Humphrey v. Baker

1918 OK 162, 176 P. 896, 71 Okla. 272, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 940
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 19, 1918
Docket8492
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 1918 OK 162 (Humphrey v. Baker) 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
Humphrey v. Baker, 1918 OK 162, 176 P. 896, 71 Okla. 272, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 940 (Okla. 1918).

Opinion

OWEN, J.

This action was begun by C. L. Baker, in the county court of Beaver county, against -Charles Humphrey, to recover possession of two mares. The case was tried to a jury, verdict returned, and judgment entered in favor of Baker for the return of the mares and their offspring. To reverse that judgment, this proceeding is prosecuted.

Baker, plaintiff below, alleged, in substance, that he traded1 the in-ares in question to Humphrey, defendant below, for a pair of mules; that Humphrey falsely represented the age of the mules and that they were as good and capable of doing as much -work as a certain other team of mules with which both parties were familiar; that he relied upon these false representations in making the trade; and that the mules were practically worthless. He offered to return the mules to Humphrey, and, upon Humphrey’s refusal to rescind the contract, the action was 'brought.

Counsel for plaintiff in error present many grounds for reversal based upon the refusal of the court to peremptorily instruct in favor of the defendant, the instructions given to the jury, weight of the evidence, and the form; o-f the verdict.

The evidence is undisputed to the effect that Humphrey represented the mules to be a certain age, and that they were capable of doing- as much railroad work, and were equally as good, as a certain other team of mules with which both Humphrey anld Baker were familiar; and that the mules were not able to do this work, but were practically worthless. -Counsel insist these representations were merely expressions of an opinion as to the value and were not such representations as constitute actionabte fraud. The cases cited support the contention that mere expression of opinion as to value will not support an action for fraud. We recently held, in the case of Wyrick v. Campbell, 67 Okla. 240, 170 Pac. 267, that a purchaser of land cannot predicate fraud on statements made by the vendor which amount to an expression of opinion as to value, where the parties are on equal footing, have equal means of knowledge, and there is "no relation of trust and confidence existing between them. The question presented here is whether these representations were mere expressions of opinion as to value, or representations of material extrinsic facts affecting the value. Both plaintiff and defendant were fa-miliar with the team of mules with which this team was compared, and knew that team was capable of doing good work on the railroad. Baker, it appears, stated to Humphrey that he wanted the mules for the purpose of using -them on railroad construction work, and Humphrey assured him that these mules were capable of doing that sort of work and would do as much work as the other team referred -to. This was a representation as to the quality of the mules, and not merely an expression of opinion as to their market value. It was a false representation - as to the character and fitness of the mules to perform the work for which Baker wanted them-. There is no controversy that Baker relied upon these representations to his damage.

This case falls within the rule announced by this court in the case of Puls v. Hornbeck, 24 Okla. 288, 103 Pac. 665, 29 L. R.A. (N.S.) 202, 138 Am. St. Rep. 883, where it was held that the rule of caveat emptor does not apply where the vendor is guilty of the fraudulent concealment of a latent defect affecting the value of the property for the purpose for which it is bought. In the case of Wingate v. Render, 68 Okla. 656, 160 Pac. *273 C14, it was held that representations constitute actionable fraud where it is made to appear: (1) That defendant made a material representation; (2) that it was false; (3) that when he made it he knew it was false, or made it recklessly, without any knowledge of its truth and ad a positive assertion; (4) that he made it with the intention that it should be acted upon by plaintiff; (51 that plaintiff acted in reliance upon it; (6) that he thereby suffered injury. To the same effect are the eases of United Iron Works Co. v. Henryetta Coal & Mining Co., 62 Okla. 99, 162 Pac. 209; Kelly v. Robertson, 61 Okla. 85, 160 Pac. 46; Prescott v. Brown, 30 Okla. 428, 120 Pac. 991.

The assignments directed to the refusal of ■the court to give the instructions- requested by the defendant below, and to. the instructions given by the court, do not afford sufficient reasons for reversal of the judgment. It appears -the jury was instructed that the burden was upon the plaintiff to establish by a preponderance of the evidence every material allegation contained in plaintiff’s petition; that plaintiff would foe entitled to a verdict if the jury found from such preponderance of the evidence that the trade was made as alleged in the petition, and that Humphrey misrepresented the mules as to their age, condition, and working ability; and within a reasonable time after Baker discovered such misrepresentations he tendered back to Humphrey the mules in the same condition as when he received -them. Also, that when one person states to another his opinion as to -the value of any property, the person to whom such opinion is stated has no right to rely on such opinion, but must exercise his -own judgment. These instructions fairly submitter the issues and it was not error to refuse the instructions requested by the defendant.

It is urged that the judgment must be reversed for the reason that the vei’dict did not find the separate value of each of the mares. The verdict was:

“* * * The plaintiff is entitled! to the recovery and possession of the property sued for. together with the increase therefrom, and we assess its value at $500 for the mares and increase, and that plaintiff return to the defendant the mules in question or their value in money, found to be $75 each.” ■

Counsel cite a number of cases holding ■that a vei’dict is defective unless each animal is separately valued. In 'many of the states the party retaining possession of the property and against whom the judgment is rendered is given the option to either return the property or pay its value, and the jury in such 'states are required by statute to find the value of each separate article, so (hat upon, the return of any part of the property the defendant may (be discharged from payment -of the value of that part. Our statute does not require a separate valuation, and under the rule in this state the property must be returned, if a return is possible. The defendant is not given the option to return the property or pay its value. Section 4807, Rev. Laws 1910, provides that judgment for plaintiff may be for recovery of possession, or the value thereof, in case delivery cannot be had. At common law an action in replevin tested only the right of possession of the replevined property at the time of the commencement of this action, and provided no method whereby the prevailing party might have judgment for value of his property in case the adjudged return thereof could not foe had, but left him to another action in another form to procure such relief. Wilson v. Fuller. 9 Kan. 176. But under our statute, as is the case under most statutes of replevin, an additional or cumulative remedy to that found in the common law has been provided, and now the prevailing party, where the losing party has retained possession of the property, m-ay have a judgment for the value of the property if he choose, as well as for the recovery of the possession, so that in the event the recovery of possession, for any reason, cannot foe had, he can proceed to the enforcement of his money judgment.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1918 OK 162, 176 P. 896, 71 Okla. 272, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 940, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/humphrey-v-baker-okla-1918.