Magnolia Cotton Oil Co. v. Continental Oil & Cotton Co.

183 S.W. 10, 1916 Tex. App. LEXIS 103
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 15, 1916
DocketNo. 8306.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 183 S.W. 10 (Magnolia Cotton Oil Co. v. Continental Oil & Cotton Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Magnolia Cotton Oil Co. v. Continental Oil & Cotton Co., 183 S.W. 10, 1916 Tex. App. LEXIS 103 (Tex. Ct. App. 1916).

Opinion

BUCK, J.

Plaintiff, in its petition, alleged that the defendant sold to the plaintiff 10 tank cars, or 1,600 barrels of 50 gallons each, of Bleach-able Prime Summer Yellow cotton seed oil, at a price of 31½ cents per gallon. It was alleged that the contract was made through W. L. Alderson & Co., brokers, Dallas, Tex.; said contract providing that the shipment was for January, 1915, and further providing, “sale made subject to the rules of the Texas Cotton Seed Crushers’ Association.” It was further alleged that, in partial compliance with the terms of said contract, defendant had delivered to plaintiff 5 tank cars, but had failed and refused to deliver the other 5, for which damages were sought in the sum of $6,600.

Defendant answered, among other things, that it had not breached said contract, in that, by the terms of the written memorandum of the brokers, which, with the rules of the Cotton Seed Crushers’ Association applicable thereto, constituted the entire contract, plaintiff was to furnish at defendant’s mill empty tank cars for the delivery and shipment of said oil in time for the loading of the same within the month of January, and that under the terms of the rules of said as *11 sociation the seller had 48 hours after the delivery of cars before he could he held in default. In the statement of facts the memorandum of contract is set out as follows:

“Contract No. 860.
“Dallas, Texas, October 22, 1914.
“Continental Oil & Cotton Company, Seller.
“Magnolia Cotton Oil Company, Buyer.
“Gentlemen: Per our exchange of telegrams and telephone conversations between Continental Oil & Cotton Company, of Abilene, Texas, and Magnolia Cotton Oil Company, at Houston, Texas, and ourselves, we beg to confirm having this day sold to Magnolia Cotton Oil Company for the account of Continental Oil & Cotton Company ten (10) tank cars (1,600 barrels) Bleachable Prime Summer Yellow cotton seed oil, all at 31½ cents (thirty-one and one-half cents) per gallon, loose f. o. b. Abilene, Texas.
“Shipment, January.
“Tanks to be furnished by buyer-seller’s routing.
“Capacity of tanks, 160 barrels each.
“Exchange free to buyer.
“Terms: Weights and quality guaranteed at destination. Sight draft bill lading attached. Sale made subject to the rules of Texas Cotton Seed Crushers’ Association.
“Commission to be paid by seller; namely, 10 per cent, per barrel of 50 gallons.
“This contract is made in triplicate, one copy being sent to the buyer, one to the seller, and one retained on file in this office.
“Yours very truly,
“W. L. Alderson & Company, “As Brokers Only.”

And it is further shown that by letter of December 23, 1914, defendant notified plaintiff that it was ready to begin delivery of the oil at any time and could load the entire 10 tank cars on arrival, asking that plaintiff give defendant some of the tanks at the earliest possible moment. By letter dated January 7, 1915, defendant wrote plaintiff as follows:

“We wrote you some time ago asking you to furnish us tanks as soon as possible to move the Alderson contract. The only routing we insist on is to have the tanks come to us over the Texas & Pacific, and if going to Houston, we would like to have them over the Katy or Santa PS.”

[1,2] Pour tanks were forwarded by plaintiff and loaded out and shipped during the first half of January, 1915. One empty tank car was forwarded so that in ordinary course of transportation it should have arrived at Abilene prior to January 28, 1915; but, by reason of delay en route, it did not reach Abilene until January 30th. By reason of the delay occurring by no fault of plaintiff, defendant waived any question arising by reason of its construction of the terms of the contract, and loaded and shipped this tank; so that, it is only as to the other five that any issue is presented. Of these, one tank reached Abilene on January 29, 1915, 9 o’clock a. m., and was placed at defendant’s mill between 8 and 11 o’clock a. m. January 30th. Pour others arrived at Abilene January 30th, at 3:50 o’clock a. m., and were placed at defendant’s mill on the 31st between 4 and 5 o’clock p. m. Defendant did not load or ship any of these five tanks, but on January 29, 1915, notified plaintiff that the time of shipment of said tanks would not admit of their reaching Abilene within contract time, and that therefore defendant had elected to cancel said contract. January 31st was Sunday, and it is admitted in the statement of facts that none of the tanks not filled reached Abilene in time for the defendant to have two full working days, or 48 hours, for loading the same within the month of January. It is further agreed that if the contention of the defendant, to wit, that it should have two full working days before the expiration of the month of January in which to load and ship said tanks, is correct, the judgment of the trial court should be sustained. But, on the other hand, if plaintiff complied with the terms of the contract by delivering the empty tank cars at Abilene at any time before the expiration of January, then a judgment should be rendered for it in an agreed sum. Ordinarily, where delivery is to be made within a certain period, as within a designated month, the seller has until the last day of the month to make delivery. 35 Oyc. 177. And likewise, where the buyer has the right within a designated period to furnish cars or other receptacles for receiving the commodities, which are the subject of the sale, a delivery by him at any time before the expiration of the designated period or, at most allowing a reasonable time for loading, is a compliance with the terms of the contract. So that, the question before us is reduced to the one issue, to wit, whether by the terms of the contract defendant was entitled to the 48 working hours within the month of January in which to load and ship the oil.

[3] We think from the terms of the broker’s memorandum, heretofore set out, that the time therein specified, to wit, January, within which the stipulations of said contract should be complied with, should not be extended beyond said month, and, upon demand by the buyer within a period prior to the expiration of the month sufficient for the seller to load and ship the oil within the specified time, the seller was obligated so to do. The term “January” relates to the time of shipment of oil by the seller, and not to the time of forwarding of the cars by the buyer. Rule 22, § 1(d) reads:

“Specified forwarding.

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183 S.W. 10, 1916 Tex. App. LEXIS 103, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/magnolia-cotton-oil-co-v-continental-oil-cotton-co-texapp-1916.