Hill v. Dakin

143 N.W. 821, 162 Iowa 103
Supreme Court of Iowa·Decided November 13, 1913·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

Deemer, J.

The issues have been sufficiently stated, and the case turns largely upon the sufficiency of the testimony to support the verdict, although some legal propositions are incidentally involved.

1. agency: action for commission pleading and proof. It is fundamental, of course, that plaintiff must prove his case as made in his petition. That is, he must establish the contract as pleaded, show the performance thereof by him, and a breach thereof by the defendant, and the measure of his recovery as alleged.

[105] 2. Appeal : questions not raised below. [104] Defendant’s counsel strenuously argue that this the plaintiff did not do; that the verdict has no support, either in [105] law or in the testimony; and that the verdiet and judgment should be set aside. A suggestion is made . . . m argument that plaintiff cannot recover Decause he was the agent for both parties, receiving a commission from each, all without the knowledge or consent of the defendant; but this point does not seem to have been made in the trial court, and consequently will not be considered here.

The trial court submitted the case to the jury upon the theories shown by the following instructions:

3. Agency : action for commssion: evidence: submmission of issues III. The material question for you to determine in this case is the terms of the oral contract made between the plaintiff and the defendant. If the plaintiff has shown, by a preponderance of the evidence, that it was the agreement between himself and the defendant that the defendant would protect him to the amount of $1 an acre on any land which he as owner or agent should sell or trade to a buyer produced by plaintiff, then, under the facts in this ease, plaintiff would be entitled to a verdiet at your hands against the defendant for the sum of $320. But if it was the agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant that defendant should be liable only for such lands as were owned or controlled by defendant, and the 320-acre farm situated in Dodge county was not in such list, then plaintiff cannot recover. IV. If the agreement between the plaintiff and defendant was to the effect that plaintiff should have a commission of $1 an acre in case of sale or trade by him of any land which the defendant might own or have listed as agent there or thereafter within a reasonable time to the customer produced by plaintiff, then plaintiff will be entitled to recover the sum of $320 in this case. But if, by the terms of the oral contract between the parties, it was not contemplated that defendant should be liable for a commission to the plaintiff, in case he should trade to a customer produced by plaintiff land other than the lands included in the list given to the plaintiff or other than the lands which he then owned or controlled, and he did not at the time own or control the land which it is admitted he sold to Schmedika, then plaintiff cannot recover, and your verdiet should be for defendant.

[106] The main proposition is whether or not there was any substantial testimony in support of these instructions. Plaintiff is a real estate agent living at Webster City, and defendant is engaged in a like business in the city of Minneapolis, Minn. On or about February 10, 1911, defendant came to Webster City, Iowa, and had a talk with plaintiff regarding the finding of purchasers for Minnesota land, and in this conversation agreed to pay plaintiff the sum of $1 per acre for his labors. There is some dispute in the testimony as to just what the agreement was; but plaintiff testified substantially as follows:

Dakin, in the office, says to me, ‘Now,’ he says, ‘I have got land of my own, and I have always got lots of other lands for other men for sale or trade,’ and he says, ‘Anything you might bring to me where I make a deal I will protect you for $1 an acre whether it is mine or other men’s land.’

Defendant testified, regarding this, as follows:

I was in conversation with Mr. Hill. I told him I had some land in Southern Minnesota, also a list of lands. I think I handed him a pamphlet — at least, I intended to, if I did not —of the lands I owned and controlled. I says, ‘If you get anything for me on the purchase of any of these lands, I will take care of you and a dollar an acre commission. ’ I won’t be positive that I handed him a pamphlet, but I generally do when talking to an agent. I always have them in my pocket, and ■have a printed list of lands I either own or control. That was the understanding I wanted to infer on him when we were talking.

A witness in corroboration of plaintiff testified:

They were talking about a packing plant Mr. Hill had, I think, for trade or sale, or something like that. They were talking about different deals. I heard Dakin tell Hill that he would take care of him for a dollar an acre for all deals he would bring to him or make with him. . . . He was to have a dollar an acre for all the deals he would bring to him. [107] Nothing was said about when he was to bring them. He said any deal they made — ‘ any man you bring that we make a deal through you, I will protect you for a dollar an acre.’ I don’t remember about anything being said about this land being owned or listed with Dakin.

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Hill v. Dakin, 143 N.W. 821, 162 Iowa 103 (iowa 1913).

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