Mason v. Wheeler

24 N.Y.S. 879, 2 Misc. 523

This text of 24 N.Y.S. 879 (Mason v. Wheeler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering The Superior Court of the City of New York and Buffalo primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mason v. Wheeler, 24 N.Y.S. 879, 2 Misc. 523 (superctny 1893).

Opinion

GrILDEESLEEVE, J.

In the summer of 1890, the plaintiff established himself in business, as a dealer in diamonds and jewelry, at No. 246 Fifth avenue, in the city of New York. The defendants were engaged in business at No. 2 Maiden lane, in said city, as jobbers in watches, and had been so engaged for many years. A business transaction was entered into by the- plaintiff with the defendants, which consisted of the purchase by plaintiff from defendants of a quantity of watches, watch movements, and watch cases, aggregating in value the sum of §10,229. The bulk of these [880]*880goods consisted of watch cases and movements, which the defendants, being jobbers, had had made by reputable manufacturers to fill the order received from plaintiff. •The defendants had soEcited the patronage of the plaintiff, and the plaintiff visited their place of business by appointment, and entered into the contract in question for the purchase of the goods which the defendants were to have manufactured as aforesaid. The plaintiff was a young man, who had served his term as an apprentice in the jewelry business, but who had had little or no experience as a merchant. From samples exhibited to him by the defendants, he selected the style of watch cases that he desired, stated the grade or quality of the gold of which he wished them to be manufactured, and, relying upon the experience and fairness of the defendants, left the price to be paid entirely in their discretion, and, to a large extent, the quantity of goods. Prior to the interview at which this contract was entered into, at defendants’ place of business, the defendants, at plaintiff’s request, purchased three chronometer watches, and one calendar watch, and delivered them to the plaintiff on memoranda, to be accepted by him, or returned within a limited time. These four watches were the best of the kind there could be obtained, were purchased from the sole importers of them, and invoiced to the plaintiff at the sum of $1,760, which was a reasonable and suitable .price. They were not returned by the plaintiff, but the plaintiff paid the defendants therefor the sum charged in the invoice. Subsequently to the interview that resulted in the contract aforesaid, the defendants, at plaintiff’s request, purchased a quantity of nonmagnetic watches from the Nonmagnetic Watch Company of America, the sole importers of the article, at the regular list price, with the discount off, and billed and delivered them to the plaintiff at the list price adopted by the Nonmagnetic Watch Company, which was the same price the plaintiff would have had to pay if he had bought them of the Nonmagnetic Watch Company himself. The price of these goods was $2,010, and it constitutes a portion of, and goes to make up, the aggregate sum of $10,229, above mentioned. From a careful consideration of all the evidence and circumstances, including the probabilities, it must be held that the transactions in respect to the chronometers, the calendar and nonmagnetic watches were not within the contract, but separate and distinct transactions. It is satisfactorily established by the evidence that these goods were purchased by the defendants for the plaintiff, at h'is request, duly delivered to the plaintiff, invoiced at reasonable and suitable prices, accepted and retained by the plaintiff, and paid for by him. The transactions were complete, and the evidence discloses no ground for complaint against the defendants on the part of the plaintiff. If these goods were not suited to the plaintiff’s trade, and he was unable to find a market for them, the purchase of them by plaintiff was an error of judgment on his part, or a misfortune, for which no responsibility attaches to the defendants.

The plaintiff testifies that he paid the defendants $8,743. De[881]*881ducting from this sum the bills for the chronometers and nonmagnetics, not included in the contract in question, amounting to $3,770, we find that the plaintiff paid the defendants $4,973 on account of the goods delivered under the contract in question, leaving an unpaid balance due from plaintiff to defendants, on account of the goods delivered under the contract, of $1,486 at the time this action was brought. The plaintiff testifies that the nonmagnetics were unsalable, and that he still has all of the chronometers, but that he did sell goods purchased from the defendants to the amount of $1,162. It must therefore be inferred that the plaintiff sold goods received under the contract to the amount of $1,162. At the commencement of this action, the plaintiff must therefore have had on hand, delivered under the contract, goods to the amount of $5,297. The plaintiff has paid the defendants, as already stated, $4,978 on account of these goods, and we must therefore, in order to ascertain the amount of money that the defendants should return to the plaintiff, deduct the $1,162 received for the goods sold, which leaves $3,811. The purpose of this action, therefore, is to compel the defendants to take back goods of the value of $5,297, and return to the plaintiff $3,811 in money. To accomplish this, the equity powers of the court are invoked to decree a rescission of the contract, and to direct the mutual acts of return and repayment to be performed. The demand is substantially that each may have his own of what remains in the possession of the respective parties.

At the opening of the trial, the learned counsel for the defendants contended, with much force and good argument, that the complaint shows a complete remedy at law in the nature of damages for breach of warranty; that the allegations of the complaint, if established, are not such as entitle the plaintiff to the interference of a court of equity; that a cause of action for a breach of warranty only is set forth; and that an inspection of the complaint fails to disclose an allegation of any special circumstance showing the inadequacy of the common-law remedy and a right to equitable relief. While this contention is not without grounds for its support, I am not inclined to accept it, but prefer to assume that the plaintiff’s action has been properly brought. In Allerton v. Allerton, 50 N. Y. 70, the court of appeals say:

“The rule that he who seeks to rescind an agreement, on the ground of fraud, must place the other party in as good a situation as that in which he was when the agreement was made, is satisfied if the judgment asked for will accomplish that result, and in such a case no offer to return that which was received is necessary.”

In Gould v. Bank, 86 N. Y. 84, in the opinidn of the court, per Earl, J., it is said:

“The conclusion we thus reach leaves a defrauded party with ample remedies. One situated like the plaintiff can rescind by tendering or restoring what he has received, and then commence his action. He may keep what he has received, and sue to recover damages for the fraud; or he may commence an action in equity to rescind and for equitable relief, offering in his complaint to restore, in case he is not entitled to retain, what he has received. [882]*882These actions are all fundamentally different. If the party is not willing or able first to restore what he has received, he is confined to one of the last two remedies.”

The plaintiff had availed himself of the advantages of the market during the “holiday season,”—the best portion of the year for his business,—and sold, presumably at good profit, about 10 per cent, of the goods delivered under the contract. He was not able to restore what he had received, and thereby put the defendants in the same position that they occupied when the transaction was completed.

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Bluebook (online)
24 N.Y.S. 879, 2 Misc. 523, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mason-v-wheeler-superctny-1893.