Levine v. Armstrong

222 Cal. App. 2d 332, 35 Cal. Rptr. 202, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 1668
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 18, 1963
DocketCiv. No. 27210
StatusPublished

This text of 222 Cal. App. 2d 332 (Levine v. Armstrong) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Levine v. Armstrong, 222 Cal. App. 2d 332, 35 Cal. Rptr. 202, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 1668 (Cal. Ct. App. 1963).

Opinion

FOURT, J.

This is an appeal hy defendant from a judgment entered in an action for the recovery of money after a trial by the court sitting without a jury.

The chronology of significant events is as follows:

On March 30, 1961, plaintiff filed a verified complaint for money asserting therein four causes of action. In the first cause of action (breach of contract) plaintiff alleged in substance that defendant by oral agreement employed plaintiff “to typeset and make up new pages and effect changes, corrections and revisions on existing pages” for a certain book entitled “Who’s Who in California”; by the terms of the contract defendant promised to pay the sum of $17 for each and every page and the sum of $9 for each and every man hour plaintiff worked on existing pages; that plaintiff made up a total of 124 new pages and expended 571 man hours on effecting changes, etc., on existing pages; that plaintiff did not complete his work by November 1, 1960, but that the delay was caused “solely by reason of defendant’s actions and inactions”; that on or about November 21, 1960, the parties orally modified the aforesaid contract in only one particular—defendant employed plaintiff to typeset names of certain people with a list thereof to be furnished and provided by defendant so that, if defendant desired, the name of a purchaser or donee of one of said books could be stamped in gold thereon; that the reasonable value of such extra work is now and was then in the total sum of $30, and that defendant has failed to pay $5,068.28, the unpaid balance due under the said contract as modified to plaintiff’s damage in that sum.

The second, third and fourth causes of action were common counts (work, labor and services; quantum meruit; and open book account) wherein plaintiff asserted he had been damaged in the sum of $5,068.28. On May 22, 1961, defendant who was then represented by the law firm of Taylor, Sherman and Heller, filed her verified answer to plaintiff’s complaint.

In response to plaintiff’s first cause of action (i.e., breach of contract) defendant among other things admitted that defendant agreed to pay to plaintiff $17 for each and every new page which plaintiff typeset and in addition thereto defend[334]*334ant agreed to pay the plaintiff the sum of $9.00 per hour for work performed by plaintiff in revising, correcting and typesetting on pages which were known as existing pages. Defendant further admitted that plaintiff typeset and made up a total of 120 new pages at an agreed contract price of $17 per page. Defendant also admitted that defendant had promised and agreed to pay the plaintiff the reasonable value of the extra work in accordance with oral modification of the agreement (i.e., the typesetting of the names of certain people) and that the reasonable value of such work is $30. Defendant then asserted that there had been a total sum due and owing to plaintiff by the defendant in the amount of $2,358, but that defendant paid plaintiff the sum of $2,208.72, leaving a balance due and owing to plaintiff by defendant for services performed in the sum of $149.28.

Defendant’s answer to plaintiff’s causes of action asserted in the form of common counts was in substance that defendant denies that there is an unpaid balance of $5,068.28 or any other sum except the sum of $149.28.

In addition to the above, defendant also asserted a counterclaim in the sum of $10,000 predicated upon plaintiff’s failure to perform and to complete the contract on or before November 1, 1960.

On March 19, 1962, a pretrial conference order was filed. Therein among other things are set forth the issues that were to be resolved at the trial. The issues were, first, the extent of the work performed by plaintiff for the defendant and the reasonable contract value thereof; second, whether the agreement of the parties provided for completion by plaintiff of the work by November 1, 1960, and if so whether plaintiff breached the contract by not completing the work by said date, and finally, third, if the contract was to be performed not later than November 1, 1960, was such delay due to the fault of plaintiff or of the defendant. The pretrial conference order incorporated by reference a joint pretrial statement of the parties and individual pretrial statements of each of the parties.

In plaintiff’s individual pretrial statement he asserted among other things that “except as modified on or about November 21, 1960, the said August 9, 1960, contract constituted the sole and only contract or agreement ever entered into by and between plaintiff and defendant....”

In defendant’s individual pretrial statement it was asserted among other things that “on or about October 25, 1960 [335]*335the said contract was orally modified whereby plaintiff agreed to perform said work at the agreed price of $17.00 per page for each page in the new book over and above the number of pages in the Second Edition of said book, and $9.00 per hour for work of revising and typesetting on pages other than biographical pages” [i.e., deleting the $9.00 per hour charge for the alterations of existing pages except for irregular pages of nominal importance].

On September 21, 1962, findings of fact and conclusions of law were filed.1 Judgment was entered September 24, 1962.2 Defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied and the within appeal followed.

Defendant’s first contention is that the trial court [336]*336erred in failing to make an express finding on the issue of contract modification.

Defendant did not assert in her answer to plaintiff’s complaint that the contract of August 9, 1960, had been modified. However, in her individual pretrial statement defendant did assert that the contract was orally modified on or about October 25, 1960, “whereby plaintiff agreed to perform said work at the agreed price of $17.00 per page for each page in the new book over and above the number of pages in the Second Edition of said book, and $9.00 per hour for work of revising and typesetting on pages other than biographical pages. ’ ’

While it is clear that the trial court did not make any express finding on the question of contract modification, defendant failed to make a written request for a specific finding (Code Civ. Proe., § 634). What is stated in City of National City v. California Water & Tel. Co., 204 Cal.App.2d 540, 545 [22 Cal.Rptr. 560] is, in part, apposite:

“At this juncture it is appropriate to consider certain rules of law pertaining to the sufficiency of findings and the need therefor under the evidence. [1] As a general rule ‘a judgment .will not be set aside on appeal because of a failure to make an express finding upon an issue if a finding thereon, consistent with the judgment, results by necessary implication from the express findings which are made. ’ (Richter v. Walker, 36 Cal.2d 634, 640 [226 P.2d 593]; Beksinski v. Beksinski, 151 Cal.App.2d 674, 676 [312 P.2d 268].) [2] However, this rule does not apply if the appealing party made a request for a specific finding upon the issue in controversy. In the latter event, by virtue of the provisions of section 634 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the court, on appeal, may not infer that the trial court found in favor of the prevailing party on the issue.

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Bluebook (online)
222 Cal. App. 2d 332, 35 Cal. Rptr. 202, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 1668, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/levine-v-armstrong-calctapp-1963.