Fullerton v. Carpenter

71 S.W. 98, 97 Mo. App. 197, 1902 Mo. App. LEXIS 218
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 9, 1902
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 71 S.W. 98 (Fullerton v. Carpenter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fullerton v. Carpenter, 71 S.W. 98, 97 Mo. App. 197, 1902 Mo. App. LEXIS 218 (Mo. Ct. App. 1902).

Opinion

BLAND, P. J.

— The motion for new trial is as follows:

“Now comes Humphrey Fnllerton, testamentary trustee, plaintiff in the above entitled canse, and moves the court to set aside its verdict and decree rendered in the above entitled cause heretofore, to-wit, on July 5, 1901, and grant him a rehearing and new trial. And as grounds for said motion plaintiff alleges the following:
“1. Said verdict and judgment are against the law.
“2. They are against the evidence.
“3. They are against the law and the evidence.
“4. They are against the weight of evidence. ■
‘ ‘ 5. Said verdict and judgment should have been in favor of plaintiff and against defendant.
‘ ‘ 6. The court erred in excluding proper evidence.
“7. The court erred in admitting improper evidence.
“8. It is admitted hy the pleadings that defendant Carpenter was to he paid $2,500 commission for procuring a loan of $100,000. The evidence shows that said defendant as agent for plaintiff made offer to the St. Louis Trust Company of the mortgage on the McPherson tract of land belonging to the estate of J. S. Fullerton and referred to in the evidence, as security for the loan to he made hy the St. Louis Trust Company to plaintiff; that said Carpenter made no further offer. The evidence shows that said offer was positively and finally refused by said trust company. The evidence [200]*200further shows: (a) That said loan was not given until an order and decree were entered by the St. Lonis Circuit Court authorizing and empowering plaintiff, as trustee under the will of J. S. Fullerton, to- give said mortgage: (b) That said order and decree were the sine qua non conditions for obtaining said loan, and without which said order and decree said loan would have been refused: (c) The evidence shows that all the negotiations and agreements relating h> the procurement of said order and decree originated, and were carried on, by and between plaintiff and his attorney on the one part and the St. Louis Trust Company and its attorney on the other part after the offer of said Carpenter had failed, and wholly independent of said Carpenter ; that he neither procured nor suggested the proceedings for obtaining said order and decree nor had he anything to do with the agreement compassing said proceedings and order and decree. Plaintiff was not bound, directly or by implication, under his contract with defendant to obtain said order and decree. If defendant failed to procure said loan, then under the case as made by the pleadings he was entitled to no compensation. The court should have found the above recited facts and conclusions by verdict and judgment for plaintiff. By its verdict and judgment for defendant it must have found to the contrary, and said verdict and judgment constituted manifest error for which plaintiff is entitled to rehearing and new trial of said cause. "

The first, second, third, fourth and fifth grounds of the motion amount to this, that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence and for that reason should have been for the plaintiff. The jury, or the court sitting as a jury, is the sole judge of the weight of the evidence and their findings will not be reviewed on appeal, unless there is no substantial evidence to support the verdict, or it is obvious that the verdict is the result of passion, prejudice or corruption. Culbertson v. Hill, 87 Mo. 553; Hull v. Railroad, 60 Mo. App. (K. C.) 593.

In respect to the sixth ground, “that the court erred in excluding proper evidence,” we find but one object[201]*201ion made by plaintiff to the evidence offered by defendant. The bill of exceptions shows that the evidence was simply “objected to.” No grounds for the objection were assigned nor was any exception saved to the ruling of the court on the objection. Unless the ground of an objection to the admission of evidence is specified when it was made, the objection will not be considered on. appeal. Lumber Co. v. Rogers, 145 Mo. 445; Kansas City v. Oil Company, 140 Mo. 458.

In respect to the seventh ground, “that the court admitted improper evidence,” the bill of exceptions fails to show that any evidence was admitted by the court to which plaintiff saved an exception.

Only one instruction was given. This was objected to when given, but the court’s attention was not called to if in the motion for new trial. By not calling the attention of the court to the instruction in the motion for new trial plaintiff must be deemed to have waived his objection to it and this assignment of error can not be considered. State v. Nelson, 101 Mo. 477; State to use v. Fargo, 151 Mo. l. c. 285; Brady v. Connelly, 52 Mo. 19; Brown v. Mays, 80 Mo. App. (K. C.) 81; Roberts v. Boulton, 56 Mo. App. (St. L.) 405.

The other grounds set out in the motion are directed to the evidence and to the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict of the court. In this state of the record the only question open for review is whether or not there is substantial evidence to support the verdict.

.The agreed facts are that Gen. J. S. Fullerton, in his lifetime, owned a lot on the corner of Seventh and Pine streets, in the city of St. Louis, and other real estate in said city; that in 1896 he had contracted for the erection of a twelve story brick, stone and iron building on the lot on Seventh and Pine streets and had placed a mortgage on the property for $225,000; that in the year 1897, when the building contracted tor was about half completed Gen. Fullerton lost his life in a railroad accident. He had made a will in which'the plaintiff, his brother, was named as éxecutor and trustee. For [202]*202the preservation of the estate it was imperative that the Fullerton building should be completed, and the probate court of the city of. St. Louis granted an order authorizing plaintiff, as executor, to finish it, but the estate had no funds available for the purpose.

The defendant, James M. Carpenter, was the agent of the estate at the time, for the collection of rents, etc., and was consulted by plaintiff and his attorney, Truman A. Post, Esq., in respect to raising a loan of $100,000 on the property of the estate, and suggested to defendant that his firm (James M. Carperter & Company) might advance the money on a blanket mortgage on all of the Fullerton real estate in the city of St. Louis. Carpenter thought he could negotiate the loan at six per cent if the plaintiff, as executor, could make a valid mortgage. Mr. Post assured him that the executor had the power, under the will, to make the mortgage and defendant agreed to undertake to negotiate the loan for a commission of two and one-half per cent, and it was agreed that Mr. Post should furnish Carpenter his opinion in writing that the plaintiff, as executor, had' power under the will to mortgage the real estate. Mr. Post’s opinion in, writing was furnished on June 25, 1897, and Carpenter started out thus fortified to find some one who would loan the money ($100,000) on the security offered. After making several unsuccessful applications to other parties, Carpenter applied to the St. Louis Trust Company for the loan. The application, accompanied with Mr. Post’s opinion, was submitted to its attorney, Mr. Stewart. Mr. Stewart procured a copy of Gen.

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Bluebook (online)
71 S.W. 98, 97 Mo. App. 197, 1902 Mo. App. LEXIS 218, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fullerton-v-carpenter-moctapp-1902.