Friedman Bag Co. v. F. E. Baldwin & Co.

68 P.2d 43, 57 Idaho 607, 1937 Ida. LEXIS 86
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedApril 15, 1937
DocketNo. 6353.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 68 P.2d 43 (Friedman Bag Co. v. F. E. Baldwin & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Friedman Bag Co. v. F. E. Baldwin & Co., 68 P.2d 43, 57 Idaho 607, 1937 Ida. LEXIS 86 (Idaho 1937).

Opinion

*609 GIVENS, J.

Respondent, engaged in buying potatoes in the vicinity of Twin Falls in 1934, entered into an arrangement with appellant for the purchase of potato bags to be delivered, from time to time as required, to growers, from whom respondent bought potatoes. Various deliveries were made by appellant, and intermittent payments made on appellant’s account by respondent. At the close of the season appellant had a charge against respondent for a balance of $769.91 which respondent refused to pay and appellant then brought suit to recover the same. Respondent offered to let appellant take judgment for $183.86, which appellant refused, but respondent denied liability on invoices numbers 1294 and 1346 for bags delivered to one S. Southworth in March, 1935, on the ground that respondent had not authorized such deliveries.

The jury awarded appellant $183.86 and judgment was entered accordingly.

This appeal is from the judgment, and the order denying the motion for a new trial sought because of newly discovered evidence.

Appellant assigns as error the court’s refusal to give its requested instructions Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 referring to agency, and No. 6 to waiver and estoppel; in giving instruction number 4 1 , and in overruling its motion for a new trial.

*610 Respondent in effect admits that, if there was sufficient evidence in the record to raise the issue of agency as between Baldwin & Co. and Southworth, and sufficient evidence to sustain a verdict of agency, under proper instructions, that the requested instructions were, as a matter of law, correct, but contends the evidence is insufficient to show any agency relationship, either actual or implied, and that as to waiver or estoppel, it was not plead and there was no evidence showing sufficient knowledge on the part of Baldwin & Co. of facts and circumstances or change in position of appellant, because of any actual or implied acquiescence by Baldwin & Co. in the ordering of bags by Southworth without specific ratification, approval, or consent by Baldwin & Co., to show waiver and estoppel, and that it is not error to refuse to give instructions not responsive to or required by issues raised by the pleadings or evidence.

Appellant does not by citation of authority or argument dispute the above asserted propositions of law. The decisive question therefore with regard to the requested instructions and the claimed erroneous one given, depends entirely on whether there was sufficient evidence to present an issue of agency or sustain a finding of agency, even though there be a conflict, or the conclusion debatable, in which events it would be for the jury to solve the problem under proper instructions.

The pivotal point therefore is what evidence was there to show that Southworth had express or implied authority from Baldwin & Co., independent of Baldwin & Co.’s direction, approval, ratification, consent, or acquiescence to order the delivery of bags chargeable to Baldwin & Co.

The following résumé and paraphrasing of the testimony is all that is most favorable to appellant in this particular.

Appellant Friedman testified that he had the following conversation with Mathews, concededly respondent’s agent with power to order or direct delivery of bags on and after Decem *611 ber 21, 1932. Mr. Stanley Baldwin being managing head of respondent prior to that time:

“A. He suggested that I keep a stock of bags at Hazelton where his man Mr. Southworth could get hold of them promptly.
“Q. And in pursuance of that conversation what did you do, if anything, with reference to keeping a supply at Hazel-ton?
“A. I stopped over a car of bags and unloaded partially, enough bags to keep the supply for a while.
“Q. Now when you would deliver bags to the customer you have stated that you took receipts from the persons receiving the bags; now did you also make any invoices of those bags?
“A. Yes, sir.”

' Further testimony on this point shows the particular bags about which Friedman was being questioned were not delivered from or at Hazelton, therefore not any of the bags in question, but is cited as not showing Southworth had authority to order bags:

(H. Friedman on direct examination.)
“Q. (By Mr. PORTER.) Now, in pursuance of your conversation with Mr. Rex Mathews, to which you have testified, did you make any deliveries to F. E. Baldwin & Company at Hazelton ?
“A. I have delivered bags to Mr. Southworth as well as the warehouse for Mr. Southworth’s disposal.”
“Q. (By Mr. PORTER.) Did you have any transactions with Mr. Southworth?
“A. Personally?
“Q. In your capacity of handling bags for Friedman and Company?
“A. Only through Baldwin is all.
“Q. Were you familiar with the operations in a general way, of Mr. Southworth, in buying potatoes in your community ?
“A. No, I wasn’t.
*612 “Q. How does it happen this man Teuscher’s name is on that slip?
“A. He give this fellow an order and he presented it to me, signed by Ves South worth, for these bags.
“Q. When were these slips made up now, with reference to the time of delivery of the bags?
“A. At the time of delivery.
“Q. Mr. Lindsay, as I understand it, you had no directions or instructions, either written or verbal, from any member or officer of F. E. Baldwin & Company concerning any of these sack transactions ?
“A. Through Mr. Friedman is all.
“Q. Do you know whether F. E. Baldwin'& Company received any of these sacks, or any potatoes in these sacks? ££A. No.
“A. I was told to continue to deliver sacks to Ves South-worth, but to have that order, his orders OK’d either by Mr. Friedman or call up the Baldwin Company and have it OK’d, those orders that Southworth brought in.
“Q. Now in pursuance of those instructions prior to the delivery, or at the time of the delivery of the lots making up the last five bales, what, if anything, did you do toward communicating with Baldwin & Company before making those deliveries ?
“A. Well, I called him on the ’phone two or three times, now, I’m not positive, and once or twice I called Mr. Friedman regarding those deliveries, those last five deliveries?
“Q. When you called on the ’phone, to whom did you talk?
“A. I’m not sure; I called for the F. W.

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Bluebook (online)
68 P.2d 43, 57 Idaho 607, 1937 Ida. LEXIS 86, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/friedman-bag-co-v-f-e-baldwin-co-idaho-1937.