Moffitt v. Hieby

229 S.W.2d 1005, 149 Tex. 161, 1950 Tex. LEXIS 417
CourtTexas Supreme Court
DecidedMay 17, 1950
DocketA-2533
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 229 S.W.2d 1005 (Moffitt v. Hieby) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moffitt v. Hieby, 229 S.W.2d 1005, 149 Tex. 161, 1950 Tex. LEXIS 417 (Tex. 1950).

Opinions

Mr. Justice Harvey

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Mrs. Ursula Hieby sued Perry L. Moffitt and Charles Flick, doing business as Green Valley Packers, and the United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company, as surety upon their bond, to recover damages for the nonperformance of a contract with reference to the sale and purchase of certain citrus fruit grown by Mrs. Hieby in her orchards located in Hidalgo County, Texas. A cross-action for damages was filed by Moffitt and Flick. At the close of the evidence the court granted plaintiff’s motion to instruct the jury to render a verdict in her favor and against Moffitt and Flick on their cross-action, and upon such verdict judgment was rendered against the defendants for the sum of $2,866.27.

Upon appeal to the Court of Civil Appeals Moffitt, and others, presented the point that the trial court erred in not permitting the jury to pass upon their defense that a subsequent oral contract, dated March 12, 1948, superseded the earlier written contract of November 21, 1947. The next point urged in the Court of Civil Appeals by Moffitt, and others, was that the trial court erred in refusing to submit to the jury the question of whether Mrs. Hieby, the seller, breached her implied obligation to take proper care of and to water the orchard. Moffitt and Flick also pleaded that the trial court committed error in refusing to submit to the jury the question of whether or not the citrus fruit was damaged by an Act of God, which was alleged to have been a windstorm on December 2, 1947. The Court of Civil Appeals reversed and remanded the judgment of the trial court, holding that the failure of the trial court to submit to the jury the question of whether Mrs. Hieby breached her implied obligation to care for and water the orchards, as well as the failure to submit to the jury the question of whether or not the fruit was damaged by an Act of God, was reversible error. That court also held that the trial court was correct in not submitting an issue to the jury as to whether or not there was a subsequent new contract made by the parties in lieu of the original written agreement. 225 S. W. 2d 441.

[164]*164The contract sued upon was as follows:

“Bought of Mrs. Ursula Hieby

Kind of Produce — Ruby Red Grapefruit

Location of Produce — No. 79 North % — 317 S ^

319 Bentsen subd.

Agreed Price 70.00 per ton

Time of Payment — when picked

Probable Harvesting Date, Weather permitting, Feb. 1, 1948

Buyer not liable for damages caused by any Act of God prior to harvesting. Owner or Seller hereby warrants that the commodities covered by this contract are not mortgaged and seller hereby states that he has not been induced or persuaded to sell such commodities at the price herein named by any representation as to the market by buyer but has made his own independent investigation of same, and further that he has not been induced or persuaded by buyer to breach any contract heretofore executed by seller covering the same commodities. This contract, including the probable harvesting date, is subject to all regulations of State and Federal Departments and Laws.

Seller agrees that if harvesting is paid by buyer it is to be charged to seller’s account.

Remarks: Clean trees last picking — phone 856 R

All terms of this agreement have been reduced to writing herein.”

With respect to the first point presented in this Court by petitioner, Mrs. Ursula Hieby, that the Court of Civil Appeals erred in sustaining the assignment of error of respondents to the effect that the trial court erred in refusing to permit the question to go to the jury of whether petitioner breached an implied obligation properly to care for and water the orchards in question, to the extent that the citrus fruit did not have a normal development and growth and did not reach the size and quality required by respondents in their package fruit business, we are of the opinion that the contention of petitioner is correct. The agreement entered into by the parties appears on its face to be an executed contract. It definitely states that ruby red grapefruit on certain acreage was bought of the seller at an agreed price of $70.00 per ton, payment to be made when the fruit was picked. A provision is inserted in the contract that “all terms of this agreement have been reduced -to writing herein.” Prior to the execution of the contract by the seller and the buyer, negotiations had been carried on with reference to the sale of the grapefruit and an offer of $80.00 per ton for [165]*165the choice or ring picked fruit had been made to the seller by the buyer. Mrs. Hieby refused the offer of $80.00 per ton because she wanted to sell all of the fruit in the orchard instead of only the choice or premium grade. Consequently, the parties agreed on a sale price of $70.00 per ton and the buyer agreed to clean the orchards of all fruit. Thus, it is apparent that there was in contemplation of the parties to the contract that some of the fruit would be of an inferior kind. Too, it is significant that payment was based on tonnage rather than size of the grapefruit. Pursuant to the contract Moffitt and Elick, shortly after the contract was signed on November 21st, and by the 28th of the following month, which was December 1947, they ring pick the orchards five times. After that date no additional fruit was gathered by them. On March 24, 1948, Mrs. Hiebey, after notice to Moffitt and Elick, sold the fruit that was left in the orchards to other parties for the best price obtainable, gave Moffitt and Elick credit for what it brought, and filed suit against them for the difference between what she received and the contract price of $70.00 per ton. On the trial of the case there was evidence to the effect that by the end of January, 1948, which was conceded to be correct by Charles Elick, one of the defendants, that the price of grapefruit had dropped as much as fifty per cent under the contract price of $70.00 per ton. However, Moffitt and Elick stated that this drop in price did not affect them by reason of the fact that they had sold all the fruit for which they had contracted on the basis of prices prior to the decline of the market value of the grapefruit. It is to be noted that while testifying in the case Moffitt stated that when the grapefruit was purchased from Mrs. Hie-by it was “up to our specifications.”

Inasmuch as title to the grapefruit on the trees passed to the buyer as of the date of the contract, with a consequent delivery thereof made in the orchards, and there was nothing on the part of the seller that remained to be done in the matter, there was no implied obligation on the part of the seller to water the orchards or perform any other act with reference thereto. Had the parties so desired and had so agreed, it would have been quite easy for them to have inserted a stipulation in the contract to the effect that the seller should do whatever might have been deemed advisable under the circumstances with reference to the care to be taken of the orchards, as well as in regard to any other matters. This they did not do and there is no occasion for the courts to add to the contract as made by them.

[166]*166The distinguishing characteristic in the case now under consideration is that the red grapefruit in the orchards was sold in bulk. The general rule, as quoted by Judge Coke of this court in the case of Cleveland v. Williams, 29 Texas 208, which is the rule laid down in Kent’s Commentaries, Vol. 2, p.

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Moffitt v. Hieby
229 S.W.2d 1005 (Texas Supreme Court, 1950)

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Bluebook (online)
229 S.W.2d 1005, 149 Tex. 161, 1950 Tex. LEXIS 417, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moffitt-v-hieby-tex-1950.