Harper v. Silver

200 Cal. App. 2d 103, 19 Cal. Rptr. 78, 1962 Cal. App. LEXIS 2685
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 7, 1962
DocketCiv. No. 6632
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 200 Cal. App. 2d 103 (Harper v. Silver) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harper v. Silver, 200 Cal. App. 2d 103, 19 Cal. Rptr. 78, 1962 Cal. App. LEXIS 2685 (Cal. Ct. App. 1962).

Opinion

SHEPARD, J.

This is an appeal by defendant Allen Silver, from a judgment for damages in favor of plaintiff E. S. Harper, on account of alleged misrepresentation in the sale of a boat.

Facts

The facts shown by the record before us are substantially as follows: On May 2, 1958, Silver was the owner of a 40-foot, two-engine, twin-screw Chris Craft pleasure cruiser. On that date he executed a written contract to sell the boat to plaintiff, E. S. Plarper. Richardson Yacht Anchorage, Inc., a corporation, and Ed Richardson, hereinafter called Brokers, were acting as Silver’s agents in advertising and selling the boat. Prior to sale, Silver represented to Brokers and to Harper that the boat was equipped with twin 275-horsepower Chrysler marine motors. Harper, believing said representation to be true, bought the boat for the agreed price of $22,500. The boat was actually equipped with one 250-horsepower and one 275-horsepower engine. The cost, to Harper, of replacing the 250-horsepower engine with another 275-horsepower engine, which [106]*106was done a short time after Harper discovered that the engines were mismatched, was $2,270.44. Expert testimony was received showing that the difference in market value between the boat as represented and the boat as it actually was sold was measured by the cost of replacement of the smaller engine. The Brokers relied on the written listing from Silver, made no investigation of their own, and made the representations to Harper solely on the basis of the information given to them by Silver. Harper believed the representations of Silver, would not have bought the boat if he had not believed them, and consummated the purchase. Nonsuit was granted as to the Brokers and they were awarded judgment for $500 attorneys’ fees against Silver. The judgment awarded Harper $2,229.56 damages against Silver. Silver appeals.

Material Misrepresentation

In his brief, Silver opens via the statement that he does not contend that the evidence might not be sufficient to support a finding of material representation as to engine horsepower. In view of the time-honored rule that on appeal “all conflicts must be resolved in favor of the questioned findings and all reasonable conflicts indulged in their support” (Butler v. Nepple, 54 Cal.2d 589, 597 [7] [6 Cal.Rptr. 767, 354 P.2d 239]), and that if there is a conflict in the evidence the determination of the weight of the evidence by the trial court is conclusive (Luz v. Lopes, 55 Cal.2d 54, 62 [8] [10 Cal.Rptr. 161, 358 P.2d 289]), we agree that the evidence is sufficient. However, Silver immediately after this opening statement contends that the evidence was insufficient to show what the horsepower of the engine was. With this contention we cannot agree.

It is true that some hearsay evidence as to Harper’s investigation and discussion with certain marine engineers after the purchase, was offered by Harper and rejected by the court. However, Silver himself testified that he originally ordered 250-horsepower engines; that the bill of sale from the Chris Craft factory where he bought the boat showed 250-horsepower engines; that the Coast Guard certificate of registration showed 250-horsepower engines; that some time after he received delivery of the boat in 1957 he had trouble with one engine and had it replaced by another engine; that he had been informed that in 1956 Chrysler discontinued manufacturing the 250-horsepower engine and changed it to a 275-horsepower engine; that he had owned many boats before and had never known a Coast Guard certificate of registration to [107]*107be in error. Harper testified positively that the boat was sold to him on a clear representation that it was powered by matched 275-horsepower Chrysler marine engines; that at the time negotiations for purchase were occurring he noted that one engine’s serial number did not correspond with that shown on the Coast Guard certificate and that in response to his inquiry on this to Silver, Silver assured him that both engines were, in fact, 275 horsepower and that the Coast Guard certificate was in error and would be corrected; that he, Harper, accepted and believed such assurance; that he would not have bought the boat had he known the truth; that on visual external sight of the motors in the boat a layman could not tell the difference; that he first discovered the engines were mismatched when he received the new Coast Guard certificate of registration a few weeks after the purchase, showing the same original serial numbers; that he then investigated and found that the port engine was a replacement turning up 300 revolutions per minute more at maximum throttle than the starboard engine, which was 250 horsepower; that he tested this with the tachometers on each engine and confirmed that fact thereby; that this affected the steering, caused a roll in the boat and difficulty in synchronizing the motor speeds; that he telephoned this information to the Brokers; and that they admitted one motor was 250 horsepower. The objection to this answer came too late and the answer remained in evidence subject to Silver’s motion to strike but such motion was never made. On cross-examination Harper again testified there was a difference in the engine horsepower. An expert on marine engines testified that he examined the engines and gave Harper an “estimate allowing for the difference in price between the 250 horsepower engine and 275 horsepower engine.” (Italics ours.) Nowhere in the communications between Silver and Harper and the Brokers after Harper gave the Brokers the first telephoned information of the fact of mismatched engines does there appear any suggestion from Silver that Harper’s statements were incorrect. Neither Silver nor the Brokers offered any contrary evidence on the matter. We are satisfied that the evidence was sufficient to support the court’s finding that the port engine was 275 horsepower and the starboard engine was 250 horsepower.

Seller’s Belief

Next, Silver contends that he had reasonable grounds to believe the representations he made. Civil Code section [108]*10811572, paragraphs 1 and 2, provide that actual fraud may consist of

“1. The suggestion, as a fact, of that which is not true, by one who does not believe it to be true;

“2. The positive assertion, in a manner not warranted by the information of the person making it, of that which is not true, though he believes it to be true.”

In the case here at bar, every bit of written information Silver had, including his original order for the boat, his bill of sale from the builders and the Coast Guard certificate of registration, all showed twin 250-horsepower engines. He knew that he had replaced one engine after the time the engine manufacturers discontinued making the 250-horsepower engine. He defends on the ground that he was informed by an engine agent in a casual conversation that both engines would probably be 275 horsepower. That agent was never produced for testimony nor was the mechanic who changed the engine. There is no suggestion that their testimony was not available.

In view of the sum total of the written information which had admittedly been received by Silver, the trial court was not compelled to believe Silver’s statement that he did not know at least one of the engines was 250 horsepower.

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Related

Roland v. Hubenka
12 Cal. App. 3d 215 (California Court of Appeal, 1970)
Mercer v. Elliott
208 Cal. App. 2d 275 (California Court of Appeal, 1962)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
200 Cal. App. 2d 103, 19 Cal. Rptr. 78, 1962 Cal. App. LEXIS 2685, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harper-v-silver-calctapp-1962.