Willet Bros. v. Western Naval Stores Co.

198 S.W. 352, 1917 Tex. App. LEXIS 920
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided November 1, 1917·No. No. 269.·Published

Opinion

BROOKE, J.

This suit was instituted by appellant against appellee for the sum of $107.35, with interest, alleged to be due said appellant upon the account set out in appellant’s petition and attached exhibit. Ap-pellee excepted to the account upon the ground that it was not sufficiently itemized, whereupon appellant amended his former pleadings, in paragraph 6 of their third amended original petition alleged, as shown below, that the account was itemized as definitely as appellant could itemize it. Plaintiff further set out that said accounts were itemized, and set forth each item as requested by the said agents of defendant, and that said account specified, designated, and set forth each item as best plaintiff could, owing to the length of time since said accounts were created, and that neither the defendant nor its agents had at any time previous to this requested a more specific itemization of said accounts, and that plaintiff did not keep a set of books, wherefore they have not kept a complete itemized account with defendant, so that it was then impossible for plaintiff to render a more complete itemized account than shown by the pleadings, and the aforesaid account attached as Exhibit A. The case was heard and judgment rendered on the pleadings, without testimony; the court having sustained the exception of appellee to the items of the account. Appellant confessed its inability to amend to conform to the rulings of the court, whereupon the case was dismissed, with costs against appellant.

The first assignment of error is as follows:

“The court erred in rendering judgment herein, in favor of the defendant and against the plaintiffs, for the reason that in order for the court to have dismissed the case on defendant’s demurrers and exceptions, and defendant herein to recover, the defendant must by its exceptions, being special exceptions, setting forth such particular charges against defendant not properly itemized, and it being fully shown by the defendant’s pleadings that said exceptions are nothing more than general exceptions to each paragraph of plaintiff’s petition, and the judgment of the court dismissing the case in favor of the defendant and against the plaintiff was therefore erroneous.”

The case was tried, upon plaintiffs’ third amended petition, which was as follows:

“Gome now the plaintiffs, Willet Brothers, a partnership composed of Dr. H. L. Willet and J. M. Willet, who resides in Newton county, Texas, by leave of the court, for the purpose first had and obtained, file this their third amended petition, in lieu of their original petition filed herein on the 5th day of August, A. D. 1914, in the said justice court, and also in lieu of their first amended petition filed September 5, 1914, and as an amendment to their second amended petition filed herein on the 8th day of July, A. D. 1916, complaining of the Western Naval Stores Company, a private corporation, of the city of New Orleans, state of Louisiana, and doing business in the state of Texas, with an office in the town of Newton, Newton county, Texas, and hereafter styled defendant, aver that service may be had on said Western Naval Stores Company by serving L. M. Autrey, general manager of the said defendant, at Newton, Newton county, Texas, and for cause of action plaintiffs represent to the court that heretofore to wit:
“1. That on or about the 31st day of May, A. D. 1912, plaintiffs at the special instance and request of the defendant, by and through its agents, Ira Coleman, Tom Douthet, and L. M. Autrey, each of the county of Newton, state of Texas, rendered medical services for and sold medicine to the said Western Naval Stores Company, at the several times specified in the account hereto attached marked ‘Exhibit A’ and made a part hereof, that said service was rendered by treating and visiting the persons named therein, and by delivering the medicine to each as designated in said account, and as hereafter pleaded, at the request of the said defendant as aforesaid.
“2. Plaintiffs further represent to the court that at the special instance and request of the defendant, by and through its agent, Tom Douthet, manager of camp No. 1 of the said Western Naval Stores Company, in Newton county, Texas, that they did render medical service for and sell to the said defendant medicine for camp No. 1, as follows, to wit:
July 22, 1912. For Arthur Johnson, examination and medicine .$1.50
(This item was perhaps subject to the demurrer as no amount has been stated as a specific charge for the examination and the specific amount charged for medicine.)
July 22, 1912. For Arthur Johnson, prescription . 1.00
(That item is sufficiently stated.)
*353 July 26, 1912. For Hozy Scott, examina-
tion and medicine . 2.75
(This is subject to the criticism _ above stated, and it should have been specifically stated the amount that was for the examination and the amount for the medicine, without further description.)
Oct. 5, 1912. For Ed Ward, examination
and medicine . 4.35
(This should conform to what has been said above.)
Oct. 12, 1912. For Auther Sapp,.l visit
and medicine. 8.75
(This item is subject to the same criticism.)”

This entire paragraph was called in question by the following demurrer:

“That paragraph 2 of said petition fails to set out the medicine delivered and services rendered, and does not show the nature thereof and the charges made for each item thereof, for which defendant excepts specially to said paragraph and to each item thereof as therein set forth, and of this it prays judgment of the court.”

[1] The only just criticism that could he made of this paragraph is the failure of the pleadings to state the amount charged for examination and the amount charged for medicine to the various parties, or the amount charged for the visit and the charge for medicine. The same should have been separately charged, and, subject only to this criticism, the same would be a proper averment.

In paragraph 3 of plaintiff’s petition he says:

“At the special instance and request of the defendant, by and through its agents, Ira Coleman, manager of camp No. 2, of the said Western Naval Stores Company, in Newton county, Texas, and L. M. Autrey, General Manager of said Western Naval Stores Company, that they did render medical aid for and sell to the said defendant medicine for camp No. 2, as follows to wit:
May 31, 1912.
For George lies, 2 visits and medicine ... .ij ! 5.50
June 28, 1912.

.ij

For G. Green, examination, prescription, medicine __.". 10.15
June 28, 1912.
For Homer Ree, 5 visits, circumcision, medicine . 22.30

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Willet Bros. v. Western Naval Stores Co., 198 S.W. 352, 1917 Tex. App. LEXIS 920 (Tex. Ct. App. 1917).

198 S.W. 352 (Willet Bros. v. Western Naval Stores Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.