Doenges Motors, Inc. v. Bankers Investment Company

1962 OK 52, 369 P.2d 611, 1962 Okla. LEXIS 292
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 6, 1962
Docket39401
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 1962 OK 52 (Doenges Motors, Inc. v. Bankers Investment Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doenges Motors, Inc. v. Bankers Investment Company, 1962 OK 52, 369 P.2d 611, 1962 Okla. LEXIS 292 (Okla. 1962).

Opinion

IRWIN, Justice.

Bankers Investment Company, a financing corporation, commenced this action against Doenges Motors, Inc., a retail automobile agency, alleging three separate causes of action. Doenges Motors, Inc., hereinafter referred to as Doenges, appeals from a judgment in favor of Bankers Investment Company, hereinafter referred to as Bankers, on all three causes. For clarity, each separate cause of action will be considered separately.

FIRST CAUSE

Bankers first cause of action concerns an assignment to Bankers by Doenges of a conditional sales contract and a promissory note attached, purportedly secured by a “Thunderbird” automobile. Bankers action is based on a breach of an implied warranty of Doenges that title to the automobile was in the signer of the conditional sales contract at the time of its execution and assignment.

The record discloses that on October 25, 1956, Doenges assigned the Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin to the “Thunderbird” automobile and executed and delivered a bill of sale to W. C. Moore; on the same date W. C. Moore signed a conditional sales contract for $3,747.21 in favor of Doenges and Doenges assigned the conditional sales contract to Associates Discount Co.; on December 10, 1956, Doenges purported to sell the same automobile to Peter B. Fultz; Fultz signed a conditional sales contract for $4,354.00 in favor of Doenges which assigned the same to Bankers for $3,387.98, on the same date; the car later turned back to Doenges and sold by Doenges for $2,565.79, said sum being paid to Bankers. Bankers had expended $3,964.93 for the contract of Fultz and servicing thereof, and there remained a balance of $238.93.

In the trial court’s findings and conclusions of law, it found that Doenges by virtue of the assignment warranted it had title and that the warranty failed and Bankers received no security and had purchased *613 an unsecured note; that the assignment from Doenges to Bankers was without consideration and that Bankers was entitled to rescind the contract. In the first cause of action judgment was entered for Bankers for $238.93, with interest.

Doenges contends the trial court erred in overruling its demurrer to the evidence; that Bankers did not allege nor prove that the debt owing by Fultz was not a genuine, valid or subsisting obligation. Doenges submits that the determining factor is that Fultz unequivocably testified that he had purchased the automobile and received a bill of sale from W. C. Moore acting on behalf of Doenges and Bankers cannot complain that W. C. Moore retained title to the automobile over Fultz and there was no failure of consideration.

An analysis of the entire evidence with reference to the bill of sale being issued to Fultz reveals that Fultz did not know if the bill of sale was from W. C. Moore or Doenges; that Fultz returned the bill of sale to Moore with the other papers; that Fultz never did get a certificate of title. Doenges’ contention that Bankers cannot complain that W. C. Moore retained title to the Thunderbird over Fultz admits that Fultz did not have title to the Thunderbird.

6 C.J.S. Assignments § 101, pg. 1159, states that an assignor impliedly warrants that he has a right to pass to the assignee what his assignment purports to pass and, if he lacks title, he is liable to the assignee. And it further states that the implied warranty of validity extends not only to the chose or debt itself, but also to collateral securities or rights which pass by the assignment as incidents.

Title 15 O.S.1961 § 233, provides for the rescission of a contract for failure of consideration. In G. A. Nichols, Inc. v. Hainey, 190 Okl. 242, 122 P.2d 809, 139 A.L.R. 967, we held:

“A partial failure of performance is ground for the rescission of a contract, when such failure defeats the object of the contract, or when it concerns a matter of such importance that the contract would not have been made if default in that particular had been expected or contemplated.”

When Doenges assigned the conditional sales contract of Fultz to Bankers, Doenges impliedly warranted that it owned a new Thunderbird and had sold the same to Fultz, and that the conditional sales contract created a valid and subsisting lien against the automobile. However, the record discloses that Doenges had previously sold the car to W. C. Moore and had assigned the conditional sales contract in that transaction to Associated Discount Corp., which had a first and prior lien on the Thunderbird; that at the time of the purported sale to Fultz, the Thunderbird was not a new car, but as a matter of fact had eight to ten thousand miles on it.

Doenges does not urge that Bankers would, have paid a valuable consideration for the assignment of the conditional sales contract of Fultz had Doenges made known all the facts surrounding the sale of the Thunderbird. Doenges impliedly warranted that the conditional sales contract of Fultz was a valid and subsisting lien against the Thunderbird, when as a matter of fact it was not. Since the conditional sales contract assigned to Bankers by Doenges did not create a valid and subsisting lien against the Thunderbird, the note was unsecured. Therefore, Doenges’ implied warranty that such did create a valid and subsisting lien failed.

We hold that Bankers was entitled to rescind the contract with Doenges and recoup its losses against Doenges and that part of the judgment based upon the first cause of action is affirmed.

SECOND CAUSE

Bankers second cause of action concerns the assignment to Bankers by Doenges of an Oklahoma Retail Installment contract and a promissory note, purportedly seem ed by a “Fairlane” automobile. Bankers action is based on a breach of an implied warranty of Doenges that the conditional sales *614 contract created a valid and subsisting lien against the automobile.

The record reveals that Peaches Moore purchased the automobile in question from Doenges on November 3, 1956; on November 7, 1956, a bill of sale was executed by Doenges in favor of Peaches Moore and Doenges assigned to her the Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin; on November 8, 1956, the original certificate of title was issued to Peaches Moore; on February 15, 1957, Peaches Moore assigned the original certificate of title to Lauderdale Motor Company and on March 5, 1957, that company sold the automobile to E. E. Humphrey and Mary Humphrey.

Bankers interest is by virtue of an assignment of an Oklahoma Retail Installment contract which was executed by W. C. Moore in favor of Doenges on November 5, 1956, and assigned to Bankers on the same date. This contract covered the automobile above referred to in which the Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin was assigned and the original certificate of title issued by Peaches Moore.

In the findings and conclusions of law of the trial court, the trial court concluded that the contract purchased by Bankers from Doenges which was signed by W. C. Moore, conveyed no right, title or lien against the automobile for the reason the car had been sold to Peaches Moore; that the warranty from Doenges to Bankers failed and that Bankers received no security, and in fact, Bankers had purchased an unsecured note; that there was a total failure of consideration and Bankers was entitled to recover on its second cause of action.

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1962 OK 52, 369 P.2d 611, 1962 Okla. LEXIS 292, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doenges-motors-inc-v-bankers-investment-company-okla-1962.