Zapon Co. v. Bryant

286 P. 282, 156 Wash. 161, 1930 Wash. LEXIS 544
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 31, 1930
DocketNo. 21911. En Banc.
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 286 P. 282 (Zapon Co. v. Bryant) 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
Zapon Co. v. Bryant, 286 P. 282, 156 Wash. 161, 1930 Wash. LEXIS 544 (Wash. 1930).

Opinions

Tolman, J.

Appellant, as plaintiff, sued for the recovery of the purchase price of merchandise sold and delivered of the value of $164.42. By its bill of particulars, it itemized a long list of merchandise so sold and delivered from June, 1926, to August, 1927, amounting in all to the sum of $1,934.65, with credits thereon amounting to $1,770.23, leaving a balance in the amount sued for.

By answer, the defendants admitted the purchase of merchandise at various times from the plaintiff, but denied that any sum of money was due on account thereof and, by way of counterclaim, pleaded the purchase of certain materials from the plaintiff for the express purpose of lacquering a certain specified building in the city of Aberdeen; alleging that plaintiff, through its duly authorized agent, had examined the building, consulted with the general contractor and had thereupon represented and warranted to the defendants and to the general contractor that its product, which it afterwards furnished, was of a quality and character fit for the purpose intended; that, in reliance upon this representation and warranty, the merchan *163 dise was ordered, but that it proved to be unfit and improper for the purpose intended and had to be removed at great expense, and other material had to be obtained and used to perform the contract, to the damage of defendants in the sum of $2,000. There was another counterclaim of somewhat similar nature pleaded, but, as no recovery was had thereon, we need not further mention it.

The action was tried to the court, sitting without a jury, resulting in a holding against the plaintiff and in favor of defendants on their first counterclaim to the extent of $1,001.63. A timely motion for a new trial was made and denied. Findings of fact and conclusions of law were signed, to which no exceptions were taken. The plaintiff requested no findings and none were made as to its cause of action. A judgment followed dismissing plaintiff’s action and awarding defendants a recovery as already indicated. Shortly after the judgment was entered, a voluminous petition to set- aside and vacate the judgment was made. A demurrer to this petition was sustained and the plaintiff has appealed.

The first assignment of error relates to the dismissal of plaintiff’s cause of action. In view of there being no request for any findings of fact on this subject, and as the motion to dismiss was interposed and granted at the close of appellant’s case in chief, we must first look to the record as it then stood. Plaintiff called as its only witness the respondent Bryant, and interrogated him under the rules relating to the examination of adverse witnesses, endeavoring to prove by him the sale and delivery and the fact of non-payment. He admitted receiving merchandise amounting to as much or more than the balance claimed, but maintained that more than that amount of material purchased from appellant had proved valueless. At the close of *164 this testimony, a colloquy was had between court and counsel, and the situation was fairly summed up in a statement by counsel for defendant as follows:

. . We are contending this, that those materials, some of them, were delivered on the Aberdeen job, which is admitted, I think, and some delivered on the West Seattle job. We are contending, however, that while those materials were actually delivered they were not as ordered and that we don’t have to pay for them because they were not material that was ordered, 3 3

If this proof was sufficient to put respondents to their defense as to the value of the material for the particular work for which'it had been furnished, probably enough was brought out in the testimony of respondent Bryant upon that subject to meet the burden, but if the defensive proof was in any degree or particular insufficient, still appellant was not prejudiced, as abundant proof on that point was offered in support of the counterclaim and the same result would have inevitably followed at the close of all of the evidence.

The next point is that the findings of fact on the counterclaim are insufficient to support the judgment. The particular finding thus attacked reads:

“That because of the breach of warranty of the plaintiff corporation for failure to supply material suitable for the particular job of lacquering the Becker building in Aberdeen, Washington, as specifically warranted to do, this defendant sustained damages in the sum of $1,001.63.”

It must be admitted that this finding leaves something to be desired, but by preceding findings it was established that the goods were sold under warranty for the particular job; that they were properly applied, but failed to produce proper results; proved wholly unsatisfactory to the general contractor and did not remain on the walls; and that respondent was *165 obliged to remove this material from the walls and replace it with other materials. These findings, while not complete in that they do not show what was the reasonable cost to respondent of removing and replacing material made necessary by the failure of the warranty, are yet, we think, in the absence of any request for more specific findings and in the absence of any exception, sufficient to sustain the judgment.

The next two assignments will be considered together. They are to the effect that the court erred in denying a motion for continuance and erred in denying plaintiff’s motion for a new trial.

While much of the argument of counsel is directed to these matters and what is considered to be the unfortunate results growing therefrom, the record discloses but little for us to pass upon.

The motion for a new trial embraces all of the statutory grounds, but nothing more, and from it we cannot determine that any ruling on a motion for continuance was then called to the court’s attention, though the facts hereinafter referred to were copiously set forth in an accompanying affidavit. The appearance docket entries, brought here in the transcript, show that the case was first set for trial on September 20, 1928; again set for November 16; continued to December 11, following, and called for trial on the morning of December 12,1928. When asked if the parties were ready, appellant’s then counsel answered:

“Your Honor, I can’t say that I am ready, but I am here and I can’t help it.”

Then followed a long statement from him outlining non-success in securing the return of certain desired depositions with a complimentary reference to the consideration shown by opposing counsel. The court then intervened as follows:

*166 “The Court: Wasn’t the case continued in November? Mr. Simmons: Yes, the case was continued in November, at which time we sent an additional stipulation to San Francisco with instructions to forward to Los Angeles. The Court : I do not understand you are making any motion at this time? Mr. Simmons: At this time I would iike to ask the court’s indulgence to this extent, that when the depositions do arrive, which should be this afternoon or in the morning, they could be presented in this case. The Court : This case will not take over an hour, will it? Mr. Simmons : No, it will not.

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Bluebook (online)
286 P. 282, 156 Wash. 161, 1930 Wash. LEXIS 544, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zapon-co-v-bryant-wash-1930.