Shawnee Peanut Co. v. Barkus

1951 OK 244, 247 P.2d 875, 207 Okla. 104, 1951 Okla. LEXIS 767
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 2, 1951
Docket34578
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 1951 OK 244 (Shawnee Peanut Co. v. Barkus) 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
Shawnee Peanut Co. v. Barkus, 1951 OK 244, 247 P.2d 875, 207 Okla. 104, 1951 Okla. LEXIS 767 (Okla. 1951).

Opinion

O’NEAL, J.

This is an appeal from a verdict and judgment in favor of defendant in error, Raymond Barkus. Raymond Barkus commenced this action in the district court of Seminole county against plaintiff in error, Shawnee Peanut Company, and Charles T. Hutson. The Shawnee Peanut Company is a copartnership composed of Jay Huffman and Jack Hammons, with its principal place of business in Shawnee, Pottawatomie county, Oklahoma. Jay Huffman and Jack Hammons are residents of Pottawatomie county and defendant Charles T. Hutson is a resident of Seminole county. The case was tried to a jury resulting in verdict and judgment in favor of the plaintiff, Raymond Barkus, and against the defendant Shawnee Peanut Company, and defendant Shawnee Peanut Company appeals. The jury returned a verdict in favor of defendant Charles T. Hutson.

Defendant Shawnee Peanut Company is and has been for several years engaged in the business of buying and processing peanuts. Plaintiff, Raymond Barkus, is a resident of Wewoka in Seminole county. In 1948, plaintiff owned a farm across the county line in Hughes county. In that year he planted about 70 or 75 acres of said farm in peanuts. Plaintiff’s evidence is that about 15 acres of the land planted in peanuts is land termed as “black, or gumbo” soil, and the remainder is sandy land. There is some evidence on the part of the defendant tending to prove that all the land was gumbo soil. After plaintiff had plowed his peanuts he employed George Payne to thresh them. They threshed the peanuts grown on the black or gumbo soil first and placed them separate from the peanuts grown on the sandy soil.

Defendant Shawnee Peanut Company employs agents in various counties who are certified and approved by the Department of Agriculture to inspect and grade farmers’ stock peanuts under the 1948 “Peanut Program” to buy peanuts for the account of defendant Shawnee Peanut Company. In the year 1948 defendant Charles T. Hutson was a certified and approved grader and was the agent of defendant Shawnee Peanut Company, in Seminole county. After the peanut crop was threshed plaintiff took two or three sacks of peanuts which were grown on the gumbo land to Leon Tipton, who was also a certified grader engaged in buying peanuts. The percentage of “foreign material” was so high that Tipton would not buy the peanuts, and Tipton advised plaintiff to rerun the peanuts through the thresher. Payne reran a few sacks through the thresher but that did not remove the foreign material and plaintiff decided to reclean the peanuts by hand. There were about 90 or 100 sacks of peanuts which were grown on the gumbo land. Plaintiff recleaned about 35 sacks of them. Plaintiff had also taken a sample of the peanuts to a grader and buyer in Holdenviile. What grade he gave them is not shown. Plain *106 tiff also took a sample of the peanuts to a grader and buyer, a Mr. Taylor at Wetumka, Oklahoma. Apparently Taylor gave a grade showing “Sound mature kernels 78%”; “Type 5”; “Small shrunken kernels 2%”; “Foreign materials 12%.” The support price for that grade of peanuts was $229.50 per ton. Plaintiff decided not to sell to Taylor and took the samples back home. A few days thereafter defendant Charles T. Hutson learned that plaintiff had a crop of peanuts for sale and went to plaintiff’s home and informed plaintiff that he would like to purchase plaintiffs peanuts. Plaintiff testified that he told Hutson that some of the peanuts were very bad; that he had had them tested and they ran pretty bad, and that plaintiff had decided to reclean them; that Hutson then asked plaintiff how many of such peanuts he had, and plaintiff told him “approximately 100 sacks.” Hutson then asked plaintiff how long it would take to reclean them and plaintiff replied he did not know how long it would take, but that they would get through as soon as they could. Plaintiff testified further that the next day defendant Hutson came to plaintiff again and asked plaintiff if he was through cleaning the peanuts and plaintiff told him that he had about 60 sacks yet to be cleaned. The evidence is in conflict as to just what took place then. Plaintiff testified he told Hutson that if Hutson would take them as they were and “if so, we will go out there and I will let you look at them”; that they then went to the farm where they found the boys plaintiff had employed engaged in cleaning the peanuts; that plaintiff had all the peanuts, the whole crop, stacked in his barn; that plaintiff and defendant Hutson went into the barn and plaintiff showed Hutson the peanuts; that the peanuts grown on the gumbo land were stacked to one side and the clean ones which were grown on the sandy land were stacked on the other side of the barn; that plaintiff showed Hutson the sacks of peanuts which had not been recleaned, and that Hutson then replied, “if it is no more than that, I can take them”; that plaintiff replied “All right, Sir,” and that Hutson then told plaintiff to stop the boys from cleaning and bring the peanuts into his place in Cromwell, Oklahoma; that thereupon plaintiff took his truck and hired two other trucks and hauled the peanuts into Cromwell, where they were weighed and delivered to Hutson; that thereupon defendant Hutson prepared what was denominated a “bill of sale and draft, statement of settlement of farmers stock peanuts.”

The first part of the instrument, among other things, certified the gross weight of the peanuts, 55,065 pounds, and the net weight at 48,458 pounds, certified the per cent of foreign material 12%; per cent of sound mature kernels 78%; per cent of damage 0%; “support price per ton $229.50”; “Amount to be paid seller $5,560.55.” The next part of the instrument, under the subtitle “Sellers Certificate” was as follows:

“I certify that (the producer of the peanuts described above received the full support price therefor) . . . (the peanuts described above were produced by me) . . . that said peanuts were produced during the calendar year. That said peanuts are free and clear of any and all liens and encumbrances except as listed herein; that no part of the purchase-price of said peanuts has previously been received; and that the information shown on this document is true and complete. I hereby sell said peanuts to Shawnee Peanut Co., at the price shown on the draft below.”

The next part of. the instrument, under the head “draft,” was as follows:

“On Demand not later
than 90 days from date.
Date 10-8-1948
“Pay to the Order of Raymond Barkus . . . $5560.55 Five Thousand five hundred sixty & 55/100 DOLLARS (Presentment and demand for acceptance and payment, protest and notice of dishonor are waived.) When accepted this draft will be paid at par.
*107 “Raymond Barkus, Seller * * “P. O. Wewoka R.F.D. No— “County Seminole State Okla.”
“To Shawnee Peanut Co.
“Shawnee, Oklahoma “Payable through Federal “National Bank.

Plaintiff testified that when he signed the draft it provided for payment, on demand not later than ten days from date, and that the word “ten” had been stricken and the figure “90” inserted after he signed same and sent it in for collection.

On the upper left margin of the instrument appears “Certificate of Inspector” as follows:

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

Related

Tulsa Industrial Authority v. City of Tulsa
2011 OK 57 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 2011)
Undrey Engine & Pump Co. v. Eufaula Enterprises Inc.
569 P.2d 541 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 1977)
Wilson v. Moore
1959 OK 6 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1959)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1951 OK 244, 247 P.2d 875, 207 Okla. 104, 1951 Okla. LEXIS 767, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shawnee-peanut-co-v-barkus-okla-1951.