Buckhantz v. R. G. Hamilton & Co.

163 P.2d 756, 71 Cal. App. 2d 777, 1945 Cal. App. LEXIS 956
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 27, 1945
DocketCiv. 14828
StatusPublished
Cited by55 cases

This text of 163 P.2d 756 (Buckhantz v. R. G. Hamilton & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Buckhantz v. R. G. Hamilton & Co., 163 P.2d 756, 71 Cal. App. 2d 777, 1945 Cal. App. LEXIS 956 (Cal. Ct. App. 1945).

Opinion

*779 WILSON, J.

Action for damages for the alleged failure of respondent to fulfill a contract whereby it sold and agreed to deliver to appellant a quantity of cotton of a character, grade, and quality and at a price named in the contract, the details of which it is not necessary to amplify.

Appellant alleged that respondent failed to deliver the entire amount of the cotton contracted for, and that the portion that was delivered was of a quality or grade inferior to that provided for by the contract. For the alleged breach appellant sought damages. Findings of fact were in favor of respondent on all material issues and from the judgment which followed the appeal is taken.

1. The evidence and the findings. The evidence is in sharp conflict on all issues except as to the provisions of the contract which are admitted. Appellant offered expert testimony to the effect that the cotton which was actually delivered was not of the quality or grade required by the contract. On the other hand, respondent offered not only expert evidence but positive testimony of those who handled the cotton that the same was of the kind specified in the contract.

Counsel have entered into elaborate discussions of the qualifications of the experts and the value to be given to their testimony. Appellant asks us to review the evidence in its entirety and to weigh the various statements of some of the witnesses as opposed to testimony given by others. That duty devolved upon and was performed by the trial judge. It has been said so often that it seems unnecessary to repeat here that a reviewing court may not invade the field of the fact finding court, and that where a conflict in the evidence exists the findings of the trial court are conclusive and every substantial conflict must be resolved in favor of the finding. (Patten & Davies Lumber Co. v. McConville, 219 Cal. 161, 164 [25 P.2d 429]; Morse v. Custis, 38 Cal.App.2d 573, 576 [101 P.2d 702] ; Hotaling v. Hotaling, 193 Cal. 368, 379 [224 P. 455, 56 A.L.R. 734]; Bancroft-Whitney Co. v. McHugh, 166 Cal. 140, 142 [134 P. 1157].) The conflict here is not fanciful but is substantial and real. All of the expert witnesses examined and testified concerning samples of the cotton which was delivered. Appellant’s witnesses opined that it was of a poorer quality than that called for in the contract. Respondent’s experts were as positive in their statements that it was as good or better than that which respondent agreed to deliver, and in addition the source and quality *780 of the cotton was testified to by respondent’s witnesses who handled it. The trial judge was face to face with the witnesses and it is trite to say that he was able to determine and did determine from their demeanor on the stand and their manner of testifying which of the expert witnesses were qualified upon the subject and which of those giving positive testimony were entitled to greater credence.

In reviewing the evidence all conflicts must be resolved in favor of the respondent, and all reasonable inferences must be indulged by this court to sustain the judgment. (Mah See v. North American Acc. Ins. Co., 190 Cal. 421, 426 [213 P. 42, 26 A.L.B. 123].) Even if the evidence is without conflict but different and opposing inferences may reasonably be deduced therefrom, the judgment cannot be disturbed on the ground that the findings are not sustained by the evidence. (Anderson v. Los Angeles Tranfer Co., 170 Cal. 66, 67 [148 P. 212].) Not only the evidence but the inferences to be drawn from it must be viewed by an appellate court in the light most favorable to the judgment of the court below. (Hassell v. Bunge, 167 Cal. 365, 367 [139 P. 800] ; Woodard v. Glenwood Lumber Co., 171 Cal. 513, 519 [153 P. 951]; Bandle v. Commercial Bank, 178 Cal. 546, 547 [174 P. 44].) It is not within our province to weigh the evidence.

The only question for us to determine here is whether there , is substantial evidence, even though contradicted, that will support the conclusion reached by the trial judge (Crawford v. Southern Pacific Co., 3 Cal.2d 427, 429 [45 P.2d 183]; Bellon v. Silver Gate Theatres, Inc., 4 Cal.2d 1, 14 [47 P.2d 462]) and if there be such evidence the finding sustained thereby is conclusive on appeal. (Cate v. Certain-Teed Products Corp., 23 Cal.2d 444, 448 [144 P.2d 335].) The finding of fact that the cotton which was delivered by respondent to appellant was in accord with the contract was supported by ample substantial evidence, and this court will not extend its inquiry for the purpose of determining whether appellant’s evidence was as “overwhelming” as he claims in his brief.

Appellant having refused further deliveries of cotton of the same quality and grade as that received by him in the first shipment is not entitled to recover damages for loss of profits on the amount not delivered.

2. Effect of trial judge’s opinion. Appellant com *781 plains that a written memorandum or opinion filed by the trial judge, indicating his conclusions upon certain of the facts, is in conflict with the findings of fact subsequently signed and filed. We have made no comparison of the opinion and the findings for the purpose of ascertaining whether appellant’s claim is well grounded for the reason that if there be such conflict the result of the appeal would not be affected.

The writing of opinions by trial judges is not to be discouraged, whether the questions determined be purely of law or of mixed law and fact. Such course is sanctioned by the Canons of Judicial Ethics of the American Bar Association and is desirable for the purpose of showing that the judge has a full understanding of the case and of indicating to the litigants and their counsel his reason for believing the evidence given by some of the witnesses and disbelieving that given by others.

An opinion of the judge of the trial court, although not a part of the record, is of value to the reviewing court as an aid in illustrating the theory of the decision and in discovering the process by which the judgment has been reached. (Coakley v. Ajuria, 209 Cal. 745, 749 [290 P. 33]; Estate of Felton, 176 Cal. 663, 667 [169 P. 392].) But a trial judge’s oral remarks or written opinion cannot be considered in determining whether or not the findings are sufficiently supported by the evidence (Goldner v. Spencer, 163 Cal. 317, 320 [125 P. 347] ; Estate of Felton, supra),

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Bluebook (online)
163 P.2d 756, 71 Cal. App. 2d 777, 1945 Cal. App. LEXIS 956, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buckhantz-v-r-g-hamilton-co-calctapp-1945.