Wisdom v. Morris Hardware Co.

274 P. 1050, 151 Wash. 86, 1928 Wash. LEXIS 730
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 26, 1928
DocketNo. 21289. Department One.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 274 P. 1050 (Wisdom v. Morris Hardware Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wisdom v. Morris Hardware Co., 274 P. 1050, 151 Wash. 86, 1928 Wash. LEXIS 730 (Wash. 1928).

Opinion

Mitchell, C. J.

In the year 1926, Luther T. Wisdom, P. C. Burkey, L. H. Wilson, S. O. Rue and E. M. Phillips were engaged in growing apples, each on his separate tract of land in Chelan county. Their orchards joined each other, only that two of them were separated from the other three by a public highway. About the latter part of May, that year, each of them purchased from the Morris Hardware Company, an article spoken of as Corona Scale-Proof Spray, and used it according to directions given by the hardware, company in spraying apple trees, with the result that the apple crop was damaged. Each of the four, other than Wisdom, assigned his cause, of action to Wisdom, upon which, together with his own original cause of action, he brought suit against the Morris Hardware Company for damages.

In each of the five causes .of action, it was alleged that the article was wholly unknown to the purchaser, and that it was purchased and used in reliance upon the judgment and representation of the defendant to the. effect that it was safe to be used and was efficient for the purpose of exterminating and controlling rosy aphis, codling moth, eggs and other pests infesting the orchard. The case was tried to a jury, which returned a verdict for the plaintiff on each cause of action. The defendant has appealed from a judgment on the verdict.

That the evidence was sufficient to show that the apples were seriously damaged by the use of the spray, and that the spray was mixed and used according to directions, there appears to be no serious question. Nor can there be any question .about the amount *88 of damages awarded on each cause of action. The principal question in the case relates to the liability of the appellant.

At the close of respondent’s case, the appellant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to go to the jury as to each of the four assigned causes of action, expressing some doubt at that time as to respondent’s own original cause of action; at the close of all the evidence on both sides, the appellant renewed the motion as to each of the four assigned causes of action; after the verdict, appellant filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict as to each of the five causes of action. All of the motions were in all respects denied. These rulings are assigned as errors and we think may be considered together.

The appellant was, and for years had been, engaged in the mercantile business at Wenatchee, and sold spray mixtures, among other things. One of its principal officers or agents, Mr. Morris, and the respondent were well acquainted with each other. On behalf of the respondents, the evidence showed substantially that he went into appellant ’s place of business and told Mr. Morris the condition of his orchard, that he and his neighbors up there had lots of aphis and that they were “seeking for something to get away with them, that they were bad; ’ ’ that Mr. Morris said, ‘ ‘ This oil would clean them up and clean up other pests with it, clean up the codling moth and their eggs;” that he then told Mr. Morris, “that if that stuff was all right that he probably could dispose of more of it up there, or some such words;” that Mr. Morris said it should be mixed one gallon to one hundred gallons of water, and gave him some of the literature gotten out by the manufacturers of the article, showing- that the mixture was a patented article and giving directions how to *89 .mix, it, and containing testimonials from those supposed to have used it.

All five of the purchasers were experienced orehard-ists in that locality, and each testified in detail how he mixed it according to the directions of both Mr. Morris and the printed directions and also as to his manner of spraying trees with the mixture. Within a few days after spraying the trees, it was noticed that the apples were damaged. The leaves turned yellow and appeared to be more or less parched, some of them dropping from the. trees. Upon reporting the damage to Mr. Morris, he visited the orchards; and in the presence of all the purchasers, he admitted that the apples had been damaged. The respondent testified that, while they were all together on that occasion, in confirmation of his report to his neighbors concerning representations made by Mr. Morris, he repeated or said to them

“ . . . that, when Mr. Morris sold us this oil spray, he said that it- would clean up all aphis and codling moth and their eggs, and would do no damage to our fruit, and to use one gallon of scale-proof to one hundred gallons of water,”

and that Mr. Morris admitted to them that was what he told Mr. Wisdom. He further testified that, relying on the representations of Mr. Morris, he bought and used the Corona scale-proof oil. That he told his neighbors of the representations by Mr. Morris and they testified that, in purchasing and using the article, they relied on those representations by Mr. Morris. No one of them had ever heard of it before, and at least one or two of the purchasers now knowing the name pf it and of Mr. Morris’ representations, in ordering it from the appellant did so by its trade name. On behalf of the appellant, Mr. Morris denied making the representations attributed to him, and testified that he, at all times, said the preparation was new to *90 "him and that he knew nothing about it except what was said in the literature furnished by the manufacturers, and that he called their attention to a customer to whom he had lately sold it in that community. This conflict in the evidence was, of course, for the jury, and in view of the verdict we must accept the facts as testified to on behalf of the respondent.

Two portions of our uniform sales act, Laws of 1925, Ex. Ses., p. 361, § 15; Rem. 1927 Sup., § 5836-15, are cited by appellant. They are as follows:

“ (1) Where the buyer, expressly or by implication, makes known to the seller the particular purpose for which the goods are required, and it appears that the buyer relies on the seller’s skill or judgment (whether he be the grower or manufacturer or not), there is an implied warranty that the goods shall be reasonably fit for such purpose. ...
“ (4) In the case of a contract to sell or a sale of a specified article under its patent or other trade name, there is no implied warranty as to its fitness for any particular purpose.”

It is argued that subd. (4) governs this case, because the article sold was a patented article or had a trade name, that if was sold as such and hence there was no warranty or liability on the part of the appellant. Counsel cite a large number of cases from other states discussing a similar statute of those states. Some of such cases are Gearing v. Berkson, 223 Mass. 257, 111 N. E. 785; Quemahoning Coal Co. v. Sanitary Earthenware Specialty Co., 88 N. J. Law 174, 95 Atl. 986; Matteson v. Lagace, 36 R. I. 223, 89 Atl. 713; Northwestern Blaugas Co. v. Guild, 169 Wis. 98, 171 N. W. 662; Stoehrer & Pratt Dodgem Corporation v. Greenburg, 250 Mass. 550, 146 N. E. 34; Empire Cream Separator Co. v. Quinn, 184 App. Div. 302, 171 N. Y. Supp. 413. Those cases, however, need not be further mentioned.

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Bluebook (online)
274 P. 1050, 151 Wash. 86, 1928 Wash. LEXIS 730, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wisdom-v-morris-hardware-co-wash-1928.