Crowther v. Metalite Manufacturing Co.

24 P.2d 551, 133 Cal. App. 452, 1933 Cal. App. LEXIS 670
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 27, 1933
DocketDocket No. 4725.
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 24 P.2d 551 (Crowther v. Metalite Manufacturing 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
Crowther v. Metalite Manufacturing Co., 24 P.2d 551, 133 Cal. App. 452, 1933 Cal. App. LEXIS 670 (Cal. Ct. App. 1933).

Opinion

TUTTLE, J., pro tem.

In this action plaintiff recovered judgment in the sum of $456.92 upon a complaint based upon the breach of a contract to manufacture .pouring spouts. The appeal is brought here and presented upon the judgment-roll alone.

It is the contention of appellant that the judgment is outside the issues and void, under the authority of Baar v. Smith, 201 Cal. 87 [255 Pac. 827], and other cases.

*454 The complaint alleged that plaintiff and defendant entered into a contract according to the terms of which the defendant agreed to manufacture for the plaintiff certain Tip Top pouring spouts at a stipulated price in such quantities as the plaintiff might require or designate; that relying upon the contract and upon the promise of the defendant to manufacture the said spouts at the price agreed upon the plaintiff incurred certain expenses especially enumerated in the complaint; that contrary to the terms of said contract the defendant failed, neglected and refused to manufacture or sell to the plaintiff spouts except 5,000 thereof, although the plaintiff informed defendant that a great many more of said spouts were required; that in addition to the expenditures set forth in said complaint, plaintiff had been further damaged in the sum of $5,000 on account of loss of profits. Defendant denied the allegations of the complaint and in its cross-complaint alleged that the contract was for' 5,000 spouts instead of in such quantities as the plaintiff might require or designate and further alleged a compliance on its part and a failure to comply on the plaintiff’s part.

The court found that plaintiff was not entitled to any damages by reason of loss of profits, and limited the recovery to certain items of expenses which were incurred by plaintiff in anticipation of performance by defendant. These items were confined to the preparation of office facilities and advertising. The finding which is attacked as being beyond the issues is as follows:

“That it is true that on or about the 9th day of August, 1928, at and in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, the plaintiff and cross-defendant, and the defendant and cross-complainant, all in connection with the transaction as alleged in plaintiff and cross-defendant’s complaint on file herein, entered into a contract according to the terms of which defendant and cross-complainant agreed to manufacture for the plaintiff 5000 Tip-Top spouts at the price of five cents (5c) each, for which the plaintiff and cross-defendant agreed to pay said defendant and cross-complainant upon delivery of same; that it is not true that the defendant and cross-complainant manufactured said spouts pursuant to order of said plaintiff and cross-defendant and in the manner agreed upon by the said parties.”

*455 It is the rule in this state that upon a direct appeal from the judgment upon the judgment-roll alone, it will be assumed, in support of the judgment, that all objections to evidence in support of the findings were waived. (Poledori v. Newman, 116 Cal. 375 [48 Pac. 325, 326].) The Supreme Court in that case goes on to state that:

‘‘If objection to the introduction of any evidence had been made upon the ground that the defect to which it related was not alleged in the complaint, the court would have permitted plaintiffs to amend their complaint. Parties will not be permitted to lie by and keep silent when evidence is offered, and after the court has rendered its judgment, object thereto upon the ground that the evidence sustaining it was inadmissible under the issues presented by the pleadings.”

In the instant case it is true that the findings are not strictly in accordance with the issues raised by the pleadings. The complaint seeks recovery of damages based upon the failure of defendant to manufacture spouts “in such quantities as plaintiff may require or designate”, while the findings are to the effect that defendant manufactured 5,000 of such spouts, but that they did not conform to the agreement. This appeal being before us upon the judgment-roll alone, we must presume that evidence was introduced which wTould support this finding, without any objection upon the part of defendant and appellant, and that the facts were treated by all parties as issues properly before the court at the trial. If the entire record were before this court, a different situation would be presented.

A similar contention is made by appellant with refence to the elements which were considered by the court in arriving at the measure of damages. We must presume that evidence of these elements was introduced by plaintiff without objection upon the part of defendant. We may add, however, that the contract in question appears to be for work and labor, and not a contract of sale. Accordingly, the damages are governed by section 3300 of the Civil Code, rather than by sections 3308 and 3354 as contended by appellant. The rule governing this feature of the case is clearly set forth by Mr. Justice Nourse in the case of United Iron Works v. Standard B. C. Co., 69 Cal. App. 384 [231 Pac. 567], Expenses necessarily in *456 curred in good faith, in anticipation of performance or part performance of a contract, may generally he recovered as a part of the damages for its breach. (8 R. C. L. 495.) The items which go to make up the total amount of damage here appear to fall within the latter authority.

The case of Baar v. Smith, 201 Cal. 87 [255 Pac. 827, 832], is not in conflict with the rule we have followed here in disposing of the attack made by appellant upon the ground that the judgment is outside the issues. In that case the entire record was before the court, including the evidence taken at the trial. The court there states that:

“It is also true that the parties may voluntarily submit and try an issue without any specific pleadings and thus be estopped from complaining thereat after judgment. [Citing Poledori v. Newman, 116 Cal. 375 [48 Pac. 325], and other authorities.] But no such exceptions exist in this cause.”

Undoubtedly the record showed affirmatively that the parties did not voluntarily submit and try the questioned issues in that case. Here we have no record of .the evidence, and we must assume, in support of the judgment, that all objections to evidence in support of the findings were waived. (Poledori v. Newman, supra.) Section 580 of the Code of Civil Procedure authorizes a court, when an answer has been filed to the complaint, to grant the plaintiff “any relief consistent with the case made by the complaint and embraced within the issue”. The “ease” made by the complaint herein, as well as the issue between the parties, was the right to recover damages for a breach of a contract to manufacture pouring spouts.

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Bluebook (online)
24 P.2d 551, 133 Cal. App. 452, 1933 Cal. App. LEXIS 670, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crowther-v-metalite-manufacturing-co-calctapp-1933.