Graves v. Haynes

231 S.W. 383, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 395
CourtTexas Commission of Appeals
DecidedJune 1, 1921
DocketNo. 230-3408
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 231 S.W. 383 (Graves v. Haynes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Commission of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Graves v. Haynes, 231 S.W. 383, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 395 (Tex. Super. Ct. 1921).

Opinion

GALLAGHER, J.

Allen Haynes, defendant in error, sued Herbert Graves, plaintiff in error, and alleged that he had theretofore purchased from Graves, in Fort Worth, 295 head of cattle to be shipped to Bell county, Tex., for feeding, breeding, raising, and selling purposes, and that such purposes were well known to Graves. He further alleged that Graves falsely and fraudulently represented that said cattle were safe, sound, and free from disease, and that such representations were not true, and that said cattle were then and there diseased with cattle fever, or some other contagious or infectious disease, which rendered them unsound, unfit for the uses intended, and without value. He fur- . ther alleged that he was ignorant of the con[384]*384dition of the cattle, and from the inspection afforded and made hy him he could not detect that said cattle, or any of them, were diseased, and that he relied on said representations and warranties, and believed them to be true and acted thereon by. buying and ■paying for said cattle. He further alleged that 101 head of said cattle died within a very short time after they were delivered to him, and were of no value, and that the remainder of said cattle were either affected, or soon became affected, with said disease and were thereby greatly depreciated in value.

It was further alleged that the term “safe” meant that the cattle came from below the quarantine line and would not contract the fever on being shipped to Bell county.

Graves pleaded general denial, and specially denied that he was the owner of the cattle in question, and alleged that Haynes instructed him to go upon the market at Port Worth and purchase for him about 300 head of cattle, and that he did so, paying for such cattle and holding them until Haynes came and received them and repaid the money expended by him in the purchase of the same, together with a commission of $6 per car, and the expense incurred in carrying out such commission.

He further alleged that in purchasing and paying for said cattle and paying the expenses incident to holding them until delivery he was acting as agent and commission man for Haynes, and that such was the customary way in which such business was transacted. He further alleged that he, in good faith, used his best skill and judgment in buying said cattle, and that they were in fact from south of the quarantine line and were known as “safe cattle.”

There was a trial before a jury, and testimony was introduced tending to sustain the several allegations of the respective parties.

Haynes testified that Graves represented the cattle to be safe, sound, and free from fever, and Graves corroborated him, and further testified that the cattle did come from what is known as safe territory — that is, territory south of the quarantine line — and that they were sound and free from fever at the time they were delivered to Haynes.

There was testimony to the effect that the cattle in question developed cattle fever within a few days after Haynes received them, and that the injury suffered by him in the death of a part, and in the depreciation in value of the remainder, of these cattle, resulted from that disease.

There was expert evidence that cattle fever was contracted solely from the bite of a certain kind of tick, and that cattle north of the quarantine line are free from ticks, and cattle south of the line had, or were supposed to have, such ticks on them; that there was no absolute immunity to tick or cattle fever, but there was a condition known as resistance existing when cattle had spent all their lives in ticky territory; such cattle might develop cattle fever and die of it; that Bell county was at that time south of the line and in ticky territory, and cattle to be shipped there should have been from below the quarantine line, or from ticky territory; that a change of cattle from one part of the ticky territory to another involved a chance of great loss, because of the difference in resistance to the infection of different localities; and that cattle moved from one pasture to another frequently developed such fever and died therefrom.

There was testimony to the effect that both Haynes and Graves were experienced cattlemen.

There was testimony to the effect that Haynes, in company with Graves, went among the cattle and inspected them and noticed that some of the cattle had ticks on them and some did not.

The court, on the issue of agency, charged the jury as follows:

“You are further charged that if you find and believe from the evidence that the said Herbert Graves, in purchasing said cattle, acted as agent only for the plaintiff, Allen Haynes, and as such agent used his best skill and judgment in buying ‘safe’ and sound cattle that were not afflicted with fever, then and in such event you will find for defendant, unless you should find in favor of plaintiff under some other portion of this charge.
“But, in this connection, you are further instructed that even if you find and believe that said Graves in purchasing said cattle acted as agent of plaintiff only, still if you should further find that in purchasing same he failed to use his best skill and judgment to secure cattle which were ‘safe’ (as the word is used in the evidence) and sound and not afflicted with cattle fever, or if you find and believe that he fraudulently (misrepresented to plaintiff the condition of said cattle, or fraudulently represented that they were ‘safe’ cattle when they were not (if they were not), and thereby induced the plaintiff to take same, and that at such time some or all of said cattle were afflicted with cattle fever and that some of them died therefrom, then and in such event you will find for plaintiff the market value of such cattle as you may believe so died from fever; and if you further find and believe that others of said cattle had cattle fever or were caused to contract said disease by reason of others of such cattle being so afflicted therewith at the time they were received by plaintiff, and that .their market value was thereby depreciated, then and in such event you will find and return a verdict in favor of plaintiff for the difference in the market value of such cattle at the time of such purchase in the condition in which they would have been but for such fever or disease and their value in the condition in which they were in after having such disease.”

Plaintiff in error in appropriate terms excepted to the first paragraph of this charge, [385]*385because it limited his right to a verdict his favor, if acting as agent, to the contingency that the jury should not find for the plaintiff under some other portion of the charge, and because it did not charge affirmatively that he should have a verdict in his favor if the jury found he acted as the agent of and in pursuance of a commission from the plaintiff. ■ in

He excepted to the second paragraph thereof, because there was no evidence of his failure to use his best skill and judgment, and no evidence that he made any fraudulent or willful misrepresentations in the matters referred to in said charge.

The jury returned a verdict for damages in favor of defendant in error who was plaintiff in the trial court, and judgment was entered in his favor thereon. The Court of Civil Appeals affirmed the judgment (214 S. W. 665), and the case is before u's for hearing on writ of error' granted by the Supreme Court.

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Bluebook (online)
231 S.W. 383, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 395, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/graves-v-haynes-texcommnapp-1921.