Herron v. Raupp

120 N.W. 584, 156 Mich. 162, 1909 Mich. LEXIS 566
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 30, 1909
DocketDocket No. 30
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 120 N.W. 584 (Herron v. Raupp) 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
Herron v. Raupp, 120 N.W. 584, 156 Mich. 162, 1909 Mich. LEXIS 566 (Mich. 1909).

Opinion

Blair, 0. J.

Plaintiff brought this action to recover the profits which he alleged he would have received if defendants, a copartnership, had not prevented his performance of an alleged contract with said firm to peel certain hemlock bark and log certain timber of defendants. [163]*163The declaration alleges that the parties entered into a verbal contract on the 16th of May, 1906, whereby the defendants agreed that—

“In order to manufacture such timber they would place or cause to be placed on said lands forthwith portable sawmills to be located at suitable mill sites on said lands as follows, to wit: One mill site to be located on said lands on section twelve, one to be located on said lands in section fourteen, one to be located on said lands in section twenty-three, and one to be located near the center of said lands on sections twenty-seven and twenty-eight, all in township twenty-five (25) North, in range four (4) East, in said county of Oscoda,” etc., and that the plaintiff “was thereby induced to and did enter into a certain verbal contract whereby the said plaintiff then and there, in consideration of the payment of certain sums of money to be made by said defendants as herein stated, agreed to cut into sawlogs all the merchantable timber standing, lying and being on said lands, and to skid and haul all the said sawlogs sufficient to keep the sawmills to be placed on said lands forthwith as aforesaid in operation, said sawlogs to be delivered on skid ways without being decked, at the nearest mill sites selected by the said plaintiff and defendants as aforesaid, at the rate of at least two million feet, log scale, each season and as much more as said defendants should at any time order said plaintiff to cut and deliver as aforesaid, to be scaled (by log scale) on skidways at mill sites by some competent scaler to be agreed upon between said plaintiff and defendants, and to peel all merchantable tan bark from the hemlock timber on said lands.”

The testimony on behalf of plaintiff tended to show a contract with reference to peeling the bark and logging the timber. The testimony for defendants tended to show that the agreement related to the bark solely, and that they never made any agreement whatever with reference to logging the timber. Plaintiff testified that they selected two of the mill sites on the day they made the contract.

“ One was to be in 14 where the mill is now, and there was to be another mill in section 23 and 24 and one in 11 and 12 and one in 27 and 28.”

[164]*164Defendants’ superintendent testified that two sites were talked of to handle the timber on sections 11 and 12, either on 12 close to the Gates branch or in the center between 11 and 12.

“ Q. What was said as to the, mill sites on 23 and 24?
“A. It was to be put on 23, put in the center or a little on the west side of the section.
“ Q. What was said about the mill site on 28 and 27 ?
“JL That was to be placed on what is called the big spring; there is water there, that is why. * * #
# “ Q. Outside of this one mill site, where the mill is now at the present time, was there ever any mill site located, positively decided outside of this one mill site ?
“A. There was other mill sites that we talked of as to where they would be located, where they put or agreed to put a mill in. * * *
“Q. About the mill sites selected in those different bunches of timber was there any other place in that timber that was suitable for mill sites other than you selected ?
“A. No, sir.”

As to the amount of timber to be put in, plaintiff testified:

“Q. What, if anything, was said about the manner in which they desired it put in as to amount?
“A. They wanted2,000,000 a year or more, notlessthan 2,000,000 a year, and more if they wanted it.
“Q. If they wanted more put in, you would have to put it in ?
“A. Yes.”
Defendants’ superintendent testified:
“Q. What was said between Raupp and Herron as to the amount that was to be taken off, how long it was to take ?
“A. He said the bark must be peeled first and then the timber must be cut, 2,000,000 or more, as much as they liked to have cut during the season.”

Plaintiff entered upon the performance of the contract, but was prevented by defendants from completing it as to the logging of the timber. Plaintiff recovered a ver[165]*165diet, and defendants seek a reversal on various assignments of error; the principal ones being that the court erred in refusing to give defendants’ second and fourth requests to charge, and in charging the jury “that plaintiff could recover damages for the entire timber.”

Defendants’ second request was as follows:

“The evidence in this case conclusively shows that by the terms of the verbal contract the same was not to be performed in one year from the making thereof, and therefore the same is void, and your verdict must be for the defendants.”
Plaintiff testified that defendants informed him that they had four years within which to take the timber off.
“Q. Was it possible for you to carry out that contract with your equipage during that season ?
“A. I would have to if they put mills enough in to cut it all the way we talked.
“Q. Could you have managed to haul the logs to four different mills ? Did you have the men up there to do it ?
“A. We could get them in. * * *
“Q. And he wanted you to take the timber off within the four years ?
“A. Well, he said 2,000,000, or more if they wanted it, a year.
“Q. Did you understand by that, that if they wanted the entire 8,000,000, or 6,000,000 in one year, you could furnish it ?
“A. No; I didn’t figure on that.
“Q. You figured on furnishing about 2,000,000 a season, or a little over, if they wanted it ?
“A. Yes.”

Plaintiff testified as to the bark, as follows:

“Q. Did he state how much tan bark he wanted each year ?
“A. All I could take handy off 14.
“Q. Was it understood that your contract was to cover section 14 that year ? Were you to work upon any other section that season ?
“A. No; we didn’t talk about that.
“Q. You didn’t talk about whether you were to take any tan bark off any other section that season or not ?
[166]*166“A.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
120 N.W. 584, 156 Mich. 162, 1909 Mich. LEXIS 566, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/herron-v-raupp-mich-1909.