Marsh-Burke Co. v. Yost

153 N.W. 573, 98 Neb. 523, 1915 Neb. LEXIS 269
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedJune 18, 1915
DocketNo. 18106
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 153 N.W. 573 (Marsh-Burke Co. v. Yost) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marsh-Burke Co. v. Yost, 153 N.W. 573, 98 Neb. 523, 1915 Neb. LEXIS 269 (Neb. 1915).

Opinions

Barnes, J.

The Marsh-Burke Company, a corporation, brought this action against J. H. Yost, Herbert L. Laird, and Henry M. Boyer, under the provisions of article VIII, ch. 45, Rev. St. 1913, entitled “Unlawful Restraint of Trade,” commonly called the “Junkin Act,” to recover damages which it alleged it had sustained by reason of a conspiracy of the parties above named to drive the plaintiff out of the business of selling coal in the city of Lincoln and parts of the states of Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota.

The petition alleged, in substance, that, for nine years next before the commencement of the action, plaintiff had been a corporation engaged in the business of selling coal at retail and wholesale in the city -of Lincoln and throughout the states of Nebraska, South Dakota and Kansas; that defendant J. H. Yost, a resident of Lincoln, was engaged in conducting a line of 30 or more lumber and coal yards in various towns in the state of Nebraska; that defendant sells at retail large quantities of coal, and at all times has been engaged in the active management of his said yards; that Herbert L. Laird is the secretary of the Western Coal Dealers’ Association, and that Henry M. Boyer is the division sales agent and territorial manager of the McAllester Fuel Company of Oklahoma, and has the exclusive charge of placing agencies for a brand of fuel known by the trade-name of Bernice coal; that plaintiff, since 1904, had the exclusive agency for the sale of Bernice coal in and about the city of Lincoln up to and until the 28th day of October, 1911, and had at all times purchased that brand of coal from the McAllester Fuel Company through the defendant Boyer; that, during the time from 1904 to October 28, 1911, the plaintiff had expended large sums of [525]*525money in the employment of solicitors and in advertising said coal and in extending its sale throughout the said city of Lincoln and vicinity, and had built up a large retail trade for the sale of Bernice coal, amounting to over $100,000 a year. In addition to retailing coal in Lincoln, the plaintiff, in April, 1911, and subsequently thereto, was engaged in selling coal direct to consumers outside of the city of Lincoln and throughout South Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska at wholesale prices and in car-load lots by means of circulars and letters, and its business in said outside territory had increased to an average of from $4,000 to $5,000 a week; that defendant Yost was a large dealer in coal at his yards in Nebraska, and by plaintiff’s sales to consumers in car-load lots at wholesale prices the defendant Yost became angry and displeased, and claimed that plaintiff had interfered with his business and profits in his territory and principalities, that plaintiff was violating the prescribed rules and practices of the members of the coal dealers’ association, and called upon the plaintiff and sought to induce it to desist from continuing its sales to consumers in car-load lots at wholesale prices; that plaintiff refused to discontinue its said business; that thereupon defendant Yost persuaded and induced defendants Laird and Boyer to enter into a combination against the plaintiff to injure its credit and refuse to sell it any coal, and to ruin its business and put a stop to the plaintiff’s competition with defendant Yost in selling coal, and to that end took steps by which Yost induced the defendant Boyer to cancel the agency of the plaintiff for the sale of Bernice coal, and persuaded the defendant Laird to stop other wholesalers of coal doing business in Chicago and at other points from selling coal to plaintiff; that defendants carried out the agreement and combination, and plaintiff was unable to purchase any coal with which to carry on its business, and was thereby driven from business, and its trade was entirely ruined and destroyed; that defendant Yost made statements derogatory to plaintiff’s credit, to its damage in the sum of $95,000, for which amount plaintiff prayed judgment.

[526]*526Summons was personally served on the defendant Yost, but defendants Baird and Boyer, being nonresidents of this state, could not be served, and the trial proceeded against Yost alone.

There was a motion to make the plaintiff’s petition more definite and certain, which was sustained in part. The plaintiff complied, and thereupon a demurrer to the petition was filed, which was overruled, and the defendant answered by a general denial. Trial to a jury in the district court for Lancaster county resulted in a verdict for plaintiff for $38,000. On the hearing of the motion for a new trial, plaintiff was required to remit all of the verdict except $23,000. The motion was then overruled, judgment was rendered on the verdict, and the defendant has appealed. The plaintiff has also perfected a cross-appeal.

It is contended by defendant that the evidence does not show any conspiracy in restraint of trade on the part of any of the defendants, and that therefore there was no violation of the Junkin Act. As we view the record, it shows that Yost, Laird and Boyer sought one common end, which was to compel plaintiff to cease the business of selling coal to consumers in car-load lots at wholesale prices in the territory in which Yost was conducting his lumber and coal yards.

The oral testimony and the deposition evidence comprises more than 500 pages, and it is impossible to refer to the whole of it in the space alloted to this opinion. The substance of the evidence is that plaintiff’s agency for the sale of Bernice coal was the most valuable one in .the whole state. It had extensively advertised its business in the newspapers and by electric signs since 1904, until the Marsh-Burke Company and Bernice coal had become widely known and associated together. A business had been established of such proportions that it was later divided among five other dealers. It was shown that, if plaintiff’s agency for that particular brand of coal was canceled, its business would/be crippled and its credit impaired, not only because it had not been able to hold the agency, but because the plaintiff’s income from its specialty would be [527]*527greatly lessened. When Yost discovered that plaintiff was buying coal in car-load lots and selling it to customers at wholesale prices in his so-called territory, he immediately diverted two cars of Bernice coal from his Grand Island shipment to Lincoln and advertised it for sale to consumers at wholesale prices in that city. This immediately brought Boyer and’ his sales agent, Fitzgerald, to Lincoln to see defendant Yost. In an interview with him at that time the following conversation, in substance, took place, according to the testimony of Mr. Fitzgerald. We went to see Mr. Yost, as we were expected to protect Burke’s agency in this city. Yost said Burke was shipping coal into his towns. He did not claim that Burke was shipping Bernice coal, which Boyer furnished him, to those points. We talked to Mr. Yost about Burke shipping coal out into his towns. I had seen Yost’s ad in the paper. We were only interested so far as the sale of our own coal was concerned. Mr. Yost was selling Bernice coal in Hastings and Grand Island. So far as I know, Mr. Burke had never consigned a car of Bernice coal out of Lincoln. We did not permit him to do that. We asked Burke not to do so, and he said he would not. We had taken no action in the matter until we came to Lincoln.

The defendant Yost testified that Mr. Boyer called on him about October 20, 1911. His testimony was as follows : “Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Boyer came to our office. Q. In the First National Bank building? A. Yes, sir. Q. About what time of day? A.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
153 N.W. 573, 98 Neb. 523, 1915 Neb. LEXIS 269, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marsh-burke-co-v-yost-neb-1915.