P. B. Yates MacH. Co. v. Groce

281 S.W. 226
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 24, 1925
DocketNo. 8721.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 281 S.W. 226 (P. B. Yates MacH. Co. v. Groce) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
P. B. Yates MacH. Co. v. Groce, 281 S.W. 226 (Tex. Ct. App. 1925).

Opinions

PHEASANTS, O. J.

This suit was brought by appellees against appellant to recover damages for the alleged breach of a contract of sale, by which appellant sold appellees a machine designated in the contract as a No. Ill molder.

The material allegations of plaintiff’s pleadings are thus sufficiently stated in .appellant’s brief:

“The material allegations of plaintiff’s first amended original petition is that the Yates Machine Company sold (June 13, 1922) to Groce Hardwood Manufacturing Company a Yates molder machine, ‘and represented and guaranteed that the said machine would properly do the work desired by plaintiff of a machine of such character, and sold the same on such representation and guaranty’; that Groce Hardwood Manufacturing Company was not familiar with such machines and relied upon the representation and guaranty; that Yates Machine Company was familiar with the work defendant desired tó do, among others a manufacture of flooring; that the machine was received, set up, and failed ‘to do the work required thereof,’ resulting to plaintiff in damages as follows:
“(á) Freight, $266.40.
“G>) Unloading charge, $25.
“(c) Cost of labor for installing, $140.
“(e) Plaintiff’s pay roll August to December 1, 1922, operating and attempting to operate the machine, $657.85.
“(f) Difference in market price and sale price of 6,500 feet white oak flooring manufactured by machine, $260.
“(g) Freight, unloading, cost of one car of white oak lumber returned to seller, ‘because said lumber would not make salable flooring,’ $581.81.
“By trial amendment filed under circumstances shown in- appellant’s bill of exception No. 2, the above-quoted language was changed so as to read ‘because, the said Yates machine would not make salable flooring from same.’
“(b) Defendants’ loss of $1,000 on the sale price of flooring manufactured by the machine, being the difference between the market price of properly manufactured flooring and the sale price of flooring manufactured.
“That the purchase contract signed provided that the machine should be returned 30 days from the daté of shipment, but said time was insufficient for plaintiff to determine whether representations alleged, express or implied warranty, were true and to that extent legal fraud is alleged; that within two weeks plaintiff notified Yates Company that the machine would not do the work represented the defendant requested plaintiff to await the arrival of defendants’ agent and that written notice of rejection was given within a reasonable time; that if there were no expressed representations, then there was an implied warranty that the machine would manufacture merchantable oak flooring, inasmuch as defendants’ agent was informed that plaintiff wanted the machine for the purpose of manufacturing molding and oak flooring; that plaintiff had on hand oak staves — known to defendants’ agent — from which plaintiff desired to manufacture _ oak flooring strips; that no consideration existed for the indebtedness represented by the signed contract, because of breach of warranties and representations alleged. The prayer is for damage alleged, foreclosure of an attachment lien, and cancellation of contract.”

Defendant answered by general demurrer and by special exceptions, the nature of which, if necessary for the purposes of this opinion, will be hereinafter stated. It further answered by general and special denial of the material allegations of plaintiff’s petition, and specially pleaded a provision in the contract, hereinafter set out, as a defense against any claim for damages by plaintiffs.

By cross-action defendant pleaded the contract and sought to recover thereon the purchase price which plaintiffs had. agreed to pay for the machine amounting to the sum of $3,758.64.

By supplemental petition, plaintiffs answered defendant’s cross-action by general demurrer and special exception and by special pleas, setting up failure of consideration and waiver by defendant of the provision in contract which it claims relieves it of any liability for damages sustained by plaintiffs.

Additional supplemental pleadings filed by both parties contain no material allegations or averments and in no way change the character of the suit as evidenced by the pleadings before set out. •

The cause was tried by a jury in the court below upon special issues and based upon the findings of the jury. Judgment was rendered in favor of appellees for the sum of $2,-096.94 and against appellant on its suit to recover the purchase price of the machine.

The evidence shows that appellees, under their then firm name and style, Groce Hardware Company, on May 23, 1922, wrote appellant a letter asking the price of type C-l molder, one of the machines manufactured and sold by appellant, and inquiring as to the fitness of the machine for manufacturing oak flooring. In response to this letter, appellant wrote appellees thanking them for their letter and telling them that one of its. *228 agents would call on them in a few days and the writer trusted would be able to show them a machine adapted to their work, and would obtain their order. This letter further stated:

“We might say that the 0-1 molder is adapted for not only making molding, but in large quantities and at fast speed. But for anything else that can be run on a machine of this nature, it would be particularly good for you for making flooring in considerable quantities. Of course, if you wanted a machine for absolutely nothing else but a hardwood flooring machine, we would recommend to you our A-Y special flooring machine.”

On June 12, 1922, an agent of appellant, Mr. G. W. Simmons, called on appellees and' after ascertaining the character of machine appellees desired to purchase, sold them a No-. Ill molder, another type of machine manufactured and sold by appellant. The contract of sale made by the parties was in writing signed by appellees on June 12th and thereafter approved and signed by appellant on June 20, 1922. The machine was shipped on July 20, and reached Houston on July 29, 1922, and was set up at appellees’ place of business July 31st.

On August 15th, after appellees had been trying to operate the machine for 15 days, they wrote appellant they were unable to make it do any kind of satisfactory work and asked that Mr. Simmons be sent to put it in proper working condition. On August ISth, appellant replied to this letter informing appellees that it had an agent on the way to look after the machine, and saying that though the machine was not a flooring machine, it ought to make flooring out of the material mentioned in appellees’ letter without trouble. The agent of appellant, referred to in this letter, was prevented by sickness from looking after the machine, and appellant sent another agent, a Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
281 S.W. 226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/p-b-yates-mach-co-v-groce-texapp-1925.