Delafield v. Smith

78 N.W. 170, 101 Wis. 664, 1899 Wisc. LEXIS 136
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 31, 1899
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 78 N.W. 170 (Delafield v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Delafield v. Smith, 78 N.W. 170, 101 Wis. 664, 1899 Wisc. LEXIS 136 (Wis. 1899).

Opinion

Cassoday, 0. J.

It appears from the record that, during the times mentioned, the plaintiffs were copartners, doing business as commission merchants at New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and San Francisco; that the defendant was engaged in packing and shipping fruit from San Francisco to-different parts of the country; that February J, 1890, the-plaintiffs and defendant entered into an agreement in writing, wherein and whereby the plaintiffs were made.the sole- and exclusive sales agents for the defendant in all the territory of the United States and Canada east of the Rocky Mountains, except Kansas City, and the defendant thereby agreed to pay them on all goods shipped by the defendant into such territory, whether sold by them or not, five per cent, commission on the selling price of all goods shipped or consigned, and, in addition thereto, all proper charges against such goods, such as freight, cartage, storage, insurance, etc., as well as interest at the rate of eight per cent, per annum-on all advances on such goods; that the plaintiffs therein agreed to act as the defendant’s agents in the sale of all his product of canned fruit, and to make advances against ship-. ments or sales to the extent of seventy-five per cent, of the market or selling value; that such advances were to be made by their acceptance of the defendant’s drafts with documents, attached, at ten days’ sight; that, so far as the then present stock on hand was concerned, the advances were to be sufficient to liquidate the amount due the Bank of California-against each shipment, provided such amount should not exceed the net selling value, with commissions deducted;. [666]*666that the plaintiffs therein also agreed to assume the guaranty of payment for goods after they had been delivered and accepted by the purchaser; that it was thereby mutually agreed that sales for future shipment were to be made as the defendant might direct, he holding himself liable for all claims arising from nondelivery, delay in shipment, difference in quality, short weight, or any other justifiable cause, but sales of goods, whether to arrive or spot, upon which the plaintiffs might have made advances, to be sold at their discretion; that the proceeds of sales were to be applied first to the liquidation of all charges against the goods, such as freight, cartage, storage, insurance, etc., and the commission therein provided for, and secondly to the liquidation of advances made by the plaintiffs; that the surplus of the proceeds of. any sale or consignment was to be applied to the liquidation of the deficit in others, if any; that May 28,1890, the parties entered into a new written agreement to the same effect, except that the five per cent, commission was to be ■“ on the f. o. b. San Francisco selling price.”

About January 1, 1891, the plaintiffs commenced this action on such two contracts, and the complaint alleged as a breach of such contracts that the plaintiffs had in 1890 entered into contracts for the sale and delivery of canned goods at the prices therein specified, to be furnished by the defendant, whereby the plaintiffs obligated themselves for the performance of such contracts and the delivery of such goods; that thereafter the defendant refused to supply them with the goods they had so sold and agreed to deliver; that they were obliged to, and did, go upon the-market and purchase goods to fill part- of the contracts so made by them; that, by reason of an advance in price, they were obliged to pay f oi^the goods so purchased $2,601 over and above the amount for which the defendant had so agreed to furnish them and at which he had directed the plaintiffs to sell; that, as to parts of the contracts so made by them with other purchas[667]*667•ers, upon such refusals of the defendant they settled with the purchasers, and were obliged to pay, in such settlements, the difference in price between the market value at the time of settlement and at the time at which the goods should have been delivered, which difference amounted to $2,590; that they were also entitled to a commission of five per cent, upon the selling price, to wit, $255.75.

The defendant answered by way of admissions and denials, and alleged, in effect, that after he had constituted the plaintiffs his agents, and after they had sold a large •quantity of goods, they violated their agreement by retaining part of the proceeds of the sales which they should have accounted for and paid over, and made unauthorized, wrongful, and unlawful charges and deductions, and Wholly failed to render any account for certain sales made by them, and •otherwise violated their contract with the defendant; that thereupon he promptly notified them that he would make no further shipments unless they fully accounted and paid ■over to him the proceeds of the sales they had wrongfully retained; that upon their refusal to so account and pay over, and by reason of the breach On their part of the agreements, he refused to make any further shipments to them. The answer further alleged, by way of a first counterclaim, that the plaintiffs had sold a large quantity of his canned goods, and received therefor $2,619.06, which they had wrongfully retained and refused to pay over; and, as a second counterclaim, that November 6, 1890, the plaintiffs purchased certain goods of him, specified in the written agreements, and, ■■after receiving and accepting the same, except 150 cases •of apricots and 550 cases of Crawford peaches, in violation of their written agreements refused to accept, receive, or pay for such apricots and peaches, by reason of which the defendant was damaged in the sum of $1,326.95. The plaintiffs replied to each of the counterclaims by way of •denials.

[668]*668Tbe cause was thereupon referred to Móses S. Prichard, Esq., to hear, try, and determine; and upon the trial thereof it was stipulated, in writing, by and between the parties thereto, in effect, that the plaintiffs had sold the fruits mentioned in the complaint at the prices therein stated; that the defendant had refused to deliver the fruit, and the plaintiffs were obliged to, and did, purchase such fruit, and pay the market price and value thereof to fill such sales, and that the plaintiffs sustained loss on such sales as stated; that, as to the last five items, it was admitted that the plaintiffs sold the fruits at the prices therein mentioned; that the defendant refused to deliver the fruits, and that the plaintiffs settled with the purchasers at the market value at the time the delivery was agreed upon between the plaintiffs and the purchasers, and that the plaintiffs paid such purchasers the difference between the price the goods were sold at and the market value, in lieu of the delivery of the fruit; that the plaintiffs lost thereby the amounts stated in the complaint.

At the close of the trial before the referee, he found, as matters of fact, in respect to the causes of action alleged in the complaint, in accordance with such stipulations, and that, of such sales so made by the plaintiffs as agents for the defendant, and for and on behalf of the defendant, the defendant confirmed, approved, and ratified nine orders therein mentioned, upon which there was an aggregate loss of $3,162.50; that the plaintiffs were entitled to commissions upon such orders and sales so made, in the sum of $66.

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Related

Lesser v. Smith
160 A. 302 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1932)
Beardsley v. Schmidt
98 N.W. 235 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1904)

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Bluebook (online)
78 N.W. 170, 101 Wis. 664, 1899 Wisc. LEXIS 136, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/delafield-v-smith-wis-1899.