Parker v. Rodes

79 Mo. 88
Supreme Court of Missouri·Decided October 15, 1883·Published·Cited by 26 cases

Opinion

Norton, J.

This suit was instituted in the Moberly court of common pleas against defendants Rodes and Priest and one Holt to recover the value of certain goods sold by plaintiffs to defendant Holt.

[89] It is averred in the petition: That on the 24th day of February, 1879, the defendant, S. W. Holt, purchased of plaintiffs goods and merchandise to the amount of $131.52 ; that defendant Holt, at the time of said purchase, falsely represented himself to be perfectly solvent, and upon said representation plaintiffs were induced to. sell said goods, when in truth and in fact, said Holt was hopelessly insolvent; that on or about the — day of March, 1879, said defendant Holt sold his stock of drugs in Moberly to the defendants Chas. B. Rodes and Theodore Priest; that afterward, to-wit: On the — day of March, 1879, said goods so sold and shipped by plaintiff' to said Holt, arrived at Moberly and were received by said defendants, Rodes & Priest, said Rodes & Priest well knowing that said goods were not paid for, and well knowing that defendant Holt was utterly insolvent; that plaintiffs, on the — day of March, 1879, immediately after said goods were received by defendants Rodes & Priest, and before said Rodes & Priest had paid said Holt for said goods, made demand for said goods of said Rodes & Priest; but said defendants refused to deliver said goods to plaintiffs or to pay plaintiffs for the same, but wrongfully converted said goods to their own use, at. the same time well knowing that the purchase money had not been paid. Plaintiffs aver that said debt sued on is for the purchase money of said goods, so taken and converted by the defendants Rodes & Priest. It is also averred that by reason of such wrongful conversion they have been damaged in the sum of $131.52.

Holt did not answer; defendants Rodes & Priest filed separate answer denying all the allegations of the petition.

On the trial defendants Rodes & Priest objected to the introduction of any evidence under the petition, on the ground that there was a misjoinder of parties defendant, and because the petition did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against them. The objection was overruled, and evidence received tending to show that in February, 1879, plaintiffs sold and delivered to defendant [90] S. "W. Holt, who then owned a drag store in Moberly, goods to tbe value of $131.52; that Holt, after receiving the said goods, sold his drug store in March, 1879, with the goods so purchased of plaintiffs to the firm of Rodes & Priest, the defendants, and that defendants Rodes & Priest paid Holt the purchase price. Evidence was also introduced tending to show that defendant Rodes, of the firm of Rodes & Priest, knew, before the firm paid said Iiolt for the goods in controversy, but after they had bought them from Holt, that Holt had not paid the plaintiff's for them. There was also evidence tending to show that defendants had no such knowledge. At the close of the evidence defendants asked the following instructions, which were refused:

. 1. That the plaintiffs are not entitled to recover against the defendants Rodes & Priest in this action.

2. That if Rodes & Priest bought the goods and merchandise sued for from Holt, in good faith and for valuable consideration, the plaintiff's are not entitled to recover, even though said Rodes & Priest, or either of them, knew at the time they so purchased the said goods of Holt, that he, Holt, had not paid plaintiffs the purchase money therefor.

The record shows that the court took the case under advisement till the 17th day of February, 1880, and on that day permitted plaintiffs, over the objection of defendants, to file an amended petition, and refused to continue the cause with leave to defendants to plead to the amended petition, and rendered judgment against defendants Rodes and Holt for the sum of $131.52.

The basis of the action set up in the amended petition was that defendants Rodes & Priest, well knowing that said Holt was irresponsible for any debts contracted by him, and well knowing that Holt was indebted to those plaintiffs for the purchase price of said goods, fraudulently colluded together and with said Holt to cheat and defraud plaintiffs out of the value of said goods, and pursuant to their fraudulent collusion received and took possession of and pretended to purchase said goods of Holt; that said R<?des & Priest well [91] knew at the time of taking said goods that the purchase price therefor had not been paid, and that said Holt was insolvent, and that by reason of the fraudulent acts of defendants they have been damaged in the sum of $131.52.”

1. joinder on aotions. Erom the above statement we think it manifest that the judgment rendered against the defendant Rodes cannot permitted to stand. The cause was tried upon the original petition, and the objection made to the introduction of any evidence under it ought to have been sustained, because there was a mis-r joinder of parties. Holt was sought to be made liable on his contract of purchase of the goods, and defendants Rodes & Priest were sought to be made liable for converting them to their own use. There was no privity between Holt and defendants Rodes & Priest.

2. trover: convebtamable. Besides this, the facts stated in the petition show that plaintiffs had neither the right of property in nor the right of possession of the goods sold Holt, and trover and conversion, (which was the nature of plaintiffs’ claim against defendants Rodes & Priest,) cannot be maintained when the party suing has neither the right of property in nor the right of possession to the property alleged to have been converted.

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