Pratt v. Allegan Circuit Judge

143 N.W. 890, 177 Mich. 558, 1913 Mich. LEXIS 746
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 3, 1913
DocketCalendar No. 25,621
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 143 N.W. 890 (Pratt v. Allegan Circuit Judge) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pratt v. Allegan Circuit Judge, 143 N.W. 890, 177 Mich. 558, 1913 Mich. LEXIS 746 (Mich. 1913).

Opinion

Stone, J.

The relators were arrested upoh a capias ad respondendum. They ask for a writ of mandamus, requiring respondent to set aside the order overruling their motion to quash the writ; and counsel for relators state that there is but one question for the determination'of this court, and that is whether the affidavit filed in support of the writ of capias ad respondendum was sufficient to warrant the issuing of said writ, and the arrest of relators, and holding them to bail.

The first three paragraphs of the affidavit contain the statements as to the parties, the purpose of the affidavit, the value of certain personal property owned by affiant and his desire to sell the same, and the further statement that the facts and circumstances stated in .the affidavit are within the personal knowledge of the affiant.

The fourth paragraph contains the direct statement that the defendants, relators here, with intent to cheat and defraud affiant and to obtain his personal property without adequate and just compensation, offered to procure and transfer to him certain real estate in exchange for affiant’s said personal property; that said real estate was represented by said relators to be worth the sum of $2,100, and that the equity which was to be transferred to affiant was worth $1,225 cash.

The fifth paragraph contains the following language :

[560]*560“And for the purpose of inducing this affiant to. transfer said personal property, and inducing this affiant to accept the transfer of said contract and said deed of said second described' piece of land as security for the payment of said sum of $1,225, and to forbear insisting upon the payment of said sum of $1,225 immediately and before the transfer of said personal property, did then and there falsely represent and pretended to this affiant that the real estate described in said contract was worth $2,100 cash in the real estate market of the city of Kalamazoo, and that the equity in said contract was well worth the sum of $1,225 cash, * * * and did falsely represent and pretend to this affiant that the said real estate described in said deed above mentioned was worth the sum of $300 cash in the real estate market of the city of Kalamazoo, and that each of said pieces would readily sell for the sums above named at any time, and that said sums were a fair cash price for said pieces of real estate.”

The sixth paragraph contains the statement that/ affiant believed and relied upon the representations made, and, being deceived thereby, did transfer the personal property and accept .the assignment of the contract for the real estate, instead of the payment of the money.

The seventh paragraph was as follows:

“And affiant further avers that said real estate described in said contract, which said contract was assigned to this affiant, was not worth to exceed the sum of $1,300 in the real estate market of the city of Kalamazoo ; that the equity in said contract was not worth to exceed $400, and that said second piece of real estate was not worth to exceed $75 in the real estate market of the city of Kalamazoo, and that neither piece would sell for more than said mentioned sums.”

The grounds of the motion to quash the writ of capias are as follows:

(1) Because the affidavit upon which the order to hold to bail was based was insufficient to authorize . defendants’ arrest; (2) because the affidavit of the [561]*561plaintiff contains nothing indicating that he is possessed of any knowledge of the value of real estate, or the real estate in question; (3) because the affidavit of plaintiff, upon which the writ is issued, contains nothing indicating that plaintiff is possessed of the knowledge requisite and necessary to render him competent to form or express an intelligent opinion upon the value of the real estate in question j (4) because the. affidavit of the said plaintiff contains nothing to show that he is qualified or competent to testify to the value of said real estate, or that he ever saw said real estate, or has any knowledge thereof whatever; (5) because the affidavit of said plaintiff does not state where he resides or what his business is; (6) because said affidavit does not state where said defendants reside; (7) because said affidavit is based in part upon information, and not upon actual knowledge; (8) because said affidavit is in many other respects insufficient and inadequate upon which to base an order to hold to bail.

The respondent, in his answer to show cause, returns that all the grounds set forth in said motion as reasons why said writ should be quashed were upon the argument and hearing of said motion abandoned, except the second, third, and fourth, and that the only point urged and argued upon the hearing of said motion was the one that it appeared on the face of the affidavit that the affiant Dean did not possess sufficient qualification to justify him to give an opinion as to the value of the real estate situate in Kalamazoo city, and that the question as to the value of the property in Kalamazoo was one requiring the opinion of an expert, and that counsel’s argument and citation of authorities were directed at this point, and this point alone; the two cases relied upon by him being Church v. Calhoun Circuit Judge, 129 Mich. 126 (88 N. W. 403), and Gardiner v. Wayne Circuit Judge, 155 Mich. 414 (119 N. W. 432). In this court relators’ counsel discuss the further question that the allegations' as to statements of value are mere mat[562]*562ters of opinion upon which men might fairly and honestly differ, and cannot be made the basis of a fraudulent representation.

1. We recognize the rule that a seller has a right to praise his property and to give his opinion concerning its value, but we have held that this- rule cannot be extended to embrace false representations of alleged facts in a case which may be, and were, relied upon by the purchasei“ and became an inducing cause of the trade. A collection of Michigan authorities upon this subject will be found in Wegner v. Herkimer, 167 Mich. 587, at page 595 (138 N. W. 623), and we refer especially in that collection to the cases of Maxted v. Fowler, 94 Mich. 106 (53 N. W. 921), and Peck v. Jenison, 99 Mich. 326 (58 N. W. 312).

Can it be said that the language above quoted, that the defendants “did then and there falsely represent and pretended to this affiant that the real estate described in said contract was worth $2,100 cash in the real estate market of the city of Kalamazoo, and that the equity in said contract was well worth the sum of $1,225 cash, and that said real estate described in said deed above mentioned was worth the sum of $300 cash in the real estate market of the city of Kalamazoo, and that each of said pieces would readily sell for the sums above named at any time, and that said sums were a fair cash price for said pieces of real estate,” was mere “seller’s talk,” or may it be said to be the representation of facts which might be relied upon by the purchaser and become an inducing cause of the trade? We are of opinion that the representation that property would readily sell in a certain market at a given price is the representation of an alleged fact, and, where relied upon as here stated, may be made the basis of a false representation.

2. This brings us to consider the only question that was argued before the respondent, Was the affidavit [563]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Foreman v. Foreman
701 N.W.2d 167 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 2005)
Maine v. Garvin
417 P.2d 40 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1966)
Holbrook v. Blick
240 N.W. 26 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1932)
Canfield v. With
299 P. 351 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1931)
Fenwick Et Ux. v. Sullivan Et Ux.
145 A. 258 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 1929)
Hall-Doyle Equity Co. v. Crook
222 N.W. 215 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1928)
German Bundesheim Society v. Schmidt
218 N.W. 664 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1928)
Bayley v. Friedberg
197 N.W. 559 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1924)
Kefuss v. Whitley
189 N.W. 76 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1922)
Reese v. Elliott
185 N.W. 693 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1921)
Moore v. Meade
182 N.W. 29 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1921)
Hammer v. Martin
171 N.W. 419 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1919)
Pound v. Clum
170 N.W. 41 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1918)
Michaelson v. Schulke
180 Iowa 201 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1917)
Haener v. McKenzie
154 N.W. 59 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1915)
Merlau v. Kalamazoo Circuit Judge
147 N.W. 503 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1914)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
143 N.W. 890, 177 Mich. 558, 1913 Mich. LEXIS 746, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pratt-v-allegan-circuit-judge-mich-1913.