Miller-Crenshaw Co. v. Colorado Mill & Elevator Co.

87 F.2d 457, 1937 U.S. App. LEXIS 2520
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 21, 1937
DocketNo. 10585
StatusPublished

This text of 87 F.2d 457 (Miller-Crenshaw Co. v. Colorado Mill & Elevator Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller-Crenshaw Co. v. Colorado Mill & Elevator Co., 87 F.2d 457, 1937 U.S. App. LEXIS 2520 (8th Cir. 1937).

Opinion

WOODROUGH, Circuit Judge.

An opinion in this case was handed down by this court on July 20, 1936, 84 F.(2d) 930, 931, but rehearing was granted because it was made to appear that this court had been led into the mistaken belief and declaration that “at the close of all the evidence both sides moved for a directed verdict.” The plaintiff in the court below did move for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence, but the defendant did not. On the contrary, it requested certain instructions to be given to the jury. The defendant did not, however, except to the refusal of the trial court to give the instructions, and it did not assign the refusal to give such instructions as error. Additional briefs have been submitted for both sides, and the appeal has been reargued and heard de novo.

The Colorado Mill & Elevator Company is a corporation under the laws of Colorado and did business at Dodge City, Kan., as the Dodge City Flour Mills. It brought this action at law to recover damages from the Miller-Crenshaw Company, an Arkansas corporation doing a wholesale grocery business at Blytheville, Ark., under the trade-name and style of Merchants Grocery Company. The suit was for damages for breach of three separate contracts. The plaintiff alleged that by the terms of the first contract, dated May 26, 1933, the grocery company agreed to buy from the plaintiff milling company 500 barrels of flour of plaintiff’s manufacture at a certain price, for delivery within ninety days. That the second contract was dated June 30, 1933, and was also for 500 barrels of plaintiff’s flour for shipment within ninety days. That there was also a third contract, dated July 11, 1933, alleged in the petition to be for 1,000 barrels of plaintiff’s flour, also for shipment in ninety days. The plaintiff alleged that all of the contracts were consummated by one Allein Beall, Jr., who was an independent merchandise broker maintaining his own office in Helena, Ark.; that he solicited [458]*458and obtained the orders over the telephone from his office in Helena from the defendant’s manager in Blytheville and authorized agent, Mr. Louis Nunn; that when the terms- of an order for the purchase of flour were agreed upon, in each instance Mr. Beall wired the plaintiff milling company at Dodge City the substance of the order and received its acceptance by tele.graph; that after the terms of each contract was agreed upon between the buyer and the seller, Mr. Beall wrote up his broker’s purchase and 'sale notes in triplicate, showing the terms of the purchase and sale and the parties thereto. He kept one of the triplicates in his own office and mailed one each to plaintiff and defendant. That the contracts were subject to confirmation by the plaintiff and were, in each instance, confirmed and the defendant notified. The plaintiff claimed that the statute of frauds in Arkansas (Crawford & Moses’ Dig.Ark. § 4864) was satisfied (if the Arkansas statute was applicable) because Allein Beall, Jr., was an independent broker and in signing the written memoranda of sale acted as the agent of both the seller and the buyer of the flour. The broker’s notes of the contracts of purchase and sale were in the following form:

“Allein Beall, Jr.,
“Hellena, Arkansas.
“Sells for and the undersigned purchaser buys the following articles subject to terms and conditions stated hereon and the final confirmation of the seller.
“No. 305 Date May 26, 1933.
“Dodge City Flour Mills “Dodge City Kansas
■ “Ship to Merchants Grocery Company, “Shipping Point, Blytheville, Arkansas
“Invoice and Bill of Lading Same
“Bank ......
“When ship * 90 Day Contract
“Quantity -Articles Price
“500 barrels Prize Winner $3.95 Honey Rose 4.35
“Basis 48s Plain
“FOB Blytheville, Arkansas.
C 1 o -m “Nunn Buyer”

The signatures, “Beall, Salesman,” and “Nunn, Buyer,” were not written out upon the purchase and sale notes of the broker, but were typewritten on each memorandum of sale at the direction of Mr. Beall. That the defendant gave shipping orders for and accepted 129 barrels of flour under the contract of May 26, 1933, on July 7, 1-933, but refused to give shipping orders for or to accept the rest of the flour covered by the contracts, or any part thereof. It did not, however, repudiate the contracts or its obligations to take the flour for some time beyond the ninety-day period specified in the contracts, but continued to hold out the expectation that it would give the necessary shipping directions until, on the 24th day of April, 1934, it definitely repudiated the contracts on the ground that they had not been signed by the defendant or its agent, Mr. Nunn. The plaintiff alleged that, as a manufacturer of the flour, it was required, as defendant well knew, to purchase and hold in its elevators sufficient wheat of proper grade to meet the contracts. That it did so and incurred purchase and carrying costs on the wheat needed to manufacture the flour ordered by defendant of approximately two cents per bushel per month, and that it also incurred a selling expense, and in its petition it specified exactly, in paragraphs X, XI, and XII, the items of loss and damage suffered by it as the direct and proximate result of the defendant’s refusal to accept the flour; such damage amounting to $464.69 on the first order, $1,102.67 on the second order, and $2,444.-67 on the third order of July 11, 1933. It prayed judgment in the principal sum of $4,012.03 and interest.

The defendant put all of the claims of the plaintiff in issue by categorical denials and pleaded that the alleged contracts were void under the Arkansas statute of frauds.

On the trial of the case the broker, Mr. Beall, testified to consummating contracts with Mr. Nunn, defendant’s authorized agent, in all respects as claimed by plaintiff except as to the third contract of July 11, 1933, and Mr. Nunn admitted ordering the flour, except as to the 1,000 barrels called for by the third contract. There was no dispute as to any of the terms of the purchase and sale contracts except as to the third contract. It appears as to the third contract that Mr. Nunn did order 500 barrels of flour on the. terms recited in the broker’s note of purchase and sale, but he did not order a thousand barrels. Mr. Beall reported the order to the milling company as being for a thousand barrels, and the milling company confirmed sale of a thousand barrels and bought wheat accordingly, and sttiod ready to supply a thousand barrels. The broker’s purchase, and sale note sent to and^ retained with[459]*459out objection by Mr. Nunn showed a purchase and sale of 1,000 barrels. Immediately after the transaction, Mr. Beall called on Mr. Nunn, and Mr. Nunn then had a profit of $225 on the extra 500 barrels and did not, then and there, repudiate the 1,000-barrel purchase. Afterwards, when the milling company wrote to Mr. Nunn asking for shipping instructions, it referred to the contract of July 10th (11th) as being for 1,000 barrels and Mr. Nunn did not then deny purchasing 1,000 barrels.

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Bluebook (online)
87 F.2d 457, 1937 U.S. App. LEXIS 2520, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-crenshaw-co-v-colorado-mill-elevator-co-ca8-1937.