Johnson-Locke Mercantile Co. v. Howard
Johnson-Locke Mercantile Co. v. Howard
Opinion of the Court
Action on contract for the sale and purchase of certain raisins. Plaintiff had judgment, from which, and from the order denying his motion for a new trial, defendant appeals.
The court found the following facts: (l) That on or about July 30, 1898, the plaintiff agreed to buy from defendant, and defendant agreed to sell to plaintiff, the entire crop of muscat raisins of defendant, produced in the year 1898, estimated to be eight carloads, at the following prices; to wit: For two-crown raisins, two and one-half cents per pound; for three-crown raisins, three cents per pound; for four-crown raisins, four cents per pound; for seedless raisins, two and one-half cents per pound-—less five per cent of the gross amount computed at the above rates. Whole crop to be boxed in fifty-pound boxes, and to be shipped in October, 1898. Fresno grading. Terms cash on delivery f. o. b. Woodland, Cal. (2) That the crop fell far short of the estimate, there being only 2,192 boxes, as follows: 1,158 boxes of two-crown raisins, 734 boxes of three-crown, 88 boxes of four-crown, and 212 boxes of seedless raisins of the aggregate value of $2,840.02. (3) That on October 31, 1898, plaintiff offered to accept the -above-mentioned quantities in fulfillment of defendant’s agreement, and tendered him therefor the sum of $2,860.21 (being $20.19 in excess of the amount due), and demanded delivery, but defendant refused to deliver the raisins, or any part thereof, to plaintiff’s damage in the sum of $814.72. (4) That the tender made by plaintiff was a draft on plaintiff, payable to defendant’s order, for $2,860.21, “which the defendant refused to accept, and refused to deliver the raisins, or any part thereof; but at the time of the tender of the check aforesaid, the -defendant made no objection to the said check, or to the amount thereof, or
Appellant’s points are: (1) That the evidence does not sustain the findings that an agreement was made on or about July 30, 1898 ; (2) that the finding that such agreement was made is irreconcilable with finding 5; (3) that the evidence does not support finding 5 that there was an acceptance October 30th; (4) that no tender was made.
The transaction must be judged by what the parties did and said in the course of their dealings. Defendant argues the case on the assumption that the agreement found by the court rested entirely on the letters written by the respective parties, one to the other. The contract, as we view the matter, was the result in part of a written memorandum signed by defendant July 18, 1898, in part of letters subsequently passing between plaintiff and defendant, in part of what occurred between the parties when plaintiff examined the fruit, accepted it, and made tender of payment. If the agreement rested wholly on the letters, it would become a matter of law whether they constituted a contract, and we would probably be called upon to state the correspondence in extenso. Not being such a case, there would seem to be no necessity for setting forth all the letters in full, and all the evidence bearing upon the question whether there was a contract as found by the court. The witness Kinsey, who was the agent of plaintiff, and conducted the negotiations on the part of plaintiff, testified that defendant came to plaintiff’s office in San Francisco, and stated that he would have certain raisins on his farms near Woodland and Blacks, and desired to make sale of them. Defendant stated the price he wanted. Kinsey wrote in plaintiff’s book used for such purposes, July 18, 1898, the following memorandum, which defendant then and there signed: “Henry Howard authorizes us to quote and sell entire crop of raisins within fifteen days, shipment October, 1898, at 2% cents for 2-erowns, 3 cents for 3-crowns, 4 cents for 4-crowns, seedless 2y2 cents; in 50-pound boxes; less 5 per cent. Estimated 8 car loads. Estimate to consist of one-sixth 4-crowns, one-sixth seedless, one-sixth 2-erowns, one-half
Defendant relies on Wristen v. Bowles, 82 Cal. 84, 22 Pac. 1136, and cases where the same principle there decided was involved. The contract there related to the sale of land, which plaintiff sought to prove by a series of letters written by the parties. The court held that the correspondence failed to show a meeting of the minds of the parties, and that oral testimony could not be received, as plaintiff had failed to prove an agreement in writing, there being no pretense of part performance. The rules of law laid down in that case need not be disputed. Before the court can determine that letters which have passed between parties constitute an agreement, they must show an unqualified acceptance of the actual thing proposed. There must be a proposal squarely assented to. It was so held, and that is undoubtedly the law. But here we may look to the entire transaction from its inception to its close. Not only may we look to the memorandum, and what took place at the time it was signed, and to the subsequent correspondence, but we may look to the acts and words of the parties after the correspondence ceased, and while they were giving a practical construction to their correspondence by their acts and words. Looking to all these facts and circumstances, they show entire agreement on all essential elements of the contract. There was no misunderstanding, even as to the right of plaintiff to examine the raisins, and to insist that they should come up to the grade agreed upon. Defendant cites Benjamin on Sales (6th Am. ed.), 488, to the point that the fact the goods must be examined and paid for later would make no difference as to the binding effect of the agreement. Plaintiff did not agree to
2. It is doubtful whether any tender was necessary after defendant refused absolutely to deliver the goods. But it is certain that he cannot now be heard to object that the tender was insufficient because made by a cheek, and not in money. The court found and the evidence was that “at the time of the tender of the check aforesaid the defendant made no objection to said check, or to the amount thereof, or to the form or manner of the plaintiff’s tender.” Defendant testified: “The reason I refused to deliver the fruit and accept the money was because Kinsey refused to take my four-crown raisins at four-crown prices”; and he testified that he “did hot object to the kind of money offered.” All objections to the character of the tender must be considered as having been waived: Civ. Code, sec. 1501; Code Civ. Proc., sec. 2076.
3. We discover no irreconcilability between finding 1 and finding 5. Defendant’s agreement was to sell his entire crop; but the raisins were to be Fresno grade, and plaintiff had the right to insist upon delivery according to this grade. Defendant could not invalidate the contract by boxing three-crowns and marking them four-crowns. He sold subject to Fresno grading, and, if he put three-crown raisins in boxes marked four-crowns, plaintiff had a clear right to insist that they should be paid for as three-crowns. As plaintiff had the right to these eighty-eight boxes as three-crown raisins, which the evidence showed they were in fact, defendant cannot complain that plaintiff was unwilling to pay for them as four-crowns. The judgment and order are affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JOHNSON-LOCKE MERCANTILE CO. v. HOWARD
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Sale of Crop of Raisins.—Defendant, in Writing, Authorized Plaintiff to sell all his crop of raisins at specified prices and terms. Shortly after, plaintiff notified him by letter that sale had been so made, repeating the prices and terms and asking confirmation. Defendant answeredi that he wished to confirm sale to plaintiff of his entire crop at the prices and terms specified. Plaintiff answered, accepting the modification, making it the purchaser, and inquiring when the raisins would be ready for inspection and shipment. At the time defendant said the crop would be ready, plaintiff sent its agent, who inspected and accepted all except a few boxes, which he claimed were marked a grade too high; but said he would accept them at the grade they actually inspected. Afterward defendant refused to deliver any of the raisins. Held, that there was a contract binding on defendant to sell all his crop to plaintiff at the prices and terms specified. Sale—Tender.—Where, on a Contract for the Purchase of Raisins, plaintiff tendered its check for the proper amount in payment, and no objection was made to the amount or form of the tender, defendant cannot afterward object that the tender was not in money. Sale of Crop of Raisins.—Where Defendant Contracted to Sell ■his entire crop of raisins, to be Fresno grade, he could not invalidate the contract by marking boxes of a higher quality than the raisins would grade, but plaintiff was entitled to the crop at the actual grades by the standard agreed on in the contract.