Reinemann v. Anderson

210 P.2d 394, 34 Wash. 2d 809, 1949 Wash. LEXIS 582
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 10, 1949
DocketNo. 30814.
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 210 P.2d 394 (Reinemann v. Anderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reinemann v. Anderson, 210 P.2d 394, 34 Wash. 2d 809, 1949 Wash. LEXIS 582 (Wash. 1949).

Opinions

Robinson, J.

The decision to be made on this appeal will directly depend upon the interpretation of three lines of a *810 written contract. The plaintiff, Paul Reinemann Company, a New York limited partnership, has long been engaged in purchasing hops from growers and selling them to brewers. The defendants are growers of hops in Yakima county, Washington. A great many hops are grown in the Yakima valley. In June, 1947, Mr. Orin E. “Babe” Hollingbery was acting as an independent hop broker in Yakima. On June 21st of that year, he wrote to the plaintiff partnership stating that he was so engaged, and that he had done business for a number of New York hop buyers; and further said:

“I rustle the grower for the dealers needs, write and sign the contracts, stay on top of the operation, take in the crop and do everything necessary to represent the dealer. . . . Would you be interested in having me do some work for you in the valley along this line?
“And would you be interested to buy from a reliable grower on a 2nd, 150 bales of seedless 1947 crop, 6% L & S, content with a 1‡ premium for each percent under 6%. Price 53^ per lb. I have this option for a few days.”

The words “on a 2nd” in the above paragraph are, in our opinion, of great utility in solving the problem presented by this appeal.

Mr. F. S. Herman, a member of the plaintiff partnership, testified that, upon receipt of the Hollingbery letter, Mr. Walter Reinemann called Mr. Hollingbery on the telephone, and that he (the witness) listened to their conversation on the office intercommunicating system. Herman testified that Mr. Reinemann told Hollingbery that the partnership was interested in buying approximately 150 bales of hops, and further testified:

“A. Mr. Reinemann asked Mr. Hollingbery, ‘Who is this grower whose hops you’re offering here on the second, on the second contract?’ and so Mr. Hollingbery answered, ‘the name is Anderson.’ And Mr. Reinemann asked back — he said, ‘Ralph Anderson in Wapato?’ which Mr. Hollingbery confirmed, at which Mr. Reinemann told him, ‘Well, we know Mr. Ralph Anderson and Ray Anderson, his brother; we have this first contract with them, after which this second is offered now.’ Q. Was there a further conversation between Mr. Reinemann and Mr. Hollingbery in reference to what I might call the Anderson deal? A.. Yes, there was. *811 Mr. Reinemann called Mr.-Q. You may state it. A. Mr. Reinemann called Mr. Hollingbery’s attention to it, that we knew the Andersons and had dealt with them before and had this 300-bale contract with them, and that it would be a question whether we can accept that second contract inasmuch as it was questionable whether the full amount of the total of 450 bales would be safe to be expected on the land in question. Q. You mean, safe — that is, that would be grown and delivered from those lands. A. Yes.”

Mr. Hollingbery also testified as to that telephone conversation between Mr. Reinemann and himself, and, in so doing, corroborated, in every particular, Mr. Herman’s version of it, just above quoted.

There is a wealth of evidence in the record, given by both growers and buyers of hops, to the effect that it is customary for hop buyers to contract prior to, or early in, the growing season, for an estimated quantity of hops to be grown on certain lands described in the instrument. In the trade, such a contract is called a production contract. It is also called a “first.” It is understood by the parties to such a contract that a grower may make future contracts to sell hops if the lands involved produce an excess of the amount contracted for in the first contract. These excess amounts are known and spoken of in the trade as “overages,” and contracts made to dispose of them are known as “2nds” (seconds).

As we have hitherto shown by quotations from Holling-bery’s letter of June 21, 1947, he therein inquired of the plaintiff partnership whether it would be interested in buying, from a reliable grower on a “2nd,” 150 bales of seedless 1947 crop, stating that he had an option from the grower for a few days. It is with the contract that finally resulted from that inquiry that we are concerned on this appeal. As we have also shown, before the plaintiff authorized Hollingbery to make the “2nd” contract for 150 bales, Walter Reinemann inquired of Hollingbery, in a telephone conversation, who the grower was, and Hollingbery replied, Ralph Anderson, whereupon Reinemann asked if he meant Ralph Anderson in Wapato, and Reinemann told him:

*812 “Well, we know Mr. Ralph Anderson and Ray Anderson, his brother; we have this first contract with them, after which this second is offered now.”

In this connection, Herman further testified:

“Mr. Reinemann called Mr. Hollingbery’s attention to it, that we knew the Andersons and had dealt with them before and had this 300-bale contract with them.”

So, there is no doubt but that the Andersons were contemplating a “2nd” contract covering hops to be raised upon the lands as to which the plaintiff already held the first contract. The Andersons wanted to contract to sell the overages, if any, and the plaintiff wished to contract for them. This was, at least, the primary object of the contract to be negotiated, as both the growers and the buyer, as well as their go-between, Mr. Hollingbery, well knew. Hollingbery, as he indicated in his letter to the plaintiff, was accustomed to draw up the contract in case he bought hops for a dealer. He did so in this case, and a contract was executed by the Andersons, or at least by Ralph and Ray Anderson, as of June 26, 1947, and copies sent to the plaintiff. The copies were returned to Hollingbery for some minor changes, principally because the description of one of the hop yards was omitted. Plaintiff called attention to the omission. Holling-bery then drew up another contract, including the omitted description but otherwise containing the same provisions. This contract was executed by Ralph and Ray Anderson and by their respective wives as of July 3, 1947, and is the contract which is alleged to have been breached by the Ander-sons.

The contract purported to be between the Andersons as sellers of hops and Paul Reinemann Company as purchasers thereof. We quote those portions of the contract which are pertinent to the principal point in issue, omitting the provisions as to price and other provisions which throw no light on the controversy:

“Quantity: Sellers agree to sell and Buyer agrees to buy 150 bales of hops of the year 1947 estimated at 30,000 lbs., as produced during 1947 upon the following described properties in Yakima County, Washington, to wit:
*813 “40 acres more or less, in the Northeast quarter of the Southwest quarter of Section 2, Township 10 N., Range 18, E. W. M., and
“10 acres more or less, in the Northwest quarter of the Southeast quarter of Section 2, Township 10 N., Range 18, E. W. M.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
210 P.2d 394, 34 Wash. 2d 809, 1949 Wash. LEXIS 582, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reinemann-v-anderson-wash-1949.