Unique Illustrating Co. v. Withers

21 S.W.2d 350
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 30, 1929
DocketNo. 3298.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 21 S.W.2d 350 (Unique Illustrating Co. v. Withers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Unique Illustrating Co. v. Withers, 21 S.W.2d 350 (Tex. Ct. App. 1929).

Opinion

JACKSON, J.

This suit was instituted in the county court of Potter county, Texas, by the Unique Illustrating Company, a corporation, plaintiff, against the defendants G. H. and J. T. Withers, the individual members composing the partnership firm of Withers Plumbing Company, to recover the balance of $479.26, with interest thereon. Plaintiff alleges:

That on March 11, 1926, it entered into a written contract with the defendants, the part of which necessary to a disposition of this appeal is as follows:

“It is agreed that the Unique Illustrating Company will not be responsible for any provisions not embraced in writing herein and that this contract cannot be canceled without the written consent of the company. Unique Illustrating Company, Tribune Building, New York.
“You are hereby authorized to furnish the undersigned six single column cut and reading matter weekly for our exclusive use in advertising the plumbing business in the city of Amarillo, state of Texas, only, for a term not less than one year from commencement of service and thereafter until notified in writing to discontinue same, for which we agree to pay to your order at New York, the sum of $1.50 and postage for each cut. Payments to be made at the end of each calendar month.”

That pursuant to said order the plaintiff furnished to the defendants, beginning on the 15th day of March, A. D. 1926, and weekly thereafter up to and including March 12, 1927, six cuts, reading matter, and postage. That in said order the defendants promised and agreed to pay plaintiff the sums of money therein specified. That plaintiffs have, in all respects, carried out the terms of said contract and furnished the defendants said cuts, reading matter, and postage. in compliance with said contract, by reason of which the defendants are liable to the plaintiff -for the balance of $479.26, with interest thereon. That same is past due and unpaid, and the defendants have failed and refused to pay the same, or any part thereof.

*351 The defendants answered by general demurrer, special exception, general denial, and admitted tbe execution of tbe written contract sued on by plaintiff, but specially alleged :• That tbe written order sued on is not tbe whole of tbe contract made between plaintiff and defendants. That as a part of tbe contract it was agreed that tbe defendants should have tbe right to select tbe cuts and reading matter to be furnished, and plaintiff agreed that it would send tbe defendants proofs of cuts and reading matter from which to make their selection, before shipping to the defendants tbe cuts and reading matter to be used as advertising. That in violation of said agreement tbe plaintiff, immediately upon receipt of tbe contract, sent tbe defendants certain, cute which it bad selected, and which were not satisfactory to the defendants, and were out of season and not suitable to be used at that time of year, and failed to furnish the defendants with, proofs of cuts or reading matter, from which they could select such cute and reading matter as they desired. That plaintiff failed and refused to furnish the defendants with proofs of cuts and reading matter, but continued to send cuts and reading matter selected by it for about four months, at which time the defendants received a small number of proofs of cuts, but they were not suitable from which to select cuts and reading matter for summer time advertising. That the cuts sent were not accompanied by reading matter and were without value to the defendants. That plaintiff, by its failure to furnish the defendants with proofs of cuts or proofs of reading matter from which to make their selection, and by its failure to furnish reading matter to be used in connection with said cuts, and by its failure to ship six cuts each week, breached its contract and failed and refused to carry out and perform the same, and defendants are not liable for any sum of money by reason of said contract.

By supplemental petition the plaintiff-excepted to that portion of defendant’s answer setting up an agreement to the effect that as a part of the contract it was agreed that proofs of cuts and reading matter would be forwarded, from which defendants’ could, select the advertising matter desired, before the cuts and reading matter was furnished for publication, because the written contract was complete, and such allegations were an attempt to add to and vary the terms of the written contract without pleading fraud, accident, or mistake.

The plaintiff also alleged that on March 15th it forwarded to the defendants 200 proof slips from which they were to make selections, and advised defendants that, until they had made their selections and informed plaintiff thereof, plaintiff would select and forward the cuts and reading matter to the defendants in order to comply with their contract; that the defendants failed to make selections and are in no position to complain.

In response to special issues submitted by the court, the jury found, in substance, that the plaintiff failed to furnish reading matter to go with the cuts, failed to furnish the defendants with proofs of cuts and reading matter from which to make selections before shipping cuts to the defendants, and that the defendants did not agree to accept cute selected by the plaintiff. On these findings the court rendered judgment that plaintiff take nothing by its suit, and the defendants go hence without day, with their costs, from which judgment this appeal is prosecuted.

Appellant assigns as error the action of the trial court in excluding, on the objection of the defendants that it was hearsay, the testimony of Edward H. Eritz, the general manager of the appellant, to the effect that shipments were made to the defendants for a period of not less than one year; that the first shipment, containing six single column cute and reading matter, was made on March 15, 1926, and a like shipment each and every week thereafter up to and including the shipment of March 12, 1927, was mailed to the Withers Plumbing Company.

The 'Shipping clerk of the appellant testified that he personally made the shipments, but there is nothing in the record to show that the general manager, Edward H. Eritz, did not know of his own knowledge that the shipments were made. Appellees pleaded and offered testimony tending to show that the cuts were not shipped as per contract, and that reading matter was not furnished with the cuts. This was a controverted issue, found by the jury . against the appellant, and the court should have admitted said testimony of the witness Edward H. Fritz.

The appellant challenges as error the action of the trial court in overruling its special exception to that portion of appellee’s answer setting up the agreement to furnish proofs of cuts and reading matter to the ap-. pellees, from which to make selections, before shipping cuts and reading matter, and also to the admission of the testimony offered by the appellees to prove such allegations, because no allegation of fraud, accident, or mistake was made, and such pleading and testimony added to and varied the terms of the written contract, which was complete.

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Related

Texas N. O. R. Co. v. Webster
53 S.W.2d 656 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1932)
Unique Illustrating Co. v. Withers
33 S.W.2d 1074 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1930)

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Bluebook (online)
21 S.W.2d 350, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/unique-illustrating-co-v-withers-texapp-1929.