Hart-Parr Co. v. Thomas

1918 OK 152, 171 P. 867, 74 Okla. 104, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 187
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 12, 1918
Docket8056
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 1918 OK 152 (Hart-Parr Co. v. Thomas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hart-Parr Co. v. Thomas, 1918 OK 152, 171 P. 867, 74 Okla. 104, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 187 (Okla. 1918).

Opinion

Opinion by

COLLIER, C.

This is an action in replevin, brought by the plaintiff in error, hereinafter styled plaintiff, against the defendant in error, hereinafter styled defendant, based upon notes and mortgage given for the purchase of threshing machinery, purchased by the defendant from the plaintiff. The defendant answered and filed a cross-petition, praying fof damages of $1,-000 for the breach of a warranty in said machinery, and tendered in the pleadings delivery of all of the property sued for, except an engine, which was not purchased from th.e plaintiff, and upon which the mortgage was given in addition to said threshing machinery purchased from the plaintiff. The plaintiff demurrer to the answer and cross-action, upon the ground “that the same failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a defense or to sustain an action,” which demurrer was overruled and exception saved. Thereupon plaintiff filed reply to said answer and cross-petition, denying the allegations thereof. Upon a statement by the court that the parties differed on the law as to what issue should be submitted in the cause, it was claimed by the defendant that he was entitled to rescind, and it was then announced by the court that that issue would be submitted, and to this announcement of the court plaintiff did not object,. The court and counsel having consulted the cause proceeded, and was tried as one for rescission.

The evidence is exceedingly voluminous, and we do not deem is necessary to recite it in detail. The undisputed evidence is: That the machinery in question, except the engine which belonged to the defendant, was purchased from the plaintiff under a guaranty as to its efficiency; that the defendant paid freight thereon in the. sum of $90; that shortly after commencing threshing oisera-tions, the defendant complained to the plaintiff of the failure of the machinery to meet the guaranty, and thereupon an agent of the plaintiff was sent out to endeavor to properly adjust and cause the machinery to meet the guaranty. It was also shown by uncon-tradicted evidence that the value of the engine included in the mortgage, which was not purchased from the plaintiff, but was owned by the defendant, was $1,000. The *105 execution of the notes and mortgage, the basis of this action, was admitted by the defendant, and that the notes given for said threshing machinery had not been paid. It was also in evidence, and undenied by the plaintiff, that all of said threshing machinery purchased from the plaintiff, and said engine, had been seized and disposed of by the plaintiff. The evidence was in conflict as to whether or not the machinery came up to the warranty, as to whether or not the action of the plaintiff through its agents was such as to waive a return of the machinery by the defendant to the plaintiff, and whether or not the plaintiff, prior to the commencement of this- action, tendered a return of said property to the plaintiff. There were very many objections to the admission and exclusion of evidence, to which proper exceptions were saved.

The court, among other instructions, gave instruction No. 3, which was duly excepted to, and which reads :

“Y.ou are instructed that in order to entitle the defendant to a cancellation of the notes and mortgage sued upon, it was necessary for him to make a tender, that is, a return of the property, or an offer to so return said property to the plaintiff or its authorized agent, within a reasonable time after the discovery of the defects complained of, if there were such defects, and he did not do this, and therefore unless you find from a preponderance .of the evidence that the actions and conduct of the plaintiff were such as to relieve the defendant of the necessity of making a return of said property; and in this connection you are instructed that if you find from a preponderance of the evidence- that the defendant within the time stated in the warranty contract notified the plaintiff of alleged defects in said machinery, and that thereafter the plaintiff sent its agent to remedy the defects alleged to be in said machinery; and if you further find from a preponderance of the evidence that the said agent did not remedy the alleged defect, but represented and held out to the defendant that said machinery could be fixed, and directed him to wait for the company to fix the same; and if you further find from a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant relied-upon said promise to cure said defect, if there were any, in said machinery, and for that reason did not return the machinery — then your verdict should be for the defendant, and you should fix the amount of his recovery at the reasonable market -value of the traction engine at the time-it was seized by the plaintiff, together with the amount of freight paid by the defendant, the amount of the freight not to exceed the sum ,of $90.”

The plaintiff requested the giving of the following instructions:

“The court instructs the jury that the defendant can only- recover under the terms of the warranty upon which the separator was bought if he has made a legal tender of the property back to the plaintiff by a preponderance thereof that he did make such tender before he had,' by his acts, accepted the machine; that he cannot recover anything against the plaintiff, but your verdict must be for the plaintiff in the full amount of his claim.
“The court instructs the jury that the defendant had ten days in which to give notice of his dissatisfaction with the machine in question; and, unless you find by a preponderance of the evidence that he not only did give such notice, but also after the visit of the expert Newby gave new notice of his dissatisfaction, then you must find for the plaintiff.
“The court further instructs the jury that if you find from the evidence that the defendant, on the 13th day of July, 1915, notified the plaintiff that he had then, since commencing his run with the machine in question, threshed 20,000 bushels of.wheat, and had contracted 2,000 acres additional, and expected to have a good run, the defendant cannot be heard to say thereafter that he had not accepted the machine in question, and your verdict should be for the plaintiff.
“The court instructs the jury that the defendant admits all the material allegations of the plaintiff’s petition to be true, and thereby assumed the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence, not only that the machine in question worked badly or was defective, but also that he himself, and not some other person or persons was thereby injured and damaged.”

The court refused to giVe said requested instructions, and the plaintiff severally, excepted to such action of the court.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant in the sum of $1,090, to which plaintiff excepted. Plaintiff made timely motion for a new trial, which was overruled and judgment entered on the verdict, to which the plaintiff duly .excepted, and to reverse said judgment prosecutes this appeal.

A general demurrer to the petition does not raise the question of misjoinder of causes of action, and the court did not err in overruling the general demurrer to the answer and cross-petition. In order to raise a question .of misjoinder of actions a petition must be demurred to upon that special ground. Subsection 5,vseetion 4710, Revised Laws.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1918 OK 152, 171 P. 867, 74 Okla. 104, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hart-parr-co-v-thomas-okla-1918.