Merrill v. Central Trust Co.

46 Mo. App. 236, 1891 Mo. App. LEXIS 335
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 8, 1891
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 46 Mo. App. 236 (Merrill v. Central Trust Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Merrill v. Central Trust Co., 46 Mo. App. 236, 1891 Mo. App. LEXIS 335 (Mo. Ct. App. 1891).

Opinion

Gill, J.

On January 10, 1890, N. C. Merrill commenced his action in the circuit court of Jackson county, Missouri, against the Central Trust Company, alleging as-his cause of actioAthat on or abuutthe twenty-eighth day of August, 1889, he had sold and delivered to the defendant certain municipal bonds of the townships of Center and Forrester, and the city of Ness City, a city of the third class, inNess county, Kansas, issued under an act of the legislature of the state of Kansas, entitled “ An act to-encourage the erection of mills and the manufacture of sugar and syrup out of sorghum cane, and authorizing-townships and cities of the second and third class to subscribe for stock in sugar factories and to vote bonds therefor,” as follows: Bonds of Center township, $15,000; bonds of Forrester township, $15,000; and bonds of the city of Ness City, $15,000 : total $45,000, ate ninety cents on the dollar of the face of said bonds, flat,” that the sale and delivery of said bonds was, however, upon the express condition that said sugar bonds should be compromised and refunded under an act of the legislature of the state of Kansas, approved, March 8, 1879, entitled, “An act to enable counties, municipal corporations, the board of education of any city, and school districts, to refund their indebtedness ;”* said refunding to be under the direction of said defendant ; that said agreement and contract more . fully [240]*240appears from the written correspondence had between said plaintiff and defendant by and through N. O. Merrill, plaintiff, and C. S. Hetherington. secretary of said defendant, under the following dates, to-wit: July 15, 1889; August 23, 1889; August 26, 1889; August 28, 1889 and August 30,1889, respectively, which are hereto attached, made a part hereof, and marked respectively, exhibit A, exhibit B, exhibit 0, exhibit I) and exhibit E; that plaintiff in accordance with the terms of said agreement, and under the direction of defendant, procured the compromise and refunding of all said municipal bonds, and the same were delivered to said defendant, August 30, 1889 ; that defendant had only paid on said bonds $39,439.22, and there was still due the plaintiff the sum of $1,060.78, which had been due and unpaid since October 20, 1889, and for which plaintiff demanded judgment with interest and cost. To this petition an answer was filed which it is unnecessary to here set out. The substance of the controversy is to be found in certain claims in the nature of set-off set up in the answer. The amount sued for arises out of the following accounting by plaintiff; the bonds of Ness City, Center and Forrester townships, were refunded- and delivered to and accepted by appellant.

The purchase price of these bonds at ninety cents flat was...................... $40,500 00

Appellant paid thereon:

September 12, 1889, advance on purchase price............$10,000 00

October 14, 1889............... 2,000 00

October 21, 1889............... 23,500 00

December 13, 1889............. 3,924 22 $39,424 22

Balance unpaid............ $ 1,075 78

This action was brought to recover this balance and interest, but by mistake the amount claimed in the petition is $15 less than this. On the trial it was not disputed that this balance was unpaid, but appellant [241]*241as an offset set up the following items, which are the sole matters of dispute, none of them having .been allowed by the jury:

Discount on Merrill’s note of $10,000...........$ 73 74

Accrued interest thereon......... 13 19

Express on bonds to Hess City................ 11 20

Expense of sending Deane to Ness City........ 50 00

Expense of sending Deane to Ness City........ 73 35

Accrued interest on the sugar bonds, thrown off by way of compromise to induce the municipalities to refund them................... 787 50

The principal contention on the facts arises as to the above-named “discount on Merrill’s note of $10,000,” $73.34, and the last item of $787.50 “accrued interest on sugar bonds.” By the agreement for purchase of the bonds defendant promised to make an advancement to plaintiff, and the $10,000 credited on plaintiff’s account he says was as such advancement, and that he gave his note to defendant for that sum as .simply evidence of such advancement. While defendant asserts the advancement of a loan, and that the note by it was discounted to raise money for the common benefit, and that the discount should be charged up to plaintiff, etc. The item of $787.50 is claimed by defendant as the interest accrued on the first batch of bonds before they were exchanged for the refunding bonds, and. which plaintiff, it is alleged, threw off and gave to the townships in compromise without the authority of defendant. On the other hand plaintiff claims that he was authorized to make such compromise, and that defendant well knew at the time that such accrued interest on the first series of bonds was to be, and was, given up, and that defendant accepted such new bonds fully understanding the premises. The cause was submitted to a jury, under instructions given at the instance of both plaintiff and defendant, and the verdict and judgment was in plaintiff’s favor for the full amount claimed, and defendant appealed.

[242]*242I. Defendant in its first assignment of error complains of the court’s action in overruling the objection to the introduction of any evidence under plaintiff’s petition, for the reason that the same does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. We fail to discover any ground whatever for this contention. Defendant’s counsel seems to attack the petition on the ground that the contract sued on (and which is filed as an exhibit) provides for the sale of other bonds in addition to those mentioned in the petition. But, however that may be, it furnishes no fault as to the face of the petition. The exhibits filed along with the petition constitute no part thereof. Its sufficiency must be determined by its face — by its contents — and can neither be aided nor destroyed by any accompanying exhibit. This petition contains every necessary element in a suit for goods sold and delivered as per contract, alleges the agreement for the sale of a certain article at a certain price, delivery of the article, in pursuance thereof, stating a balance due, and asks judgment therefor.

II. The next matter complained of is in words of counsel that “the court erred in excluding as evidence the various letters which passed between plaintiff and defendant, showing the nature of the transactions between them, and their understanding from time to time of their said bond transaction.” We cannot undertake to pass on the question, for the very apparent reason that we are not furnished-by the appellant in its abstract with the contents of said “various letters.” Hence, we cannot say that the exclusion thereof was proper or improper. On page 21 of the abstract all that is said as to letters offered is this: “Defendant offered letters of N. C. Merrill, dated September 19, September 21, September 24, October 2, October 5, October 7, October 8, October 17, October 23, N ovember 6, November 8, November 8, November 28, showing correspondence about refunding of the bonds. All excluded; defendant excepts.” It would seem hardly [243]*243necessary so often to remind attorneys practicing in this, court that rule 15 (found in the back part of all our published reports) must be observed.

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Bluebook (online)
46 Mo. App. 236, 1891 Mo. App. LEXIS 335, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/merrill-v-central-trust-co-moctapp-1891.