Avery Co. v. Olesen
Avery Co. v. Olesen
Opinion of the Court
I. In July, 1922, the defendant purchased of
“AH parts of the separator, self-feeder, straw stacker and ensilage cutter, and attachments ordered, or either of them, are well made, of good material and in a workmanlike manner, and should any parts break from defects or flaws within thirty days they will be replaced at Peoria, Ill., free of charge.”
The defendant purported to rescind the contract of purchase on the ground of the alleged breach of the aboye warranty, and on the ground that certain representations that had been-made were false and fraudulent. To our minds the real question upon the record is whether there was a breach of the warranty here quoted. The appeal presents nothing but this fact question. The defendant put the machine into use in the latter part of July, 1922, and continued his use thereof under more or less difficulty for. fourteen or more days in the month of August. He purported to rescind his purchase in the month of September, and notified the plaintiff accordingly. A reading of the evidence brings us to the conclusion that the trial court was warranted in finding a breach of the warranty, in that the particular machine in question was not well made or made of good material. We do not think that the evidence would warrant a finding of fraudulent representations, nor did the trial •court in its decree find any such. The defendant was an experienced thresherman and machinist, and had been the local agent of the plaintiff for several years. There is considerable evidence to the effect that trouble was encountered from the start in the attempted operation of the machine. An important shaft, designated as the crank shaft, appeared to be out of line, so that its tendency to heat by use could not be controlled by the application of lubricating oil. Water had to be applied thereto constantly, in order to prevent its overheating. The opinion of competent witnesses was that it was “sprung.” Other parts of the machine were broken in the early operation, and rivets were sheared, all without discoverable causes. Certain important mortised joints in the woodwork and framework of the machine were found to be loose. Vertical posts mortised into timbers
II. The plaintiff contends in argument here that, though the evidence would warrant a finding of damages in favor of the defendant, he was not entitled to the remedy of rescission because he had waived the same by his conduct in keeping and using the machine after he knew .^.g ¿e;frcjencjes_ pi; '<j0es appear that the defendant finished the threshing season before he declared a rescission. It does appear that he threshed about 14 jobs, totaling about 19,000 bushels of oats. The purported capacity of the machine
Though the argument of appellant at this point would be quite persuasive if it had put itself upon that ground in the trial court, we do not think that the point is available to it now. If there was a breach of the warranty, then the defendant became thereby entitled to the remedy of rescission, upon appropriate notice and tender. It was a right, however, which he could easily lose by conduct amounting to a waiver or to an affirmance -of the contract, in which event he would be confined to his remedy of damages. In the trial court, the plaintiff did not plead to the cross bill. It simply rested upon the statutory general denial. No question was raised of waiver or of affirmance of the contract or of undue delay in the rescission; so that that . question received no consideration from the trial court. If the point had been made and sustained in the trial court, the defendant could have been properly protected by permitting him ■ to set up damages as an- offset to the price: It is beyond our power to afford him such protection here. We think, therefore, that the plaintiff is in no position here to press it. Indeed, the record as a whole impresses us that the plaintiff acted advisedly in its attitude, and that it saw a better degree of equity to itself in the remedy of rescission than in the remedy of damages, which might result in allowing the defendant to hold the new machine as his own at a comparatively nominal valuation.
3. APPEAL AND ERROR: ab- stracts: unnec- essary amend- mont. abstract of appellee on the ground that it was wholly unwarranted and unnecessary, and that its material contents are but a repetition of the contents of the abstract, and that its other contents are mere irrelevancies. mont.y amend The abstract of appellant consists of
The decree entered below is, accordingly, affirmed.— Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.