Smith v. Fowler

80 Tenn. 163
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 15, 1883
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 80 Tenn. 163 (Smith v. Fowler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Fowler, 80 Tenn. 163 (Tenn. 1883).

Opinion

Cooke, Sp. J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

This bill was filed to enforce a mechanic’s and fur-nisher’s lien, for an indebtedness upon a contract al[164]*164leged by the bill 1o have been as follows: “That he, complainant, through his agent, W. F. Fisher, contracted and agreed with W. J. Fowler, the defendant, to furnish two turbine water-wheels, to place them in position and attach one to a saw-mill, and the other to the grist-mill of the defendant, and put them in good running order. The wheels were to be respectively of twenty-four and thirty inches. The twenty-four-inch wheel to be furnished for the sum of .$150, the thirty-inch wheel for $200, said sums to be due and payable from and after the completion of the work.” The bill avers that the work was completed on or about the month of April, 1879. That complainant is entitled to interest from that time, but that the respondent is entitled to a credit upon the above amount for the freight paid by him upon said wheels from York, Pennsylvania, to the railroad station at which he received them, but complainant does not know the amount of the freight so paid by respondent. It is further averred that said wheels were furnished and the work was performed, as complainant is' informed and believes, as was undertaken and agreed by the contract aforesaid, and the work, machinery and mills to which the same were attached, were all turned over to, and received by the respondent, after the completion of the work as aforesaid, without objection or fault by defendant, except that he was dissatisfied with the thirty-inch wheel, attached to the saw-mill, claiming that it did not give enough power, and that complainant, by his agent aforesaid, proposed to remedy this even if it could only be done by the substitution [165]*165of a new wheel at complainant’s expeiise, but respondent. refused to allow this proposition performed until the next fall, by which time complainant would lose his lien, and has retained and used said mills, machinery and wheels, and still retains and uses them, but will not pay for them, and seeks to have his furnisher’s and mechanic’s lien declared and enforced upon said mill and premises for the satisfaction of his said demand, etc. The respondent filed his answer to the bill, by which he says he admits it to be true “that complainant, by his agent, W. F. Fisher, agreed and contracted to furnish complainant with two turbine water wheels, to be respectively- twenty-four and thirty' inches, to place them in proper position, and to put them in good running order,, for the respective prices alleged, that is, the price of the twenty-four-inch wheel properly attached, and in good running, order, was to be $150, and the price of the thirty-inch wheel properly attached and in good running order, was to be $200. But he denies that said wheels were iurnished, the work completed and turned over to him, without objection on his part; but on the contrary, says he did object, at the time the work was completed, and complained in the presence of said Fisher, that the wheels did not perform the work guar.mtei d, and which was admitted by said Fisher. Denies that complainant agreed to remedy the defects ot the thirty-inch wheel by substituting another wheel at complainant’s expense. Says it is true some propositions were made to furnish another wheel, but all the expenses were to .be borne by the respondent. Says he paid as freight [166]*166upon said wheels $55, and denies that he is indebted to complainant as charged, because he says complainant has tailed to comply with his ■ contract, in furnishing said wheels, and attaching them to the saw-mill and grist-mill.”

He then proceeds, by way of cross-bill, to allege and charge “that complainant .agreed to furnish said wheels described in complainant’s bill, to attach the thirty-inch wheel to respondent’s saw-mill, and the twenty-four-inch wheel to his grist-mill, and to put both wheels in good running order. Said contract was made with W. F. Fisher as the agent of complainant, all of which appears from the allegations of complainant’s bill.” He then proceeds to allege that under said contract, the thirty-inch wheel was guaranteed to give seventeen and three-quarter horse-power under eleven feet head. The twenty-four-inch wheel was guaranteed to give satisfaction, and to derive its power from water supplied from the same forebay, and was guaranteed to run successfully and simultaneously with the thirty-inch wheel, which was to run the said mill. But he charges that the thirty-inch wheel does not give ten-horse power, and that the, twenty-four-inch wheel does not give satisfaction by half, in what it was represented, when run at the same time with the said mill. That it was further guaranteed for the thirty-inch wheel that it would give power to saw from 4000 to 8000 feet of lumber per day, but that it cannot saw exceeding 1500 feet of soft lumber when run by itself, and when run in connection with the twenty-four-inch wheel its power is still diminished: [167]*167That complainant failed to comply with his contract, in placing said wheels in position and attaching one to the saw-mill and the other to the grist-mill as alleged in complainant’s bill.. Respondent would show that the expenses of putting in and attaching said wheels were paid by him, and were not less than $300, and for which amount, according to the allegations in the bill, complainant is responsible to respondent. He further charges that by reason of complainant’s failure to comply with his contract, respondent was damaged not less than $500, and prays for a decree against the complainant for all moneys and expense paid or incurred as freights on said wheels, and expense in putting in and attaching the same to the saw and gristmill, and for the amount of damages sustained by him by reason of complainant’s having failed to comply with his contract, etc.

In his answer to said cross-bill, the complainant, Smith, says: “It is true he did furnish to said Fowler the two wheels described in said cross-bill, through his agent, Fisher, and that he is informed and believes that his said agent warranted said wheels to give a -certain power to each according to the description and instructions laid down in a certain book furnished to said agent by the respondent, and that said agent, in accordance with said book, guaranteed that the thirty-inch wheel would give, under eleven feet working head, seventeen and eighty-four one-hundredths horse-power, which is ten-horse power short of the power necessary to run a fifty-two-inch solid tooth saw, and the twenty-four-inch wheel would give, under eleven feet working [168]*168head, ten and eighty-five one-hundredths horse power,, and these are the warranties he made or was authorized to make, and avers that said wheels, if properly put in, in accordance with instructions laid down on pages 65 and 66 of said book, do give the amount of power as tabled and guaranteed. He denies that he, or his agent, guaranteed the said wheels, or either of them, would give satisfaction further than stated above, and that said Fisher’s work should be done properly, the latter, .however, this respondent had nothing whatever to do with, it being a matter between Fowler and Fisher, as individuals, and nothin his capacity as'agent. That it is not true that said wheels were guaranteed to run simultaneously and successfully from same fore-bay, unless forebay and flume be constructed and located in accordance with instructions laid down on pages 65 and 66 of the book of instructions concerning wheels as aforesaid.

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Related

Clinton v. Gant
337 S.W.2d 761 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 1960)

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Bluebook (online)
80 Tenn. 163, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-fowler-tenn-1883.