Harris Photographic Supply Co. v. Fisher

45 N.W. 661, 81 Mich. 136, 1890 Mich. LEXIS 723
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedJune 6, 1890
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 45 N.W. 661 (Harris Photographic Supply Co. v. Fisher) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harris Photographic Supply Co. v. Fisher, 45 N.W. 661, 81 Mich. 136, 1890 Mich. LEXIS 723 (Mich. 1890).

Opinion

Long, J.

Plaintiff is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of this State, and doing business in Detroit. This action is brought in assumpsit to recover the price and value of certain personal property claimed to have been exchanged with defendant for real estate;

The contract set out in the declaration is that on July 23, 1888, the plaintiff sold to defendant, and the defendant bought of plaintiff, a photographic gallery, including the stock, fixtures, furniture, negatives, and everything connected therewith, and used in connection with the carrying on of the business of photographing in Detroit; and in consideration of such purchase and sale the defendant agreed to transfer to the plaintiff certain real estate situate in Bay City, Mich., of the value of $1,600; and the plaintiff on the day last aforesaid delivered to the defendant the possession of said gallery, and the fixtures and appurtenances connected therewith, and the defendant took possession of the same; yet the defendant has neglected and refused to transfer the said property so as agreed to be transferred in payment for said photographic [138]*138gallery, although often requested so to do; whereby the said defendant has become liable to pay to the said plaintiff the sum of $1,600 and interest, and in consideration of the premises then and there promised the plaintiff to pay it, etc. The common counts are also added.

The plea was the general issue, and thereunder defendant gave notice of several matters of defense, and, among others—

1. That no agreement in writing was entered into between the parties.
2. That there was no delivery of possession of goods and property, and that the defendant only took the keys of the gallery to make an examination and inventory of the property, and upon such examination and inventory, finding the representations of the plaintiff in reference to such property untrue, defendant returned the keys to the plaintiff.
3. That no possession or right of possession was ever delivered or secured to the defendant.
4. That defendant never promised or agreed to pay to plaintiff the sum of $1,600.
8. That the contract for the exchange of land as alleged in the declaration was void under the provisions of section 6181, How. Stat., the same not being alleged to have been in writing.
6. That the claimed sale of goods, being for the price of $80 or more, is void, under the provisions of How. Stat. § 6186, the purchaser not having accepted or received any of the goods, or given anything in earnest to bind the bargain in part payment, and there being no note or memorandum in writing of the bargain made, signed by either of the parties.

The cause was tried in the circuit court before a jury, who found a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. Defendant brings error.

It appears that, at the commencement of the trial, defendant’s counsel objected—

“To any evidence being received under the declaration, for the reason that it does not allege a sufficient cause of action to enable the plaintiff to recover; that the declara[139]*139tion does not contain an allegation sufficient to take the case out of the statute of frauds, and does not allege that defendant retained possession of the gallery, and converted it to his own use.”

The objection was overruled, and the cause proceeded to trial. The court very properly overruled this objection. The declaration need not set out that the promise an relation to real estate was in writing, or that there was part delivery of the property, or anything paid in earnest on the purchase of the personalty. This is matter of proof, and may be shown on the trial. The declaration set out a cause of action. Elling v. Vanderlyn, 4 Johns. 237; Dayton v. Williams, 2 Doug. 31.

The case was submitted to the jury upon the question of delivery to the defendant of the personal property sued for, and they have found the fact in favor of the plaintiff, and we cannot disturb that question, if there was any competent evidence to sustain the finding. Taking the whole evidence introduced by the plaintiff, we are satisfied that there was some evidence upon which the jury could very properly say that the property was aliened to the defendant, and was accepted under the contract. It appears that the defendant owned the building in which the gallery was situate, and rented it to the plaintiff. The business of the gallery was being carried, on for the plaintiff by Mr. Friend. He states that the defendant talked with him about exchanging some real estate in Bay City for the gallery, and wanted him to see Mr. Harris, the president of the plaintiff company, and learn if such an exchange could be made; that he told the defendant the gallery was worth from $1,400 to $1,600, and he would see Mr. Harris about the exchange; that he saw Mr. Harris, and the parties having afterwards met, the witness, being present, said to Mr. Harris:

[140]*140“ Here is Mr. Fisher, and you gentlemen better settle the question about the gallery and the real estate.”

That Mr. Harris said:

“Mr. Fisher, you make out the deed, and we will finish this up at once;” when Mr. Fisher said: “Hiere is another room there somewhere, — the bromide room, they call it, — and I want to go and see what is in there.” The witness then says: “They gave me the key, and we went together, and saw what was in there. I did not know what was in there before, and my estimate did not include that. I left Mr. Fisher there, and went home.”

Mr. Harris, the president of the plaintiff company, gave his version of the affair, as follows;

“Mr. Friend made the remark: ‘Now, you two gentlemen settle this business up.’ So Mr. Fisher and I stepped to the front part of the store, and talked over the matter for a moment or two, and he agreed to give me a deed of certain property in Bay City, valued at $1,675. He was to make his deed the next day, and we were to make a bill of sale. That was the conversation. I had never met Mr. Fisher prior to this in regard to it. Mr. Fisher inquired if there was any other property besides what there was in the gallery. I said yes, there was one camera box, 20x24, that was in Mr. Friend’s gallery temporarily, and there were bromide rooms on Grand River Ave., and he said if he bought it he wanted the bromide rooms transferred to his gallery. I said that was satisfactory, we would transfer the bromide rooms at our expense, and put all inside the gallery on Woodward avenue. Mr. Fisher said he would give me a deed of this property in Bay City, and we were to give him a bill of sale, and the transaction was closed in that manner. I gave him the key to go and look at the bromide room. He came back, and said he wanted the stuff in the bromide room sent right over that day. We then went and put everything from the bromide room in the gallery. The key to the gallery was in possession of Mrs. Friend. Mr. Fisher said he wanted the key, and the agreement was, if he bought the gallery, Mrs. Friend was to deliver the key to him.
“The next day Mr. Fisher came in, and wanted to know how the deed should be made out. He said, our [141]

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Bluebook (online)
45 N.W. 661, 81 Mich. 136, 1890 Mich. LEXIS 723, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harris-photographic-supply-co-v-fisher-mich-1890.