J. K. Armsby & Co. v. Oteri

4 Teiss. 385, 1907 La. App. LEXIS 101
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 17, 1907
DocketNo. 4215
StatusPublished

This text of 4 Teiss. 385 (J. K. Armsby & Co. v. Oteri) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
J. K. Armsby & Co. v. Oteri, 4 Teiss. 385, 1907 La. App. LEXIS 101 (La. Ct. App. 1907).

Opinion

ESTOPINAL, J.

Plaintiff and defendant had a contract reading as follows:

“New Orleans, La., January 21, 1904.
“The J. K. Armsby Co., has this day sold, and S. Oteri has bought 3,000 boxes two-crówn London Layer raisins, choice quality, crop cf 1904, at $1.20'per box, F. O. B. California, less cash discount of one and-one-half per cent. Shipments guaranteed on or before October 15th. The seller also agrees to take matter of delivery up with the Southern Pacific, and endeavor to get them to trace shipment through by wire, so as to obtain prompt delivery. Buyer to be advised of shipments and car number by wire.
“THE J..JC. ARMSBY CO.
“Per A. W. Porter.”
“February 3, 1904.
“It is further agreed that raisins must reach New Orleans on or before November 5, 1904, and, in the event of delay beyond date specified, buyer reserves the privilege of rejecting the goods.
“The above authorized by Armsby Co., as per telegram of vesterday.
“A. E. MORPHY, Broker.
“Accepted February 4, 1904, Santo Oteri.”

Plaintiff delivered in New Orleans and tendered defendant [386]*3863,coo boxes _f raisins. Defendant inspected them in cars, claimed they v. ere no: “two-crown London raisins, choice quality, crop oí 1904,” and refused to accept them. Plaintiff theitupon sold the raisins at public auction, after due advertisement, for a net price of $2,163.44, and sued defendant for the difference between $3,600, the net contract price, and $2,163.44,% the net price realized at the auction sale.

The following agreement is in the record (p. 2) :

‘'AGREEMENT. It is agreed by and between counsel for plaintiff and counsel for defendant that if the plaintiff is entitled to recover, he is entitled to recover the amount claimed; the defendant admitting that the annexed account sale of said raisins is correct.
“It is further admitted that, when the raisins arrived in New Orleans, the defendant demanded the right to inspect them before delivery, in the possession of the railroad, which right was granted by the plaintiff; that the defendant, after inspection, rejected said raisins, and so notified the agent of the plaintiff, General A. E. Morphy, of said rejection, and the only issue, by agreement, remaining in .this case is whether the defendant was obliged to accept the shipment of raisins.”

Under this accepted statement of the case there remains but two questions to settle, one of fact and the other of law, .viz:

First — Were the raisins tendered “two-crown London layer raisins, choice quality; crop of 1904?”

Second — The evidence adduced in the case showing one car lead of raisins to have been up to the grade contracted for, and the other car load to be below such grade, was defendant called upon to accept the good and reject the bad car, or reject both, as violative of the contract?

We have examined carefully the rather voluminous testimony in the record which satisfies us, notwithstanding some conflict, that the persons who testified in the case were in absolute good faith and truthful, and therefore, there is no question here of credibility. If such'were the case we would defer to the judgment of the trial judge who enjoys the advantage of seeing the witnesses and hearing the testimony and permit that judgment to remain undisturbed, when, however, it is a matter of appreciation of testimony, there can and need be no hesitancy on [387]*387the part of- the appellate court in reaching- a finding different frem that of the trial judge, when it is deemed justified by all the facts taken together.

To quote liberally from the testimony would make this opinion unnecessarily long, and we need only say that the testimony taken as a whole, satisfies us that the entire shipment of raisins did not come up to contract quality.

Some witnesses testified to the effect that the raisins were of the grade known as “Two-Crown London Layer,” and that the next grade was “Number 3,” an dthat there being no subdivision or other grade between 2 and 3, the word “choice,” used in the contract was meaningless, mere surplusage; that the word was never used in such contracts. We incline to a contrary view. It is admitted that the defendant agreed to pay a large price for the raisins, and to have done so, it is evident he had been offered extraordinary inducements, and this we gathere from the testimony of the defendant and others. The defendant says:

“Allow me to say, judge, that never in the history of my business have I ever purchased raisins so early in advance in the season. If it was not for the smooth talk of Mr. Porter, of the firm of J. K. Armsby & Company, he promised me so much, with tlie General present, that naturally, I purchased. When questioned as to who wrote the contract the 'defendant answered that the contract came from the office of General A. E. Morphy, the local agent of plaintiff's and that he, (defendant), accepted it.

Again we find that F. U. Gray, a raisin packer, employed at the time as manager of the Fresno Home Packing Company, at California, whose testimony was taken by commission, says: “I have a distinct recollection that as manager of the Packing house at Selma, I superintended the packing of these particular raisins that were shipped to S. Oteri. I received special instructions from L. R. Payne, General Superintendent of the Fresno Home Packing Company, to see that this shipment to S. Oteri, was of the best that could be obtained. Tha special reason given was the very favorable price,” and accordingly, that he made a special effort to get the best raisins obtainable. The same statement about the high price and consequent care is made by other witnesses.

[388]*388Isn’t it ev;dar that the plaintiff, under the terms of its contract, realhed that the defendant was entitled to choice raisins of two-crown grade?

Defendant was induced to buy this lot of raisins even before the crop was started, a thing he had neevr before done during his long business career as a fruit merchant. What induced him to do so? The fine promises of plaintiff’s agent, Mr. Porter, at whose side stood the very honorable and upright local agent of plaintiff’s, with whom the defendant was doubtless acquainted. Why should defendant, a veteran in the business, have paid a fancy price unless he was to be given an article out of the ordinary?

Instructions went forth from the plaintiff’s superintendent to the packers that the shipment to Oteri must be of the best obtainable of the grade contracted for, because of the very favorable price. Plaintiff’s good faith cannot be questioned, but were the raisins sent to defendant of the grade and choice quality intended by parties? This is the crucial question. The preponderance of the testimony indicates not. From the testimony of experts and others, it is established that there was a marked difference in the quality of 'the raisins in the two cars, one of the cars being said by one of the witnesses trashy (dark).

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Bluebook (online)
4 Teiss. 385, 1907 La. App. LEXIS 101, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/j-k-armsby-co-v-oteri-lactapp-1907.