Peterson v. Walter A. Wood Mowing & Reaping Machine Co.

66 N.W. 96, 97 Iowa 148
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedFebruary 1, 1896
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 66 N.W. 96 (Peterson v. Walter A. Wood Mowing & Reaping Machine Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Peterson v. Walter A. Wood Mowing & Reaping Machine Co., 66 N.W. 96, 97 Iowa 148 (iowa 1896).

Opinion

Kjnne, J.

1 2 I. Plaintiff ordered a reaping machine of.the defendant, which he agreed to purchase subject to the following printed warranty: “All our machines are warranted to be well made and of good material, and to do good work, with proper management, when set up and operated as per printed directions. If, upon starting any of our machines, it should not work well, immediate written notice must be given to the Walter A. Wood Mowing and Reaping Machine Co., at Minneapolis, Minnesota, or the local agent from whom it was purchased, and reasonable time allowed to get to it and remedy the defects, if any (the purchaser rendering necessary and friendly assistance); when, if it cannot be made to do good work, it shall be returned, free of charge, to the place where received, and the payment of money or notes will be returned. Failure to immediately give notice as above, or con-' tinued possession of the machine, whether it is kept in use or not, shall be deemed conclusive evidence that the machine fills the warranty. No one has any authority to add to, abridge or change this warranty in any manner.” He claims that there was a breach of said warranty, in that said machine was not made of good material, and would not work well. That, in pursuance of the terms of said warranty, he notified the agent from whom he purchased the machine of said defects, and said agent undertook to remedy thefn, but was unable so to do, with all the assistance which plaintiff could render, That he [150]*150offered to return the machine to the agent of whom it was purchased, and at the place of purchase, and said agent directed him not to return it, and refused to return to plaintiff his notes given for said machine. That the purchase price of this machine was one hundred and seventy-five dollars, and that said machine was worthless, and plaintiff had been damaged in that sum. In an amendment filed at the close of the testimony, plaintiff stated that at the time of the delivery of the machine to the defendant, at Ellsworth, Minn., the defendant accepted it and promised to return plaintiff’s notes, and waived the requirement of the warranty as to written notice, and as to any further trial oikthe' machine. Defendant denies all of the allegations of the petition and amendment thereto not expressly , admitted or explained. Avers that the machine was sold to plaintiff for one hundred and twenty-five dollars; that plaintiff was satisfied with the machine, and executed his notes therefor; that plaintiff did not comply with the terms of the warranty, in that he retained the machine without making complaint; that he failed to give immediate notice to the defendant, or its selling agent, of the failure of the machine to work, as provided in the warranty; that he gave no time or opportunity to remedy any defects in said machine. Plaintiff, in a reply, denied all allegations of the answer which were inconsistent with the facts stated in the petition. The jury returned a verdict for the amount of the notes and interest, upon which judgment was entered. Defendant appeals. This action is brought by plaintiff to recover the purchase price of the machine, — one hundred and twenty-five dollars, — and interest.

[151]*1513 [150]*150II. While the evidence is conflicting, yet we think it shows that the machine was purchased of one McRoberts, the local agent of the defendant, at Ells-worth, Minn. The machine was taken home by the [151]*151plaintiff on Thursday, and tried in oats and timothy. That after a very little timothy had been cut, McRoberts told plaintiff if he would then give him the notes it would save him another .trip back; and also told plaintiff if it did not work he would give his notes back. Plaintiff at the time told McRoberts that he was not satisfied with it. Plaintiff thereafter tried the machine in other'grain, and it did not work well. It would not bind or elevate the grain. Either Saturday or Monday following, plaintiff went to see McRoberts, but could not find him. lie left word with his wife, and returned the machine to the place from which he got it, on Saturday or Monday. After plaintiff had started to haul the machine in, McRoberts went to plaintiff’s place, but as he took another road he missed plaintiff. The evidence also shows that when McRoberts took the notes he must have known that the machine was not working properly. The same day the machine was returned, plaintiff demanded his notes of McRoberts, who refused to deliver them to him. Some days afterward, and when plaintiff was about done harvesting, McRoberts and one Andrews, a general agent of defendant, saw plaintiff, and endeavored to induce him to take the machine back and give it another trial, which plaintiff refused to' do. It is conceded that plaintiff never gave any written notice to either the defendant or McRoberts.

4 III. Many of the questions discussed by counsel cannot be considered, because the assignment of errors is insufficient. This is true as to the first, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, thirteenth and fifteenth assignments. They require us to examine the testimony in order to determine just what errors are claimed to have been committed in the admission of testimony. They do not point out the specific errors relied upon, as the statute [152]*152requires. They base error on the overruling of motions generally, which motions contain many separate grounds. The requirements of the statute in this respect are so plain, and the necessity for a reasonable compliance therewith has been so frequently pointed out in repeated decisions of this court, that we deem it unnecessary to again refer to the cases holding that such assignments raised no question for our consideration.

5 IV. We proceed to a discussion of the questions as to which proper assignments of error are made. Plaintiff offered, arid read in evidence against defendant’s objections, the depositions of Magnus Larsen and Nels Pasmussen. Defendant obj ected to the reading of these depositions, because, as he claimed, it had not then been shown that plaintiff had complied with the terms of the warranty. These depositions tended to show that McRoberts was present when the machine was first started, that it did not work well, and that McPoberts admitted that fact. Now, the fact, if such it was, that plaintiff had not then shown such a compliance on his part with the conditions of the warranty, as would authorize a recovery, was no reason for excluding these depositions. Plaintiff had not finished his case, and the court might well assume that, if any fact remained to be established, to entitle plaintiff to recover, evidence of it would be thereafter introduced. Furthermore, the order of the introduction of evidence is so largely a matter within the discretion of the trial court, that we should not interfere with the rulings relating thereto, unless it clearly appeared that the court had abused its discretion in that respect. Kinne, PI. Prac. and Forms, section 484, and cases cited. There was no abuse of discretion in these rulings.

V. Error is assigned in the giving of paragraph 2 of the court’s charge to the jury. It is said it [153]*153improperly submitted to tbe jury tbe question of notice being given as to defects in tbe machine;- also that it was wrong in submitting the question as to whether plaintiff immediately returned the machine after discovering the defects; and that it erroneously assumed that it was the duty of the purchaser to immediately return the machine.

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Bluebook (online)
66 N.W. 96, 97 Iowa 148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/peterson-v-walter-a-wood-mowing-reaping-machine-co-iowa-1896.