Davenport v. Wm. Adler & Co.

52 La. Ann. 263
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedDecember 15, 1899
DocketNo. 13,239
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 52 La. Ann. 263 (Davenport v. Wm. Adler & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davenport v. Wm. Adler & Co., 52 La. Ann. 263 (La. 1899).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

UlaxohaRD, J.

The ease is before us for review on the following order made by the present organ of the court at the close of the late term, viz:

“Considering the character of this case, the fact of division among the .Judges of the Court of Appeals thereon (two of whom concur in reversing the judgment appealed from, the other dissenting and taking the view of the case presented by the district judge), and considering that there is drawn in question wliat interpretation of Art. 2458, O. 0. is sustained by the jurisprudence of the State as established by the decisions of this court, and, therefore, that the question’ of uniformity of jurisprudence arises, it is ordered that the writ of review do issue, that the record of the case'be sent up, and that the judges of the Court of Appeals -and the attorneys of plaintiff and defendants be notified, and that a delay of thirty days from the date of this order be granted the litigants to file briefs.”

In the brief of counsel for defendants it is stated that the difference between the Court of Appeals and the District Court was due to the weight the respective courts gave to the evidence, more than to a different view of the law entertained; and, hence, that plaintiff, by her application for the writ of review, in effect requests this court to review the evidence and to hold that the Court of Appeals erred in [265]*265arriving at the conclusion it did relative to the facts. Counsel then go on to say this court has several times taken occasion to assert that certiorari under Art. 101 of the Constitution, will not lie to review decisions of the Court of Appeals as to facts.

That the writ lies only to review questions of law, is a mistaken conception of the article of the Constitution, which declares “it shall be competent for the Supreme Court to require by certiorari, or otherwise, any case to he certified from the Courts of Appeal to it for its review and determination, with the same power and authority in the case as if it had been carried directly by appeal to the said court.”

By that portion of the quotation we have italicised it plainly appears that once the writ is granted and the, ease is before us, we have exactly the same jurisdiction to determine as to its facts, as well as to the law applicable thereto, as we have in cases directly appeal-able here. And in Toole vs'. Minge, 50 La. Ann. 748, which was the first case to construe Art. 101 of the Constitution, and which announced the rule the court would follow in granting or withholding the writ, it Vas said “the power thus lodged in the Supreme Court should be exercised only in special or extreme cases, whose peculiar circumstances as to the facts or the law governing the same justify, in the opinion of this court, a resort to it.”

As against this counsel quotes from the syllabi of cases decided here since the decision in the Toole case, but an examination of those eases show the statement in the syllabi to be too broad — more so than the texts of the opinions warrant.

The case at bar, therefore, is considered to he before us for judgment on the evidence as to the establishment of facts, and for judgment on the law as applicable to ‘the facts.

The action is to recover the value of eleven bales of cotton and five tons of cotton seed. The' allegation is that the same were illegally abstracted by defendants from the Succession of R. Oliver McDowell.

The defense is that the cotton and cotton seed in question were purchased by defendants from McDowell before his death.

There is an admission as to the value of the property, $370, and also that credit therefor was not given to McDowell upon the books of defendant until after his death.

McDowell was a farmer and owed defendants a supply account for the year in which the cotton was raised. This account was credited [266]*266with the proceeds of the cotton and seed, leaving a balance still due by ,McDowell or his succession.

The controlling facts, as we appreciate them, are: — The cotton was raised on a small farm near the town of Bonita in the parish of More-house, which McDowell had leased for the year 1894. He resided on another farm some 10 or 12 miles from Bonita. When the cotton on the leased farm was all open and ready for picking, McDowell brought his hands over from his home place and .gathered the crop, hauling it direct to a public gin at Bonita as it was picked. He was engaged with his hands three or four days gathering the cotton and hauling the same to the gin. He engaged the services of the gin to gin and press the cotton. The gin began upon the cotton, but after ginning a few bales the machinery became disabled and the gin was stopped for repairs.

Defendants, who are a commercial partnership, doing business in New Orleans, conducted a branch house at Bonita, which was under the management of J. A. Williams and M. F. Williams, who were partners therein.

McDowell, being a debtor of the firm desired to apply the cotton to the liquidation of the debt pro tanto.

The gin having broken down, and being unable to get the whole lot of the cotton speedily ginned, he bargained its sale to J. A. Williams for the firm of Wm. Adler & Co., the proceeds thereof to be credited on his account. The four bales then already ginned were taken as samples, and Williams agreed to buy the lot, ginned and unginned, and McDowell to sell.

The price agreed upon was five cents per pound, and the gin weights were to be taken as determinative of the quantity. There was a further understanding that in the event the cotton should market for more than five cents per pound, Adler & Co. would allow McDowell the difference on his account.

The seed derived from the cotton were included in the transaction, McDowell consenting to sell, and Williams to buy the same, at the price of $8.00 per ton.

McDowell gave instructions that the weights of the cotton and seed and a statement of his account be forwarded to him by mail to his Post Office at Jones, La.

The public gin at which the cotton then was, was conducted by Buatt & Weiss. McDowell directed Weiss to turn the cotton over to [267]*267Williams and to collect from him the ginning charges, telling him (Weiss) that he had sold the cotton to Wm. Adler & Co. Weiss was treasurer and principal manager of the gin.

McDowell then left Bonita for his home.

The gin was repaired, the ginning of the McDowell cotton resumed and completed, the cotton was baled, the weights ascertained, both of the cotton and the seed, (estimating two pounds of seed to one of cotton), the same shipped to Adler & Co., sold and the proceeds credited on McDowell’s account.

The bagging and ties for the cotton were furnished by Adler & Co., and the gin charges paid by them.

McDowell owed M. E. Young for the lease of the land on which the cotton was grown, one hundred dollars, for which he had given his note.

This was settled by Adler & Co. the day of the purchase of the oot-ton, by crediting Young with that sum on their books, and charging McDowell’s account therewith. Young also owed the firm. J. A.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
52 La. Ann. 263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davenport-v-wm-adler-co-la-1899.