Windedahl v. Harris

156 N.W. 489, 37 S.D. 7, 1916 S.D. LEXIS 2
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 15, 1916
DocketFile No. 3777
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 156 N.W. 489 (Windedahl v. Harris) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Windedahl v. Harris, 156 N.W. 489, 37 S.D. 7, 1916 S.D. LEXIS 2 (S.D. 1916).

Opinion

WHITING, J.

'Plaintiffs seek to rescind an executed contract under which they conveyed a stock of hardware to the defendant Harris in exchange for 280 acres of land situate in Deuel county, S. D. For the purposes of this appeal Harris will be treated as the sole defendant and appellant. The action was tried before the court and a jury. The jury answered certain special findings submitted to it. These finding's were all, with the exception of one, incorporated into the court’s findings. Its findings and conclusions were in favor of the plaintiffs, and judgment was entered thereon. From such judgment and an order denying a new trial, this appeal was taken.

[1] Appellant assigns as error the talcing of the final determination of this cause from the jury. As grounds for such assignment he states that the cause was noticed as a jury trial by both parties, and that up -to the time of the submission of the special findings it had been tried out as though it were a jury [11]*11case. This assignment has no support in the record, as appellant interposed no objection to the submission of the special findings or to the court’s action in making and entering findings.

[2] Appellant assigns as error the overruling of his objection to the introduction of any evidence — such objection being based upon the ground that the complaint did not state facts sufficient ■to constitute a cause of action. This assignment also has no' support in the record, as no exception was saved to the ruling of the court thereon.

[3] The only matters left for our consideration, save and except those pertaining to certain things occurring after the entry of judgment herein, are the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the court’s finding’s and the sufficiency of such findings to support its conclusions and judgment. The respondents- alleged, and the court found, that the contract was procured by means of fraud and deceit practiced by appellant and his agents, which fraud and deceit pertained .to four matters. We shall determine this appeal upon ■the sufficiency of the evidence to support the court’s findings as to the alleged fraud and deceit pertaining to but one of these matters, and upon the sufficiency of these particular findings to support the judgment, as it is clear to us that, if the evidence supported these particular findings and such findings cover all the elements of fraud and deceit necessary to a right of rescission, the judgment finally entered should be sustained. The respondents charged: (1) That the land contracted for was represented to' be good tillable land nearly all of which could be broken up- by means of a traction plowing outfit; but that, as- a matter of fact, the land was so rough and hilly and so covered with stone that but very small patches thereof could be broken at all, and these not with traction ■power, and that in all but a small proportion of said land could be tilled. (2) That appellant undertook to show the land to the respondents, whom appellant knew to be entirely unfamiliar therewith, and to that end employed agents who purported -to> show said land to respondents, but who, in fact and in truth, showed' other and different land, knowing that they were showing such other and different land, and knowing that respondents supposed they were examining the land contracted for; and that the surface conditions of the land so> examined answered the representations that had been made, and was land of much greater value than the [12]*12land covered1- by -the contract and which was conveyed to respondents. The court found these charges to be true.

[4, 5] It must be conceded that, no matter what representations were made as to the 'surface conditions of the land offered in trade, if respondents did not make their trade relying on such representations, but went upon the land and had a full and fair opportunity to examine the same, they could not demand rescission on account of any misrepresentations as to such surface conditions. We are thus brought -to’ the -consideration of whether the court rightly found that the second of the above charges was sustained by the evidence. Appellant contends that the equitable relief of rescission, being extraordinary, should never be granted, except where the evidence is clear and convincing. For the .purposes of this appeal we will concede such to be the proper. rule. Was the evidence received so clear and convincing? A complete review thereof could serve no useful purpose. If the court and the jury believed the testimony of the respondents and their witnesses— and from the findings of the court and the jury we must presume they did1 — -they had ample warrant for such findings. If it were the mere weighing of the testimony of the witnesses upon the one side as against that of those upon the -other without any undisputed facts to aid in determining the truth or falsity of such contradictory testimony, there would be some grounds for appellant’s contention that the -evidence was not clear and convincing; but there ar-e many facts revealed by the -evidence herein and which stand undisputed by 'appellant, some of them- established by his own testimony and that of his witnesses, that tend to show a fraudulent purpose on the part of appellant and his agents throughout this whole transaction, and that otherwise tend to corroborate respondents and their witnesses. Appellant sent an agent, one Corkin, to examine the stock -of hardware and to show the land to respondents. There was a loan of $2,450 secured on the land, and respondents advised -Corkin that, if they made the trade, they would hav-e to- borrow some $2,000 more on said land in order to pay their creditors. Corkin took from them an application for a loan, and, if he did not agree that appellant should procure the loan, he at least encouraged them to believe that appellant, through his bank, would procure this additional loan. Appellant knew of this before the deal closed, and yet did not advise [13]*13respondents that such a loan could not be procured, but, in fact, on the very eve of the consummation of the exchange, by letter written to respondents’ agent, encouraged them to believe the loan would be procured. The evidence conclusively shows that the land offered in trade was of such little value that appellant, a banker, must 'have known he could not procure a loan of $4,500 thereon. The court found the land to be worth but $5,600. Appellant was advised that respondents would not make the trade unless the “land is good,” and that respondents “have been prejudiced against some of the land in that part of the state on account of the rough and stony land, but perhaps your 280-acre farm is not of that kind.” He instructed a second agent, whom he employed to take Gorkin and respondents to- examine this land, as fallows:

“Take them out to see the land and show it up the best you can. Keep away from the stone as much as possible and do the best you can.”

The evidence on the part of respondents tended to show that appellant’s agent willfully directed one of the respondents and one Carlson, who 'accompanied him on the trip to see the land, to the wrong land', representing that a certain line that was, in fact, the east line of a part of the land offered in trade was the west line thereof, thus causing respondent and Carlson to examine land one-half mile east of the land traded for.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
156 N.W. 489, 37 S.D. 7, 1916 S.D. LEXIS 2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/windedahl-v-harris-sd-1916.