Schwarze v. New Amsterdam Casualty Co.

1929 OK 83, 275 P. 640, 136 Okla. 51, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 126
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 19, 1929
Docket18923
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 1929 OK 83 (Schwarze v. New Amsterdam Casualty Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schwarze v. New Amsterdam Casualty Co., 1929 OK 83, 275 P. 640, 136 Okla. 51, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 126 (Okla. 1929).

Opinion

TEEHEE, C.

Plaintiff in error, H. T. Schwarze, plaintiff below, on March 20, 1925, brought suit against defendants in error, A. C. Baxter, a real estate broker, and his surety, New Amsterdam Casualty Company, defendants below, to recover the sum of $1,000, which, it was alleged, defendant Baxter had wrongfully received as his commission in a sale by him made of certain property owned by plaintiff.

Plaintiff’s allegations of fact, in substance, were that defendant Baxter was a real estate broker operating in Oklahoma City. Pursuant to the then existing law, chapter 205, S. Jj. 1923, he gave bond in the sum of $1,000, dated April 30, 1924, with the surety company as his surety, conditioned that he would conduct his business without fraud or fraudulent misrepresentations, and' account for all monies received by him in sales made, and whereunder he and his surety were obligated to pay all damage to any person entitled thereto resulting from any breach of honesty in the course of his business with others to the extent of the liability fixed in the bond.

In January, 1924, plaintiff listed for sale certain property with defendant Baxter at a price of $6,000. Shortly thereafter Baxter informed plaintiff that he had secured a purchaser in one T. W. Gartrell, but who would not pay more than $5,000 for the property, which price plaintiff was by defendant Baxter urged to accept, the terms of the offer of purchase at that price being $300 in cash and the balance to be evidenced by installment promissory notes and secured by a mortgage on the property. Upon plaintiff’s agreement to ' sell at the price of $5,000, which defendant had represented was all he •could secure for the property, defendant Baxter requested him to sign a statement which Baxter said was merely his authority to close the deal. Plaintiff signed this instrument without reading the same The sale was completed on March 8, 1924, there being delivered to plaintiff by defendant Baxter $200 in cash and the notes in the aggregate sum of $4,800. About the 1st of December 1924, the purchaser, Gartrell, desired to take up the outstanding notes with other and different notes, at which time defendant Baxter informed plaintiff that he had an interest in the notes given by Gartrell for the purchase of the property, and that Gartrell would leave with plaintiff a note for $900 signed by one Mrs. H. T. Sims for delivery to defendant. The $900 note was made to plaintiff’s ord'er. This was delivered to Baxter on December 3, 1924. as was the understanding. In January, 1925, plaintiff discovered that defendant had falsely and fraudulently misrepresented all the facts in relation to the sale of the property. He then learned that, instead of selling the property for $5;000, defendant Baxter had in fact sold the same for $6,000; that Baxter had retained $100 in cash and the last maturing notes aggregating $900, thus making $1,000 in excess of the purchase price which he had represented was all that Gartrell would pay; that defendant Baxter had forged plaintiff’s name in in-dorsement of these notes, and that the paper signed by plaintiff which defendant represented to be his authority to close the deal for $5,000. was entirely of different tenor, the same being as follows:

“2-21 24.
“To Whom it May Concern:
“This is to certify that H F. Schwarze has this day give A. O. Baxter authority to sell his property located at 409 West 11th, Ok1ahorna City, for $5.000 net to him, and he to pay taxes out of said sum, any amount over and above this will be considered as commission on making this deal.
“H. F. Schwarze.”

The foregoing narrative of the transaction and later developments were appropriately pleaded, whereupon plaintiff alleged' liability of defendants in the sum of $1,000, this being the part of the purchase price fraudulently retained by defendant Baxter, *53 for winch plaintiff prayed judgment against defendants jointly and severally with interest at 8 per cent per annum, from March 8, 1924, the date of the sale, and that if judgment be obtained against defendant Baxter alone, an order’ of delivery of the Sims note for $900 to plaintiff be made which he would accept as a credit on such judgment.

Defendant Baxter answered by general denial, and further admitted his employment by plaintiff to sell his property which was listed' iwith this defendant at the price of $5,000 net, and pleaded the letter of February 21, 1924, set out in plaintiff’s petition as an agreement whereunder he would receive as his commission for making the sale all in excess of that sum, which agreement he denied was fraudulently procured. He further pleaded that the sale was made at the time alleged by plaintiff, but that the same was so made with the knowledge of the plaintiff that he was retaining notes as his commission aggregating $911.20; that subsequently, on or about December 1, 1924, the purchaser paid the accrued interest to plaintiff on all of the outstanding purchase notes including those held by him, at which time plaintiff inquired of defendant Baxter the numbers of notes so held and their amounts, with the interest-so paid being at that time adjusted between them, which was a ratification of the written agreement, by which accounting and ratification plaintiff waived all rights of action for any fraud alleged to have been practiced upon him; tiiat at said' time, also, upon the purchaser desiring to take up all outstanding purchase notes with other and different notes, plaintiff inquired of his attitude in the matter, whereupon he informed plaintiff that he would accept in lieu of the Gartrell notes the note signed by Mrs. H. T. Sims described in plaintiff’s petition, which exchange was consummated and which note plaintiff knew was being given in lieu of the notes held by defendant Baxter so retained as his commission, all of which transactions were by plaintiff voluntarily made and with full knowledge of the circumstances, and thereupon prayed1 that plaintiff be denied relief. Defendant surety company answered by general denial.

Trial of the cause proceeded before a jury. By motion for a directed verdict, the surety company was eliminated from the cause for that the proof showed nonliability, as the sale out of which the litigation arose was had prior to the execution of the surety bond. As to defendant Baxter, the jury failed to agree, and the cause was set for another trial. Defendant Baxter thereupon amended his answer, alleging that under an oral agreement plaintiff had' listed the property with him at $5,000, with defendant to have all above that sum as his compensation, which agreement ¡was confirmed by the letter of February 21, 1924, pursuant whereto he was authorized to make a binding agreement with the purchaser, and that he made the sale under the oral agreement which was consummated pursuant to the written agreement. To this new matter plaintiff replied by a general denial. At the second trial, which was against defendant Baxter alone, there was a jury verdict and judgment thereon for defendant.

Preliminary to our consideration of plaintiff’s grounds of complaint against the judgment, we are required to notice defendant’s motion to dismiss this appeal, which is but a renewal of his. former like motion. The appellate record' shows denial thereof upon original presentation, which we regard as final. Cosden Oil & Gas Co. v. Moss, 131 Okla. 49, 267 Pac. 855.

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Bluebook (online)
1929 OK 83, 275 P. 640, 136 Okla. 51, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 126, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schwarze-v-new-amsterdam-casualty-co-okla-1929.