Berger v. Noble
Berger v. Noble
Opinion of the Court
The defendant Berger expressly abandons the special grounds of his motion for a new trial.
The court, sitting as judge and jury, was authorized to find that Williams was the agent of the plaintiff to sell the Ford truck involved; that Williams did not sell this car, but delivered it to Hamby, who operated a used car lot; that Hamby sold and delivered the truck to the defendant Berger for $2000 and retained the proceeds of the sale for himself, and that Ham-by executed a bill of sale to the purchaser, Berger. It further appeared from the facts that the truck was purchased in New York; that the certificate of title was given by the seller, and that this instrument was in the possession of the agent and turned over by him to Hamby, the automobile dealer. Under these circumstances the court was authorized to find that the agent, Williams, had no title to the truck in question; that his possession was as agent with specific authority; that the truck was purchased with the plaintiff’s money and belonged to the plaintiff and that the agent had no power to delegate his
While the evidence was conflicting on the question whether the plaintiff used the money belonging to him in purchasing this truck, or whether the money belonged to a partnership operated by his brother and himself, the court was authorized to find that the money belonged to the plaintiff, and that the plaintiff acquired the title to the Ford truck.
The Code, § 96-111, states: “The seller can convey no greater title than he has himself.” This automobile truck was not a negotiable instrument, but an article of personalty. There was no question of the sale of a note, secured by the car, but of the car itself. The remaining provisions of the Code, § 96-111, cited above, as to a bona fide purchaser of negotiable paper, etc., have no application to the case at bar.
The Code, § 4-202, provides that “The agent shall act within the authority granted to him, reasonably interpreted; if he shall exceed or violate his instructions, he does it at his own risk, the principal having the privilege of affirming or dissenting as his interests may dictate.” An agent, whose authority is limited to the sale of an article, may not delegate this authority to another, without being empowered so to do. Code § 4-103. So, as held in Guthrie v. Hendley, 56 Ga. App. 438, “A purchaser of personal property from one who is not the true owner acquires no title against the true owner by reason of the bona fides of his purchase, when he purchases from one who is an utter stranger to the title and who can convey no title, except where there may be some statute otherwise, or where the true owner, upon some principle of estoppel, would be prevented from asserting his title.” However, the mere permission by the owner for his agent to have possession of the truck would not be such an act as would estop the owner. See First National Bank of Macon v. Nelson, 38 Ga. 391; Darby v. Parrish, 42 Ga. App, 492. An agent for the sale of personal property has only the authority to sell. If the agent undertakes to exceed his authority, as the judge was authorized to find he did here, by delivering the truck to Hamby, the automobile dealer, to sell, he was acting without his authority and no title to the
The case of Gernazian v. Harrison, 66 Ga. App. 689, is not controlling here. This case is not authority to the contrary of what we now hold. In that case the automobile dealer borrowed money on an automobile, giving to the lender a bill of sale to secure debt, and the lender permitted him to retain possession of the car, which the dealer sold in the usual course of his business. No such situation arose here. The plaintiff owner did not entrust this car to the dealer Hamby. It is contended by the defendant Berger that the plaintiff had no title to the truck and hence could not maintain this trover action. The defendant cites and relies on the eases of Washington Loan and Banking Company v. Stanton, et al., 32 Ga. App. 712; Tidwell v. Bush, 59 Ga. App. 471; Noras v. McCord, 59 Ga. App. 311; Macon, Dublin and Savannah Railroad Company v. Heard Bros., 27 Ga. App. 382; Hall v. Simmons, 125 Ga. 801. These cases state good law, but are not applicable here. The evidence authorized the court to find that the title to this truck was in the plaintiff and he had never parted with such title; that he had entrusted
Our attention has been called to the last sentence in Code, § 4-313, as follows: “If, however, the agency shall have been concealed, the party dealing with him may set up any defense against the principal which he has against the agent.” (Emphasis ours.) As to this principle, it is our observation under the facts of this case that there was no concealment of agency such as the law contemplates, that would enure to the benefit of the purchaser in this case.
Also, our attention has been called to Savannah Trust Company v. National Bank of Savannah, 16 Ga. App; 706. That case involved a negotiable instrument in the nature of a certificate for baled cotton, the issuance of which is customary in the trade. Of course that principle has no application under the facts of the instant case. We are dealing here with personal property, of an automobile, and not a chose in action.
Our attention is also called to Rosser, Armstead and Company v. Darden, 82 Ga. 219. That case likewise deals with a cotton receipt which was signed in blank and the court there held that the agency was concealed and that in such event a third party contracting with the agent was entitled to all the equities and all the defenses which the third party would have had against the agent just as though the agent were the principal. The provisions of the Code, § 96-207, were codified from the principle enunciated in this decision. Clearly the facts of that case and the principles therein discussed and enunciated are foreign to those in the instant case. Again may we state that in the instant case we are dealing with personal property and the possession of it.
Again, our attention is called to Morris v. Courts, et al., 59 Ga. App. 666. This case had to do with certificates of stock signed in blank and given to an agent who filled in the blank in favor of one other than as directed by the principal. In that decision this court held that it was based on the principle
2. So far we have dealt with the case on the theory that Williams, the agent of the plaintiff, delegated to Hamby the authority to sell the car in question. The court was authorized to find, from the facts, that Hamby sold the car to Berger without the knowledge or consent of Williams, the agent. It was undisputed that Noble paid for the cars; that he took with him to New York, Williams and one Hammond for the purpose of purchasing a Pontiac car for the use of Noble and two other cars for the purpose of selling them to defray the expenses of a trip to New York. At this time Williams was not working for
The court did not err in overruling the motion for a zzew trial.
Judgment affirmed.
070rehearing
On motion for rehearing and amendment thereto.
We will discuss only the amendment to the motion for rehearing. The amendment to the motion for rehearing makes
The fact that a separate bill of exceptions was sued out by each defendant in the court'below does not change the result that a valid judgment was rendered against Hamby and Berger separately. The issues could have been brought up to this court in one bill of exceptions. See Moore v. Adams, 153 Ga. 709. The controlling issue is whether the trial court had jurisdiction over the person of Berger, the non-resident of Fulton County, who was alleged and proven to be a resident of DeKalb County. Under Code § 24-112 the jurisdiction of the person may be waived insofar as the rights of the parties are concerned, but not so as to prejudice third persons. Under all the facts of this case the movant waived jurisdiction as to his person. See catchword “person” under said Code section.
The amended motion for rehearing is without merit and is denied.
Judgment adhered to.
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