W. F. Covington Mfg. Co. v. Ferguson
W. F. Covington Mfg. Co. v. Ferguson
Opinion of the Court
The contract averred is not void for uncertainty, and is not open to the objections pointed out in Elmore, Quillian & Co. v. Parrish Bros., 170 Ala. 499, 54 South. 203; Sloss-Shef. S. & I. Co. v. Payne, 192 Ala. 69, 68 South. 359; Sloss-Shef. S. & I. Co. v. Payne, 186 Ala. 341, 64 South. 617. This court has sustained similar contracts as that on which this suit is rested. Thompson v. Strong, 74 South. 34 1 (3 cars of cotton seed); Ward v. Cotton Seed Products Cq., 193 Ala. 101, 69 South. 514 (2 carloads of cotton seed); Baker v. Lehman, Weil & Co., 186 Ala. 493, 65 South. 321 (100 bales of cotton to average in weight not less than 490 pounds nor more than 510 pounds per bale); Sou. Ry. Co. v. Harris, 202 Ala. 263, 80 South. 101 (for the conversion of 25 bales of cotton); Shore Lumber Co. v. Am. Lbr. & Exp. Co., 23 Ga. App. 135, 97 S. E. 667 (a definite number of *194 “large” carloads of lumber as specified and at a pri.ce indicated). Our court has approved the following quotations from 35 Oyc. pp. 210, 639, defining the meaning of a carload:
Page 210: "Where the goods are sold by the ‘carload’ the term may. be construed by the ■custom of trade, but in the absence of any agreement or particular Custom it will ordinarily be held to mean the capacity of a car used for transporting the particular kind of goods sold. So too a sale of a ‘cargo’ of goods means ordinarily the entire load of the vessel, and is limited only by the capacity of the vessel.”
Pilge 639: “Quantity on which Damages will be Computed. — If no fixed quantity of goods is contracted for, but the purchase is of a ‘carload,’ damages should be computed on the amount usually contained in an ordinary car.”
The counts were not subject to demurrer directed thereto.
It has been held that if the party obtaining the judgment was entitled to the affirmative charge, which was given, this would cure certain errors of pleading indicated in the following cases: Lawrenceburg Roller Mills Co. v. Jones & Co., 85 South. 719; 2 Merriweather v. Sayre M. & M. Co., 182 Ala. 665, 62 South. 70; Sou. Ry. Co. v. Harris, 202 Ala. 263, 80 South. 101, 103; Hambright v B. R. L. & P. Co., 201 Ala. 176, 77 South. 702; Conn v. Sellers, 198 Ala. 606, 73 South. 961, 962; Hill v. McBride, 125 Ala. 542, 543, 28 South. 85; Andrews Mfg. Co. v. Porter, 112 Ala. 381, 385, 20 South. 475; Waldman v. M. B. & M. Ins. Co., 91 Ala. 170, 175, 8 South. 666, 24 Am. St. Rep. 883.
The evidence tended to show that on February 4, 1918, defendant wrote plaintiff, recognizing the contract as executory; that on the day following plaintiff wired defendant he would buy for defendant’s account the 3 carloads of corn at the place of delivery, and immediately defendant wired that he had performed the contract in the previous shipments ; that is, he claimed to “have* already shipped 10 over cars.” To this plaintiff replied that he was buying for account of defendant 3 cars oí corn, and would send draft on Covington Manufacturing Company for the difference in price between what he would have to pay in the market at the point of delivery and the contract price of the corn. To this defendant replied :
“I had equally as much right to give you so many tons of corn as you had to expect me to ship you so many tons, inasmuch as 20,000 lbs. or ten tons make a minimum car as per railroad schedule. In fact, if you had considered I sold you eleven cars of corn, I would then have given you eleven cars — considerably above the min.”—
and again two days later:
“We consider that we have filled our contract in the absence of the terms not being specified as to the number of tons each car should hold, and we shall stand on shipments already made you on any suit you might file against us.”
. Such was the controversy under the evidence.
When the defense is analyzed, it is merely a contention that liability be limited to the minimum capacity of a car, 20,000 pounds. This testimony was confined to the statement of two witnesses, who, in substance, said there was no usual amount of corn contained in the ordinary carload; that the minimum carload of corn a railroad would accept for transportation was 20,000 pounds. Plaintiff’s evidence tended to show that ordinarily a car of corn varied from 20,000 to 60,000 pounds.
“If the sale is of a carload of goods, no particular car being specified, the damages are to be assessed on the basis of the quantity which an ordinary car will contain.” Seefeld v. Thacker, 93 Wis. 518, 520, 67 N. W. 1142; Eloyd v. Mann, 146 Mich. 356, 369, 109 N. W. 679; Menz Lbr. Co. v. McNeeley, 58 Wash. 223, 108 Pac. 621, 28 L. R. A. (N. S.) 1007.
Under the evidence and the oral charge of the court, plaintiff was not confined to a recovery based on the minimum capacity of a car of corn; the question was properly submitted to the jury to determine the amount of the damages, from the evidence, for nondelivery of the 3 cars of corn (in the ear) in the quantity which an ordinary car of corn in the ear contains.
In the oral charge the court submitted to the jury the amount of damages sustained by plaintiff for the breach of the contract, and limited the issue to the amount of corn for which recovery could be had for nondelivery of the three cars purchased saying:
“What amount of corn should those cars have contained — the usual amount — it is not the average ; * * * but what was the usual amount of com that he [plaintiff] had a right to expect to come to him iu those 3 cars not delivered, and what is the usual amount, you must find from all of the evidence in this case. * * * Will you put it at 20,000 pounds, 30,000 pounds, or 40,000 pounds — what will you put the 3 cars at? You must get that, not from what you think; but from all of the evidence in this case. * * * So that it is not a question of how much he lost, this plaintiff lost, how much he paid out. * * * He is entitled to recover the difference between what he paid for the corn he did not get and the reasonable market price of the corn when he did buy it — went into the open market and bought it. The difference between the two figures.”
The measure of damages was properly submitted, and the finding was supported by the evidence. The motion for a new trial was properly refused.
The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.
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