Kansas City Automobile Auction Co. v. Overall

238 S.W.2d 446, 241 Mo. App. 280, 1951 Mo. App. LEXIS 319
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 2, 1951
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 238 S.W.2d 446 (Kansas City Automobile Auction Co. v. Overall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kansas City Automobile Auction Co. v. Overall, 238 S.W.2d 446, 241 Mo. App. 280, 1951 Mo. App. LEXIS 319 (Mo. Ct. App. 1951).

Opinion

DEW, P. J.

Appellant, as the plaintiff in the trial court, filed a petition to recover damages for fraudulent misrepresentations of title to three automobiles, and, at the close of the evidence, was permitted to amend to claim damages for breach of warranty of title. The action was brought by way of attachment. The verdict and judgment on the attachment and on the debt sued on were in favor of the defendant. Plaintiff has appealed.

The gist of the original petition was that plaintiff was engaged in the business of conducting an auction for the sale of used automobiles in Kansas City, Missouri, and so conducted the same for dealers only; that on December 4, 1946, defendant placed a certain described Chevrolet pick-up truck with the plaintiff for sale at auction and warranted the title to same in defendant, clear of all liens or mortgages, whereas, [283]*283in fact, said car was subject to a certain mortgage in tbe amount of $1000, payable to I. Bordman, doing business as the Bordman Investment Company; that defendant knew of said mortgage, failed to reveal the same to plaintiff or to its customer, C. C. Jarvis Motor Company, which purchased the ear of the defendant at the auction for $1010 on the above date, which sum was paid to • the defendant; that thereafter, in February or March, 1947, the said Bordman Investment Company replevined the car in an action in Brown County, Kansas; that during the pendency of the suit the Jarvis Company called upon plaintiff under plaintiff’s “guaranty of title to all automobiles” sold through its auction conducted as aforesaid, and that pursuant to such guaranty plaintiff paid to the Bordman Investment Company $1000 to satisfy the mortgage, taking a release from the Bordman Company of the cause of action and handing same to the Jarvis Company. The petition alleged that defendant willfully, wrongfully and fraudulently failed, neglected and refused to disclose said mortgage and concealed same to plaintiff’s damage .in the sum of $1000.

In similar allegations the petition charged that on January 22, 1947, defendant offered for sale at plaintiff’s auction a 1940 Chevrolet Town Sedan on which there was a mortgage to the Bordman Investment Company for $1000, and which car was sold to G. IT. Bones, doing business as the Bones Used Cars; that defendant received the purchaser’s draft for said sale, at which time defendant well knew that there was a mortgage on said car for $1000 in favor of Bordman Investment Company, which fact defendant had fraudulently concealed from the plaintiff and the buyer. It was alleged that two months thereafter that car was replevined in Anderson County, Kansas by the Bordman Investment Company,- during the pendency of which action G. H. Bones called upon the plaintiff to “stand behind its guaranty” of sound title to the car and, upon learning the facts, the plaintiff paid the Bordman Investment Company $1000, taking a release thereof from said company, and by reason thereof plaintiff has been damaged in the sum of $1000.

It is further alleged that on January 22, 1947, defendant offered and sold at plaintiff’s auction a 1946 Dodge truck and warranted the same to be free and clear of encumbrances or liens, and pursuant thereto sold the truck through plain tiff'’s auction to the Van Patton Motor Company, which paid the defendant therefor; that in fact said truck was subject to a mortgage to the Bordman Investment Company for $1100, which fact defendant willfully and fraudulently concealed from plaintiff and its said customer, and that about two months thereafter the truck was replevined by the Bordman Investment Company in Van Burén County, Iowa, whereupon the purchaser* called upon plaintiff for relief under its guaranty of sound title, and plaintiff paid to the Bordman Investment Company $1100, taking a release therefor; that by reason of the willful and fraudulent conceal[284]*284ment of said mortgage by tbe defendant, tbe plaintiff had been .damaged in tbe sum of $1100. Tbe petition pleaded that demand bad been .made of tbe defendant to pay tbe damage incurred as alleged, and tbe same bad been refused. Plaintiff prayed judgment in tbe sum of $3100 and costs.

An affidavit in attaebment was thereafter filed, on tbe grounds that defendant was about to remove bis property from tbe state witb tbe intent to binder and defraud bis creditors, was about to remove from tbe state witb intent to change bis domicile,, and that tbe damages sought in this case arose out of a , commission of a felony or misdemeanor. An attaebment bond was furnished by tbe plaintiff and a writ of garnishment was issued.

Tbe answer pleaded insufficiency of the petition; that defendant was owner of and bad a pre-existing mortgage on tbe vehicles described, and that under the terms of bis mortgage be bad repossessed ■the cars before the sale alleged, and that be did transfer good title at tbe sale,, free and clear of any encumbrance. Tbe. answer further denied generally tbe remaining allegations of tbe petition and pleaded tbe falsity of tbe affidavit in attachment,-and prayed judgment for dissolution of tbe attachment and for $1000 damages. Thus tbe pleading stood until tbe close of all the evidence, when tbe amendment to tbe petition hereinafter more fully considered, was offered and, over tbe objection of defendant, was allowed.

In substance tbe -evidence of the plaintiff 'tended to prove that plaintiff conducted a used automobile auction business on commission, selling only to dealers at wholesale. Defendant was a dealer in used automobiles at retail and wholesale. Plaintiff bad sold many cars for tbe defendant previous to tbe instant transaction; On the dates alleged, the cars had been offered for sale through tbe plaintiff’s auction, and defendant furnished .each purchaser with a certificate of title in bis name and duly assigned to tbe purchaser and which contained a warranty that tbe defendant’s title was good and not subject to liens or mortgages. According to the custom of tbe plaintiff, each sale was covered by an invoice, containing the terms of the auction services, a part of which read: “Consignor further agrees that tbe Kansas City Automobile. Auction Co. is acting only as its or bis salesman in tbe sale of said automobile, and tbe said Automobile Auction Co. shall have no liability to consignor for tbe carrying out of any agreement or bid by a dealer, purchaser, or for any mortgages or liens or otherwise, if any there be on said automobile, and it only agrees to deliver tbe purchase price of said automobile to consignor and said automobile to dealer’s purchaser in tbe manner above stated”.

At the bottom of each invoice appeared-the printed words: “Pur•chaser has inspected tbe above described vehicle and accepts it as it is”. In each instance the purchaser signed bis name under tbe last above quoted words. Tbe president of the plaintiff company testified this method was used so.that it was not required “in that fashion to [285]*285guarantee and you didn’t guarantee to the buyers the titles to the automobiles”, except “as a moral obligation” to protect purchasers, as a business policy.

Plaintiff’s further evidence was that upon learning of the Bordman mortgages on the three cars and of the litigation involving them, plaintiff inquired of the defendant regarding the matter and defendant claimed to have repossessed the cars under a prior mortgage he himself had taken on the cars, after which he had new certificates issued to himself, which he had assigned and delivered to the purchasers at the auction sale. He said he had obtained the cars under a mortgage which he had predated and filed-.

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Related

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561 S.W.2d 416 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1977)

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Bluebook (online)
238 S.W.2d 446, 241 Mo. App. 280, 1951 Mo. App. LEXIS 319, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kansas-city-automobile-auction-co-v-overall-moctapp-1951.