Bourn v. Dowdell
Bourn v. Dowdell
Opinion of the Court
This action was brought on a promissory note calling for the payment of $36,000. Prior payments had been made thereon; but the amount of these payments is not material. Defendants, by way of cross-complaint, set out certain agreements, claiming thereby full satisfaction of the note, and also a judgment against plaintiff in th'e sum of $4,000. The views of the trial court coincided with defendants’ claims, and, as a result, judgment went against plaintiff for that amount. An appeal is prosecuted from the judgment and order denying the motion for a new. trial. The questions involved in this case are purely matters of fact, and largely dependent upon the construction to be. given three certain agreements entered into in writing by plaintiff and defendants. The findings of fact made by the trial court have support in the evidence, and will be taken as true in the consideration of the questions here presented.
Defendants were lessees of plaintiff’s wine cellar, and, upon a settlement between the parties, it was found that they owed plaintiff for cash advances, rental, etc., $36,077. At this time, November 26, 1892, defendants gave plaintiff their promissory note for that amount and such note is the one here sued upon. Contemporaneous with the execution' of the note, a collateral agreement was entered into by the parties, whereby defendants pledged 520,000 gallons of wine, then in defendants’ cellar, to secure the payment of the aforesaid note. Previous to this time, to wit, September 21, 1892, these same parties had entered into another written agreement appertaining to the advances to be made by plaintiff, and the purchase of grapes and the manufacture of wine and brandy by defendants. This agreement, among other things, provided that, in addition to a certain rate of interest to be paid by defendants upon advances made, plaintiff was to have the option of an additional two per cent per annum, or one-third of the net profits of the venture. This agreement further declared in detail how these profits were to be determined. Upon November 28th, two days after the making of the second agreement and the promissory note, defendants desiring still further advances, to be used in carrying on the business of the manufacture of wine and brandy, the parties'entered into a third agreement in writing. By this agreement plaintiff promised to make additional advances to defendants, not to exceed $35,000; and, among other matters, we find the follow
The trial court found as a fact that Bourn sold the wine after March 1, 1893, and thereupon held defendants entitled to the $4,000 provided for by the guaranty of Bourn. The point is now made that the cross-complaint has no allegation that this wine was sold after March 1, 1893, and also no allegation that it was sold at a price less than thirteen cents per gallon, and that such allegations were necessary to the statement of a cause of action. But, by an allegation in the answer to the cross-complaint, we find an admission of plaintiff that he sold the wine after March 1, 1893; and this admission is equivalent to an allegation in the cross-complaint to that effect, and the objection therefore is without force. Neither do we think there is strength in the remaining position taken. As we construe the two clauses of the agreement bearing upon the sale of the wine by Bourn, the second is a limitation upon the first; that is to say, Bourn was authorized to sell the wine before March 1, 1893, at a price not less than thirteen cents per gallon, and was also authorized to sell the wine after March 1, 1893, at any price, guaranteeing to defendants a profit of $4,000.
Probably the most important question presented at the trial related to the respective times when the second and third agreements were made and executed. It was claimed by appellant that these two agreements were made at the same time, and were part of one and the same transaction. This claim was controverted by respondents, and the court found against appellant’s contention. The finding of fact bearing upon this question will not be disturbed by us. As to the respective dates when these two agreements were made, the matter is immaterial. The all-important question was and is, Should these two agreements be considered and coupled together as one single agreement? A variance between the dates set forth in the pleadings and the dates found by the court as to the respective times when they were made amounts to nothing. A period of time intervening between the making of these two agreements was the controlling question, and this intervening period was just as controlling when laid at one time as at another.
The third agreement between these parties is not well drawn, and is of most obscure meaning. At the same time,
It is claimed: (1) That the guaranty of profits to defendants is unsupported by a consideration; (2) that the guaranty is upon the implied condition that all plaintiff’s advances shall be repaid; (3) that, in any event, the guaranty is not a complete defense to the note sued on, but only an offset pro tanto. We deem it unnecessary to address ourselves to a further consideration of the meaning of this contract. It is sufficient to say that these contentions of appellant are untenable. The contract bears no such construction. For the foregoing reasons the judgment and order are affirmed.
We concur: Harrison, J.; Van Fleet, J.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.