Wadhams v. Balfour

51 P. 642, 32 Or. 313, 1898 Ore. LEXIS 41
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 10, 1898
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 51 P. 642 (Wadhams v. Balfour) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wadhams v. Balfour, 51 P. 642, 32 Or. 313, 1898 Ore. LEXIS 41 (Or. 1898).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Wolverton,

after making the foregoing statement, delivered the opinion.

The pivotal question is, in whom did the title to the carload of wheat rest at the time it was consumed? The action is for the purchase price of wheat sold and delivered, and if there was no delivery, so as to pass title, there can be no recovery; and of this we must inquire. The court below found that the title passed by the indorsement and delivery of the bill of lading. This, however, is a conclusion of law, and must be déduced from the findings of fact. Defendants contend that such a conclusion does not follow from the facts found. Was the contract entered into by the parties a mere executory agreement, or was it in reality a bargain and sale of the wheat in question? If the former, the wheat was at the risk of the seller; but if the latter, the risk was with the buyer. In determining whether the contract passed the title, the primary consideration is the intention of the parties thereto. If the intention is manifested clearly and unequivocally it controls. But it is not infrequently the case that parties have expressed their intention imperfectly, and have left the matter in doubt as to [319]*319what they really meant should he the effect of their ■engagements in the premises. In such cases, resort must be had to certain rules of construction applied by •the courts. A presumption of law prevails that if •something remains to be done for the purpose of testing the property, or fixing the amount to be paid, by weighing, measuring, or the like, or of putting the property into condition for final delivery, the title does not pass until the act is done. The presumption may, however, be overcome, and the intention of the parties will prevail, as against it: 21 Am. & Eng. Enc. Law (1st Ed.), 479. There exists also a counter presumption that where the specific thing is agreed upon, and is ready for immediate delivery, the contract is an actual sale, and transfers title at once, and it has been held that the seller waives the condition of cash payment when he makes complete delivery without expressly reserving title in himself. Mitchell, J., in Fishback v. Van Dusen, 33 Minn. 117 (22 N. W. 245), says: “ The doctrine is uniform and well established that if the vendor unqualifiedly and unconditionally delivers the goods to the vendee, without insisting on performance of conditions, intending to rely solely on the personal responsibility of the vendee, the title passes to the latter, and the vendor cannot afterwards reclaim the property,” — citing many cases, among them Upton v. Sturbridge Cotton Mills, 111 Mass. 446; Freeman v. Nichols, 116 Mass. 309; Mixer v. Cook, 31 Me. 340. In Rosenthal v. Kahn, 19 Or. 575 (24 Pac. 991), Mr. Justice Bean says: “If the goods sold are sufficiently designated, so that no question can arise as to the thing intended, it has been held not [320]*320absolutely necessary that the goods should be in a deliverable condition, or that the quantity or quality, when the price depends upon either or both, should be determined. All these circumstances have an important bearing in arriving at the intention of the parties, but no one of them or all combined are conclusive.” And Wagner, J., in Ober v. Carson, 62 Mo. 213, says: “Where anything remains to be done between the seller and the purchaser before the goods are to be delivered, as separating the specific quantity sold from a larger mass, or identifying them when they are mixed with others, a present right of property does not attach in the purchaser. But when a mere operation of weight, measurement counting or the like remains to be performed after the goods are actually delivered, and it is shown that it was the intention of the parties to complete the sale by delivery, such weighing, measuring or counting afterwards will not be regarded as a part of the contract of sale, but will be considered as referring to adjustment on a final settlement. The question of transfer to, and '-esting title in, the purchaser always involves an inquiry into the intention of the contracting parties; and it is to be ascertained whether their negotiations and acts show an intention on the part of the seller to relinquish all further claim as owner, and on the part of the buyer to assume such control with all liabilities.” See, also, Cunningham v. Ashbrook, 20 Mo. 554.

In Fletcher v. Ingram, 46 Wis. 201 (50 N. W. 425), Orton, J., speaking for the court and affirming Sewell v. Eaton, 6 Wis. 490 (70 Am. Dec. 471), says: “That if it clearly appear to have been the intention of the [321]*321parties that the property should be deemed to be delivered and the title to have passed, and especially i^ their acts be inconsistent with any other view, the mere fact that something remains to be done will not govern such intention.” In Bryans v. Nix, 4 Mees. & W. 789, a case of perceptible analogy to the one at bar, it was held that “ if the intention of the parties to pass the property, whether absolute or special, in certain ascertained chattels, is established and they are placed in the hands of a depositary, no matter whether such depositary be a common carrier, or shipmaster employed by the consignor, or a third person, and the chattels are so placed on account of the person who is to have that property, and the depositary assents, it is enough; and it matters not by what documents this is effected.” See, also, DeWolf v. Gardner, 12 Cush. 19 (59 Am. Dec. 165); Somers v. McLaughlin, 57 Wis. 858 (15 N. W. 442). It is said in O’Keefe v. Kellogg, 15 Ill. 352, that “ where anything remains to be done to complete the contract, such as ascertaining the quantity and the delivery of possession, the title does not pass till the contract is thus completed, while the title may pass when the contract is completed, although something may remain to be done under the contract in order to ascertain the amount to be paid by the purchaser. In such a case, if the possession is delivered under the contract, and such is the intention of the parties, the title may pass, although the quantity is subsequently to be ascertained.” This latter authority is but another form of distinguishing between the ex-ecutory agreement and the completed sale. If, by the terms of the agreement, anything remains to be done [322]*322which, is requisite to the identification of the specific chattels, or is made essential to the ascertainment of the quantity or quality, so as to determine and fix the price to be paid, or which has regard to a specific manner of delivery and acceptance, the sale is executory, and no title passes until the essentials are performed. But many things which are often made essential by the parties in an executory agreement to sell may become nonessentials after delivery; that is to say, many provisions (and these may be expressed or implied) which are impressed by the contract with the quality of conditions precedent in the one case are regarded as condition's subsequent in the other. So it is where there has been an unconditional delivery of the specific property and something remains to be done, as measuring, weighing and the like, for the purpose of ascertaining the price at the rate agreed upon; these things become and are regarded as conditions subsequent, and the title will pass with the delivery. Crofoot v. Bennett, 2 N. Y. 258; Burrows v. Whittaker, 71 N. Y. 291 (27 Am. Rep. 42); Graff v. Fitch, 58 Ill. 373 (11 Am. Rep. 85);

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

Related

Pokorny v. Williams
260 P.2d 490 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1953)
Wade v. Johnson
227 P. 466 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1924)
Austin Co. v. Tillman Co.
209 P. 131 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1922)
Lewiston Milling Co. v. Cardiff
266 F. 753 (Ninth Circuit, 1920)
E. L. Welch Co. v. Lahart Elevator Co.
142 N.W. 828 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1913)
Meyer v. Everett Pulp & Paper Co.
193 F. 857 (Ninth Circuit, 1912)
Cook v. Robinson
4 Alaska 285 (D. Alaska, 1911)
Puritan Manufacturing Co. v. Westermire
84 P. 797 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1906)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
51 P. 642, 32 Or. 313, 1898 Ore. LEXIS 41, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wadhams-v-balfour-or-1898.