Sampson v. Frank F. Pels Co.

199 A.D. 854, 192 N.Y.S. 538, 1922 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8102
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedFebruary 10, 1922
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 199 A.D. 854 (Sampson v. Frank F. Pels Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sampson v. Frank F. Pels Co., 199 A.D. 854, 192 N.Y.S. 538, 1922 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8102 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1922).

Opinion

Smith, J.:

Upon November 5, 1919, the defendant and the Lily Mill and Power Company entered into a, contract for the purchase and sale of Sea Island cotton yarn on cones. The contract, so far as material to this controversy, is as follows:

“ Cotton Yarns
Catlin & Co. Broadway, Cor. Leonard St.
“ New York, Nos. 345-7 No. 92.
Boston, Phila.,
“ Chicago.
New York, Nov. 5, 1919.
Frank F. Pels Co.
“ 17 East 24th St., City:
Allowance for Cones and Paper will be made as follows — Foster Wind 2%, Universal 1%
Dear Sirs.— We enter your order for 4500 Lbs. 60 /2 Combed Sea Island Cotton Yarn on Cones. Regular twist — 22 turns.”

Thirty-eight hundred pounds were delivered and accepted by the defendant. Seven hundred pounds were finally delivered tó the defendant upon the 22d of June, 1920. This action is brought by plaintiffs as assignees of the Lily Mill and Power Company to recover the purchase price of the 700 pounds, amounting to $3,659.25. The answer served by the defendant contains certain denials, and as a separate defense, by way of setoff and counterclaim, alleged a warranty by the Lily Mill and Power Company that the cotton was and would be good and merchantable and of the first grade or class. It further alleged that said cotton was full of slugs and nits and was unevenly spun and was not merchantable. It further alleged that, within a reasonable time after the discovery of the true condition of the cotton, the defendant notified the plaintiffs of its said condition and the said breach of warranty in relation thereto, and that by reason of the fact that such merchandise was worthless, useless and unmerchantable, the defendant has suffered damage in the sum of $3,412.50. The demand for relief is that this damage be offset against the plaintiffs’ claim. The trial judge submitted [857]*857to the jury the question simply as to the merchantability of this cotton. The jury found a verdict in favor of the defendant and from the judgment entered thereupon and an order denying a motion to set aside the verdict, the plaintiffs are here appealing.

The first objection urged is that the trial court improperly admitted evidence to the effect that the seller had notice of the purpose for which the purchase was made, to wit, for the purpose of selling to the embroidery trade. This objection is founded, first, upon the fact that the evidence was not admissible under the pleadings. To this contention it may be said that at no time upon the trial was objection made on the ground that the evidence was inadmissible under the pleadings, and that objection is raised for the first time upon this appeal. The failure to object to the evidence upon this ground is a waiver of the insufficiency of the pleading, and the plaintiffs cannot now avail themselves of the insufficiency of the pleading for the purpose of reversing this judgment. Another ground of the objection is that the effect of such evidence would be to contradict the written contract by parol evidence; and cases are cited in support thereof, which hold that, where a contract of sale specifies the goods by description, proof that the goods were sold by sample would be a contradiction of the terms of such a contract and inadmissible; and other cases are cited holding that express warranties cannot be shown under the parol evidence rule, unless expressed in the contract itself. No case is cited, however, which holds that the warranties which the law implies cannot be shown, although not specified in the contract. The law implies those warranties only because they are not expressed. In Carleton v. Lombard, Ayres & Co. (149 N. Y. 137) it is held that: “ Implied warranties may attach to a written as well as to an unwritten contract of sale.” (See, also, Landreth v. Wyckoff, 67 App. Div. 145.) The third objection assigned is that this contract is for the sale of a specified article under its trade name, and that, therefore, there is no implied warranty as to its fitness for any particular use. The evidence shows that this cotton was bought mainly for the embroidery trade. For that purpose it must be so combed as to be free from slugs and nits. If this be deemed a contract for a specified article [858]*858under its trade name, it is clear that that specified article must .be free from slugs and nits. If the éontract should be construed a contract for the purchase of such an article, the defendant has its right of offset for failure to deliver that article under section 130 of the Personal Property Law (as added by Laws of 1911, chap. 571). That section provides that: In the absence of express or implied agreement of the parties, acceptance of the goods by the buyer shall not discharge the seller from liability in damages or other legal remedy for breach of any promise or warranty in the contract to sell or the sale.” But upon the proof given, I am satisfied that this is not a sale of a specific article under its trade name. The property contracted to be sold .varied by reason of proper or improper combing. If properly combed it would be substantially free from slugs or nits. If improperly combed it would not be free from slugs or nits, and would be unavailable for the purposes for which the purchase was made, and while it might possibly under the evidence of some of the witnesses be used for other purposes, nevertheless, the description was not so definite as to be called a contract for a specified article,” and if the seller had knowledge of the purposes for which the purchase was made, under subdivision 1 of section 96 of the Personal Property Law (as added by Laws of 1911, chap. 571) there was an implied warranty that the article furnished was reasonably fit for such purpose. Directly within that subdivision it appears that the buyer must rely upon the sellers’ skill in the manufacture of the yarn, in the proper combing thereof, so that under the evidence given it would seem clear that there was here an implied warranty both that the goods were merchantable and that they were fit for the purpose for which they were purchased. Although the trial court submitted to the jury the single question of the merchantability of this cotton, it might well have submitted to the jury the question of the reasonable fitness of the article for the particular purpose for which it was purchased. The plaintiffs’ objection, therefore, to the evidence as incompetent was not well taken.

Finally it is contended by the plaintiffs that this evidence was inadmissible on the ground that the law will not imply a warranty unless the facts appear in the contract itself, from which such implication can be drawn. In answer to the [859]*859plaintiffs’ contention, it seems to me that such a rule is illogical. As stated before, a warranty is implied only for the reason that it is not expressed in the contract. If the contract fails to express such a warranty, it is not natural to suppose that the contract would contain all the facts upon which such an implied warranty must be based. To hold that such facts must all appear in the contract would place an unreasonable limitation upon the rule of implied warranties as found in section 96 of the Personal Property Law.

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Bluebook (online)
199 A.D. 854, 192 N.Y.S. 538, 1922 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8102, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sampson-v-frank-f-pels-co-nyappdiv-1922.