McMahan v. Copiah County, Miss

1921 OK 366, 202 P. 1007, 84 Okla. 222, 1921 Okla. LEXIS 431
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 25, 1921
Docket10275
StatusPublished

This text of 1921 OK 366 (McMahan v. Copiah County, Miss) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McMahan v. Copiah County, Miss, 1921 OK 366, 202 P. 1007, 84 Okla. 222, 1921 Okla. LEXIS 431 (Okla. 1921).

Opinion

*223 PITOHFORD, J.

The defendant in error commenced this action in the district court of Oklahoma county, Oklahoma, against the plaintiff in error for breach of contract for the purchase of certain road bonds. The parties hereafter will be referred to as' they appeared in the trial court.

Plaintiff and defendant practically agree that the law of Mississippi was strictly followed authorizing the issuance of the bonds. The'clerk was authorized by the board of supervisors of Copiah county to have the bonds lithographed and to advertise for bids. This the elenk proceeded to do; the notice as published being as follows:

“Notice of Sale of District Two Bonds. It is ordered by the board of supervisors that the clerk of the board procure the lithographed bonds heretofore provide., 'w at this meeting, for supervisors’ district No. Two, and that he give notice for the sale of all or part of said bonds, on the first Monday of April, 19il3; that sealed bids may be filed up to the time of sale, each bid to be accompanied by a certified check for at least five per cent, of the amount of bonds bid for, and that all of such portions of the bonds as the board may elect at the time, shall be sold to the highest bidder or bidders for cash, at not less than the par value of the bonds.
“H. Shelton, Clerk.”

On the 9th of April, 3913, the defendant wired the Hazelhurst Bank, as follows:

“Oklahoma Oity, Okla., Apr. 9, 1913.
■“Bank of Hazelhurst:
“Bond market demoralized, but will take road bonds if you can get five one-half at par.
“A. J. McMahan.”

On April 12, 1913, J. E. Taylor wired the Bank of Hazelhurst the following:

“Memphis, Tenn., Apr. 12, 1913.
■“Bank of Hazelhurst:
“Close deal par advise my expense, naming check required.
“J. E. Taylor.”

On the last named date, the board adopted a resolution accepting the bid of McMahan, as follows:

“In the Matter of the Sale of $75,000 of Copiah County Supervisors’ District No. Two Road Bonds, it appearing to the board that A. J. McMahan has offered par and accrued interest to date delivery of bonds for said issue provided the same shall bear interest at five and one-half per cent, per an-num, and it appearing to the board that this is the highest and best offer received for said bonds, it is ordered that said bid be and the same is, hereby accepted and the clerk of the board is hereby directed to request said purchaser to furnish a certified check for the sum of five per cent, per annum of said bid as required by the order offering said bonds for sale and to furnish him with a certified copy of the proceedings of the board looking to the issue of said bonds.”

On April 17, 1913, Taylor went to Hazel-hurst and insisted that the interest be made páyable semi-annually, and insisted that he be permitted to deposit $2,000 in lieu of the five per cent, of the amount bid. The board refused to change the time for the payment of the interest, but did agree to accept $2,000 in lieu of five per cent.; this amount was deposited by Taylor, as the agent of McMahan, which consisted of a certified cheek on the American National Bank of Oklahoma Oity and a draft issued by the Continental and Commercial Trust & Savings Bank of Chicago for $1,000 each. Afterwards McMahan failed to pay for the bonds which necessitated their sale to other parties and payment on the checks deposited by Taylor was stopped. Upon trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for $2,000, with interest at six per cent, from September 1, 1913. Judgment was rendered in favor of the plaintiff in accordance with the verdict, from which the defendant appeals.

The brief of the defendant is devoted to two propositions: The first being that the plaintiff failed to make out a ease against the defendant, either by the pleadings or the evidence; the second being that no sufficient note or memorandum was made in writing and subscribed by the defendant or his agent to satisfy section 941, Rev. Laws 1910; contending that there could be no contract unless the minds of the parties met >upon every material element necessary to establish contract relations; and further, that even if the proof did establish that the minds of the parties met with an intent to establish contract relations, such contract would be void under the statute of frauds, unless there was some note or memorandum thereof in writing and subscribed by the defendant or by his agent

The main question for our consideration involves the determination of whether or not a contract was entered into by the plaintiff and the defendant, which in law would bind the parties, respectively. In order to determine this question, it is necessary to ascertain what was done by the board of supervisors prior to the advertisement by the clerk of the board for bids. It appears from the evidence that the board strictly observed the provisions of the Mississippi law *224 authorizing the issuance of the bonds. The notice or advertisement for bids failed to mention the amount of the bonds, when or where they were to be paid, and fails to contain any reference to the rate of interest the bonds would draw. The only reference to the kind of bonds to be sold is district 2 bonds “heretofore provided for at this meeting.” The notice required that all bids should be accompanied by a certified check for five per cent, of the amount bid. The defendant claims that he was ignorant of the proceeding's of the board leading up to the advertisement for bids; that all he knew was that they were offering $75,000 worth of road bonds, and that the bonds were to be serial under the law.

It is also contended that the telegram sent to the Hazelhurst 'Bank, on the 9th day of April, was not to the board, and that he had not authorized the bank as his agent or otherwise to deliver the same to the board; that the bank was in no way his agent, and that the telegram was only intended as an offer to negotiate for the purchase of the bonds with a purpose of thereafter entering into a written contract if proper terms could be agreed upon.

The further contention is that, in order to constitute an offer such as would by acceptance become a binding contract, it was necessary for plaintiff to prove that, when the telegram was sent to the bank and delivered to the board, defendant thereby intended to be bound in the event his bid was accepted.

As to the lack of knowledge of the defendant concerning the proceedings of the board prior to the notice of the clerk inviting bids, it is inconceivable that he would make a bid for the bonds as shown by the telegram to the Hazelhurst Bank when the only knowledge he had was that the issue amounted to “$75,000 road bonds,” and that (■hey were serial. The order of the board was referred to in the notice for bids — anyone who decided to bid had an opportunity to read the order, and if the order had been read,, the defendant would have been informed of everything of which he claims he was ignorant.

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Bluebook (online)
1921 OK 366, 202 P. 1007, 84 Okla. 222, 1921 Okla. LEXIS 431, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcmahan-v-copiah-county-miss-okla-1921.