff for his signature, plaintiff noticed that defendant’s name was inserted in said deed, as grantee, and plaintiff was informed that it was inserted in said deed for convenience and on account of certain attachments out against said land, and on account of certain mortgage indebtedness out against said land. That in truth and in fact, at the time the defendant made the statements and representations to this plaintiff with reference to- having a purchaser for said land at $65 per acre, and $65 per acre was the highest and best price obtainable for said land, the defendant, in truth and in fact, had not procured a bona fide purchaser for said land at $65 per acre. That, by the insertion of the defendant’s name in said deed as grantee, the defendant obtained the legal title of said land in fraud of this plaintiff’s rights. That the representations and statements of the defendant, made to the plaintiff as aforesaid, were false, and defendant knew them to be false at the time he made them to this plaintiff, and the same were made for the purpose of obtaining plaintiff’s signature to a deed for said premises. That the said false statements and representations were made to this plaintiff by the defendant while the defendant was acting as plaintiff’s agent. That this plaintiff believed said statements and representations and relied thereon. That, had the plaintiff known that defendant was the contemplated purchaser, he would not have consented to said sale at $65 per acre. That before the plaintiff had signed said deed, the defendant was endeavoring to negotiate a sale of said land to one T. M. Leslie, and said T. M. Leslie was examining said land with a view of purchasing same at $70 per acre, and the defendant in no manner informed this plaintiff of the fact that negotiations were pending for the sale of said land to [427]*427T. M. Leslie at $70 per acre. That shortly after the defendant acquired the legal title to said land, and on the same day, the defendant sold the same to said T. M. Leslie at $70 per acre. That because of the relations of principal and agent existing between the plaintiff and defendant, and because of the fraud practiced upon this plaintiff by the defendant, as hereinbefore stated, the defendant held the legal title to said land in trust, and the defendant is accountable to the plaintiff for the advance price for said land and for the full value of $70 per acre. That on account of the fraud, concealment, dishonesty, and unfaithfulness of the agent, Geo. H. Jackson, as hereinbefore stated, the said Geo. IT. Jackson has forfeited all of his right to claim compensation of $1 per acre for the sale of said two hundred and fifty-seven acres of land described in the petition herein. That the defendant now wrongfully and fraudulently detains from this plaintiff the sum of $6 per acre on the said sale of said two hundred and fifty-seven-acre tract of land, making $1,542 wrongfully and fraudulently retained by the defendant from this plaintiff. That there is now $1,542, with 6 per cent, interest thereon from and after September 14, A. D. 1909, due this plaintiff from the defendant: Wherefore the plaintiff asks judgment against the defendant for the sum of $1,542, with 6 per cent, interest thereon from and after September 14, A. D. 1909, and for costs of this action. That thereafter the defendant filed in said cause his answer to said amendment and substituted petition as follows:

Comes now the defendant and for answer to plaintiff’s amended and substituted petition denies each and every allegation therein contained, except as hereinafter admitted or qualified, and admitted, or qualified and denied. Defendant states that on the 12th day of September, 1909, he purchased said farm from plaintiff and received deed thereto from plaintiff and his wife about 8 o’clock a. m., December 14,1909. That he made no false, wrongful, or fraudulent statement to plaintiff in securing title to said -land, and did reveal to [428]*428plaintiff all knowledge he had as to its value, and in no way defendant intended to defraud plaintiff. That he himself was a bona fide purchaser of said land from plaintiff, and so told plaintiff at time, and plaintiff knew defendant was buying said land from plaintiff on defendant’s own word, and for defendant and certain of his business associates in Iowa Falls and Floyd county, to wit, A. R. Sullivan and T. W. Jackson, of Iowa Falls, and C. W. Schermerhorn, of Floyd, Iowa, for $64 per acre. Defendant admits that, after he had purchased the said land, that he did transfer and sell the same to T. M. Leslie for $70 per acre. Defendant states that the price he agreed to pay, and did pay for said land, to plaintiff was $64 per acre. That, at the time he purchased said land, defendant was not the agent of the plaintiff, but was acting for himself, which fact was told to plaintiff by defendant and was known to plaintiff.

1. Agency: real estate broker: fraud: evidence. The first question raised by the defendant on this appeal is, that the court, at the conclusion of the testimony, should have instructed the jury to return a verdict for the defendant 011 gr(y,;mds that the evidence was wholly insufficient to justify the jury in finding in favor of the plaintiff on any theory of the evidence. A determination of this question involves an examination of the evidence submitted on the trial. From this evidence it appears: That the plaintiff was the owner of two hundred and seventy acres of land substantially as claimed in his petition. That during the years 1903 and 1904 he' listed these lands with the defendant for sale at $60 per acre. That in 1907 and 1908, he listed it with the defendant at $65 per acre. That in 1909 he listed it with defendant at $70 an acre, and that during these years the defendant was acting as agent for the plaintiff under a certain contract by which he was to receive $1 an acre from the plaintiff in the event he sol'd said land at the price at which it was listed.

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Bluebook (online)
140 N.W. 892, 159 Iowa 424, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bracken-v-jackson-iowa-1913.