Harris Millinery Company v. Bryan

127 S.W. 1153, 59 Tex. Civ. App. 477, 1910 Tex. App. LEXIS 406
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 5, 1910
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 127 S.W. 1153 (Harris Millinery Company v. Bryan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harris Millinery Company v. Bryan, 127 S.W. 1153, 59 Tex. Civ. App. 477, 1910 Tex. App. LEXIS 406 (Tex. Ct. App. 1910).

Opinion

TALBOT, Associate Justice.

The appellee, Mrs. A. W. Bryan, who was then Miss V. G-. Kennedy, in June, 1908, brought this suit in the County Court of Hunt County, Texas, against the appellant, Harris Millinery Company, a private corporation doing business and domiciled in the city of Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, and Henry Pollock, also residing in said last named county, and the First National Bank of Greenville, having its principal office and place of business in the city of Greenville, Hunt County, Texas, to recover damages alleged to have been sustained by her on account of the failure of appellant to comply with an alleged contract to deliver certain millinery goods in Greenville on the night of February 28, 1908. The plaintiff married the appellee, A. W. Bryan, pending the suit and they thereafter jointly prosecuted the same.

The petition alleges, so far as is necessary to state, that on the 28th day of February, 1908, V. G. Kennedy (now Bryan) purchased from appellant, Harris Millinery Company, at Dallas, Texas, a bill of goods invoicing $439.66, and fifty hat boxes and one hundred hat bags for the sum of $300 cash and a note for $50 to be thereafter executed; that appellant contracted in writing to deliver said goods in Greenville, Texas, on the night of February 28, 1908, but failed and neglected to deliver said goods, as contracted, for a period of about twelve days thereafter, to plaintiff’s damage in the sum of $91 for loss of time for herself and trimmer and for house rent paid during the time before said goods were delivered. That when her said goods were delivered they checked short items aggregating $67.50 of the value of $100; that she returned to defendant items of goods aggregating $13.95; that the flowers included in the bill purchased aggregated $80, but that after plaintiff had paid for the *479 goods other and cheaper flowers were substituted by appellant and that the flowers received were worth no more than $30, to plaintiff’s damage in the sum of $50; and that there was a considerable difference in the value of the other goods represented by the invoice and those shipped, cheaper goods having been substituted for those selected and shown by the invoice, and that the goods received were worth at least fifteen percent less than those that should have been shipped. It was further alleged that plaintiff owed appellant a note for $50 for a previous hill of goods; that this note had been transferred by appellant to Henry Pollock for the purpose of cheating and swindling plaintiff out of said note, and that the same was then in the hands of the First National Bank of Greenville for collection, and that upon a settlement between plaintiff and the Harris Millinery Company, when the amount of said note has been deducted, the said defendant will still owe plaintiff a sum of money more than $200; and that the transfer of said note by Harris Millinery Company to Henry Pollock was done to avoid a settlement of plaintiff’s just claim against the Harris Millinery Company. This suit was dismissed before the trial as to both Pollock and the First National Bank of Greenville.

The appellant, Harris Millinery Company, filed a plea of privilege to be sued in Dallas County, and, subject thereto, a general demurrer, general denial and special answer not necessary to state. The case, including appellant’s plea of privilege, was tried before a jury and resulted in a verdict and judgment for plaintiffs against the plea of privilege, and against appellant for the sum of $250.

Appellant’s motion for a new trial having been overruled, he perfected an appeal to this court, and his first assignment of error is as follows: “The undisputed evidence showed that the County Court of Hunt County had no jurisdiction of the cause against appellant, and its plea of privilege to be sued in the county of its domicile should have been sustained. The eviden.ce relied on to show that the contract was to be performed in Hunt County, showed that, if any such contract was made, it was dictated to appellant’s bookkeeper by plaintiff’s lawyer after the contract for the sale of the goods had been completely made, and the bookkeeper had no authority to make such a contract, did not intend or understand that same was being made, and thought that he was merely writing a receipt for the money paid. Besides, there was no consideration for such contract, and the court erred in refusing to give defendant’s special charge No. 7.” We think the assignment must be sustained. The evidence conclusively shows that the appellant’s domicile was in Dallas County; that it never had an office or agent of any character in Hunt County, and it was insufficient to authorize the finding of the jury that the contract was to be performed—that is, the goods delivered—in Hunt County. The material testimony bearing upon the latter question is, in substance, that the appellee, Mrs. Bryan, selected the goods bought by her from appellant on the 26th and 27th days of February, 1908, telling appellant to get the goods out as quickly as possible. They were to be shipped by express and appellee agreed to pay the express charges and for the goods $350. After selecting the goods appellee *480 went to her home in Greenville and then arranged with appellant to pay it $300 cash and give her note for $60 for the goods, and sent her attorney, Mr. B. Q. Evans, with the $300 to Dallas to make the cash payment. -

Mr. Evans testified: “With reference to that invoice—I had the invoice Sunday. I lost that invoice, and I caused a search to be made; had Mr. Bryan to examine the buggy I was in, and all the' places I had any recollection of being, and I 'am not able to find it. However, the invoice was exactly like that, except the memorandum. I described it in my petition and made it a part of my petition in this case, and the reason I didn’t put it in was the reason that when I made this amended petition, I overlooked it or something. How, the memorandum, it was in the form of a receipt. It started at the top, $300 cash, $50 to be paid June 15. I think it gave the amount of the invoice as $439.66. I believe that was it, one hundred hat bags, fifty hat boxes, one hundred paper bags. These goods to be delivered to Greenville tonight. H. M. Co. That was on the invoice. About Harris, he was sitting there in the chair. It was done by the bookkeeper. I don’t know anything about his not knowing it, but I know that was the understanding that the agreement was made and put down on the back of the invoice, These goods to be delivered to Greenville tonight.’ ” He further testified that the memorandum which he says was endorsed on the inventory of the goods by appellant’s bookkeeper was dictated by him and that he knew exactly its legal effect. That appellee agreed to pay $350 for the goods over the ’phone; that she could not raise but $300 of the amount and that he came to Dallas to bring that amount of money and arrange for the balance due on the goods until appellee could pay it. That was the cause of his trip to Dallas.

Jones, appellant’s bookkeeper, testified: “I am connected with Harris Millinery Company. I am just merely an employe. I don’t own any stock in the company. I remember the night you were over, Mr. Evans. I was the bookkeeper. I think I made an entry of whatever you paid on the bill, but don’t remember any entry about paper bags or anything of that kind. My recollection is that I receipted in the invoice for the amount of money paid. I probably showed there what the balance of the consideration was to be. That is my recollection. I don’t remember about anything else on it.

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Bluebook (online)
127 S.W. 1153, 59 Tex. Civ. App. 477, 1910 Tex. App. LEXIS 406, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harris-millinery-company-v-bryan-texapp-1910.