Henderson v. Burkholder

29 S.W.2d 937, 1930 Tex. App. LEXIS 673
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 3, 1930
DocketNo. 1955.
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 29 S.W.2d 937 (Henderson v. Burkholder) 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
Henderson v. Burkholder, 29 S.W.2d 937, 1930 Tex. App. LEXIS 673 (Tex. Ct. App. 1930).

Opinion

O’QUINN, J.

Appellant sued appellee to recover $1,-120, with interest, alleged to be commission due him by appellee for the sale of an order of “Colorcoat” plaster under an employment contract with appellee. The case went to trial •on appellant’s second amended original petition, in which it was alleged, in substance, that on or about April 27, 1927, appellee was engaged in the manufacture and sale of a plaster known as “Colorcoat,” and that on or about said date appellant and appellee entered into a written contract wherein appellee granted appellant the exclusive right to sell “Color-coat” plaster within the city of Dallas, Tex., except that appellee reserved the right to personally make sales in the city of Dallas; and wherein it wa& agreed that appellant would also have the right to sell said plaster anywhere within the state of Texas; and that appellee would manufacture the plaster necessary for the performance of the sales made by appellant and sell such plaster to appellant at a discount of 33 ⅛ per cent.; that after the making- of said contract he learned that a church was to be built in Amarillo, Tex., by the Christy-Dolph Construction Company of Dallas, under the supervision of R. H. Hunt & Co. of Dallas, as architects, and that he immediately began an effort to sell said “Color-coat” plaster to be used in the construction of said church; that he disclosed to appel-lee the facts concerning the construction of said church and requested appellee to assist him in securing a change in the specifications necessary to make the sale, and that, because of the benefit appellee would receive from such a large order, he agreed to assist appellant; that thereupon appeh lant arranged for a demonstration in his office to show the architects the advantages of said plaster, it being understood between appellant and appellee that appellant was endeavoring to make a sale of said plaster, and that appellee would assist in the making of the sale, and pay to appellant, under the terms of their said contract, his commission of 33 ⅛ per cent, of the list price; that after said demonstration of said “Colorcoat” plaster to-the architects, appellant and appellee together called upon the contractor, Christy-Dolph Construction Company, and quoted them a price and urged them to purchase such quantity of “Colorcoat” plaster as they might need in the construction of said building; that appellant thereafter continued his efforts to effect a sale of said plaster to -be used in the construction of said building, and that by reason thereof, and as a natural consequence thereof, the architects did select and specify “Oolor-eoat” plaster to be used in the construction of said building, necessitating the purchase of same by the contractor, he having authority to do so. '

*938 It was further alleged, in substance, that, the architects, through their representative, Mrs. Garter, had reported to appellant that said pla'ster would be specified, and that the church committee would be notified and satis- ' fied as to said change in the specifications for the erection of said building, but that said architects thereafter secretly and fraudulently entered into a conspiracy with appellee to defraud appellant of his commission by having appellee to make said sale of said plaster direct to the contractor, Christy-Dolph Construction Company; that in order to carry out said conspiracy said representative (Mrs. Carter), acting with the knowledge and consent of ap-pellee, and for their mutual benefit, requested appellant to make no further effort to complete said sale, telling him that the specifications would be made and the church people satisfied, and that said architects did inform appellee, but failed to inform appellant, and that thereupon appellee, on or about August 31, 1927, closed the deal with the contractor for the purchase of sixty tons of plaster at a price 'of $56 per ton, amounting to $3,360.

It was further alleged that in the furtherance of his effort to make said sale of said plaster, appellant employed one C. M. Cleav-enger, a relative of the said Mrs. Carter, as agent, to aid him in making sales of said plaster in North Texas, and that it was through the joint efforts of appellant and his said agent Cleavenger that the said hírs. Carter (the representative of the architects) consented to attend the demonstration of the use and appear-' anee of “Colorcoat” plaster in appellant’s office, and that said Mrs. Carter did attend said demonstration and was favorably impressed with the serviceability and appearance of said plaster.

It was further alleged that appellant and his said agent were the inducing and procuring cause of the architects specifying said plaster and the sale of same to the contractors to be used in the construction of said church building; that appellee could not and would not have made said sale of said plaster, except for the efforts of appellant and his said agent, and the action of appellee in completing said sale in the manner he did, and in refusing to pay appellant his said commission, was fraudulent and in violation of the terms of their said contract whereby appellee became and was liable to pay appellant his commission of one-third of the sale price of said plaster, $1,120.00, with 6 per cent, interest thereon from the date of said sale.

In the alternative, appellant alleged an implied contract on the part of appellee to pay him the usual, customary, and reasonable charge for his services in obtaining a purchaser for said plaster, which he alleged was ■one-third of the sale price, or the sum of $1,120, whereby he says appellee became bound to pay him that sum on a quantum meruit basis, with ■interest thereon at 6 per cent, per annum from the date of the sale.

Appellee answered by general demurrer, several special exceptions, and a general denial. The record does not disclose that any of these exceptions were acted on by the court. . The case was tried to a jury. At the conclusion of appellant’s evidence, the court sustained appellee’s motion for an instructed ver--diet, and accordingly the jury returned a verdict for appellee. Motion for a new trial was overruled, and the case is before us on appeal.

Appellant’s first four propositions challenge the correctness of the court’s instructing a verdict for appellee, and assert that same was reversible error, because:

(1) The evidence showed that, by virtue of a contract with appellee, appellant had been employed to sell “Colorcoat” plaster, a commodity manufactured" and sold by appellee, on a commission basis specified in the contract, and that, because of appellant’s efforts as the inducing and procuring cause, a sale of a large quantity of said plaster was effected at a price fixed by appellee, and, there being no evidence offered to the contrary, it was error for the court to instruct the jury to return a verdict for appellee, even though the formal order for the plaster toy the contractor was given to ap-pellee.

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Bluebook (online)
29 S.W.2d 937, 1930 Tex. App. LEXIS 673, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henderson-v-burkholder-texapp-1930.