Morris v. Jamieson

68 N.E. 742, 205 Ill. 87
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 26, 1903
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 68 N.E. 742 (Morris v. Jamieson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morris v. Jamieson, 68 N.E. 742, 205 Ill. 87 (Ill. 1903).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Ricks

delivered the opinion of the court:

The position taken by the appellees, and evidently entertained by the trial and Appellate Courts, is, that the action in question could not be maintained under the common counts, and, there being no evidence that would warrant a verdict and judgment under such counts, the instruction asked was given. If the action could not be had under the common counts, then it is conceded that the instruction should have been given, and to properly determine whether it was necessary that the declaration should contain special counts upon the case or whether the common counts were sufficient, it will be necessary to review the evidence.

The appellees were brokers in Chicago, and as such brokers or agents dealt in stocks, and appellant was a trader in stocks for profit. About December 1, 1892, appellant directed appellees to sell one thousand shares of Street’s Stable Car Line stocks (hereafter called Street stock) for the sum of $29,000, deliverable to the purchaser within sixty days. This stock appellant did not own, and the sale is what is called “a short sale.” Before the time for the delivery of this stock, Jamieson & Co., at the request of appellant, did what is termed “borrowing the stock” for appellant for delivery on his contract of sale, and paid to the lender of the stock $30 per share, or'in all $30,000 for the loan of the stock, and delivered the stock to the purchaser about January 31, 1893, and on the latter date sent to appellant .a written report of the transaction. Davis, the only witness, testified that the business relations between appellant and appellees, Which began some time in 1892 and was terminated in June or July, 1893, involved the purchase and sale of about sixteen thousand shares of stock, but that all the stock transactions between the parties, except the one of December 1,1892, above mentioned, were fully settled, ■and that the last named transaction is the only matter involved in this litigation. Reference is made to other transactions for the reason that in various statements rendered by appellees to appellant other matters appear, and without some explanation might be confusing.

Bight statements made by appellees to appellant of the account between them, in so far as it related to the stock involved in this suit, were offered in evidence by appellant. The first statement introduced in evidence was that of date January 31, 1893, and is as follows:

“Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1.

Sold for a/c No. 25.

Dec. 1. 1000 Street’s s/60, 29............................................$29,000

60 days’ int..................................................... 290

$29 290

Less dividend 1 %............................................. 1,000 $28,290

Less comsn.................................................... 325

$28 165

Chgo. Janv. 31,1893.—Ent. navis.”

This statement was enclosed with a letter, which appellant did not offer in evidence at the time he offered the statement, but upon direct and cross-examination, Davis, the secretary of appellant, who testified that he had entire charge of the stock transactions between appellant and appellees, testified that “on the 31st of January Jamieson & Co. reported to Nelson Morris that they had borrowed one thousand shares of stock and delivered it out on this short sale, and they sent a memorandum of that transaction. I did not know personally that they did do anything of that kind, but that is the way they reported. The report was in writing.” Upon cross-examination the witness testified that plaintiff’s exhibit No. 1, above set forth in this opinion, came to Nelson Morris enclosed in a letter written by appellees to appellant, dated January 31,1893, which he identified, and which letter contained the statement: “We made deliveries of one thousand shares and hand you herewith memorandum of same. We have borrowed the stock for four months, flat, at 30.” The witness, Davis, testified that the word “flat,” used in the letter above quoted from, means without interest. He also testified that appellees borrowed the stock at the request of appellant to deliver in this short sale, and that he supposed appellees furnished the money to borrow it; that Nelson Morris never gave his check for it or paid for it.

The eight statements made by appellees to appellant of the transaction in question, and offered in evidence by appellant, were made at the end of each of the months of January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August, 1893. It will not be necessary to incorporate in this opinion'all these statements, but the following will bé sufficient:

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These are fair samples of all the accounts, and the particular item in controversy is referred to in all the various counts in substantially the same manner, and in every such account so rendered it is shown that the one thousand shares of Street stock was short. Davis testified* that appellees had paid to appellant all balances appearing in any of these accounts, except that relating to the sale of the one thousand shares of Street stock of December 1, and that on the 29th day of August, 1893, he tendered to appellees one thousand shares of Street stock; that the market value of the one thousand shares so tendered was on that day $18,000, and that on making such tender he demanded from appellees the sum of $11,-872.66, the same being the difference between $29,872.66, which appellant claimed as a credit to him, and $18,000, the market value of the stock tendered; that appellee Jamieson took the stock, requested witness to remain a few moments in his office while he went on change, and that Jamieson went away and returned in about fifteen minutes and handed the stock back to witness, saying that the person from whom the stock had been borrowed had refused to receive it; that witness took' the stock away with him; that he did not know how many times appellees had borrowed stock on account of the sale in question; that they reported having borrowed it on two occasions. The lender of the stock, as appears from the evidence, was a Mr. Koch.

Before appellant took the one thousand shares of Street stock to appellees and tendered it, as the witness Davis testifies, to make good their short sale, appellant had received two letters relating to this borrowed stock, as follows:

“Chicago, June 3,1898.

“Nelson Morris, Esq., City:

“Dear Sir—We have borrowed one thousand shares Street’s Stable Car Co. at ninety days from May 31, the lender paying us interest at the rate of two per cent per annum.

“Yours truly,

Jamieson & Co.”

“Chicago, August 22, 1893.

“Nelson Morris, Esq., U. S. Yards, Chicago:

“Dear Sir—We notified Mr. Ed. Koch yesterday, from whom we borrowed the thousand shares stock for your account, that you desired to deliver the same at the expiration of contract, if agreeable to him. He notifies us to-day that he is not in financial condition to accept the stock now or at the expiration of contract.

‘Yours truly,

Appellant replied to these letters by the following:

“Chicago, III., Aug. 24, 1893.

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Bluebook (online)
68 N.E. 742, 205 Ill. 87, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morris-v-jamieson-ill-1903.