Richardson v. Renner
Richardson v. Renner
Opinion of the Court
This action was brought to recover $300 as the agreed price for breaking 150 acres of prairie sod land. The action was brought upon a verbal contract which provided, according to the evidence, that the appellee should break 160 acres of land for the appellant in the spring and summer of 1910 and should plant as much of the land to sod corn as could be planted in proper season; that on September 1,1910, appellee was to have the option to accept the sod-corn crop as compensation for the breaking of the land that
The appellant, in answer, denied all facts not expressly admitted, admitted the execution of the written contract, alleged that it fully and completely stated the agreement between the parties, alleged that the only consideration agreed upon for the breaking of the land was the sod-corn crop to be planted thereon by the appellee, and that appellee failed and neglected to plant the corn on any of the land broken as agreed upon, and appellant prayed for judgment for costs.
A jury was impaneled to try the case. Evidence of a surgeon was introduced that on the day the contract was executed he had attended the appellee for a dislocated shoulder and had set the shoulder; that appellee seemed to be in great pain; that he was with the patient about an hour and left him suffering and in a nervous condition.
Appellee testified that on the day previous to the execution of the contract he had been thrown from a horse and had his shoulder dislocated; that he went to town on February 19, 1910, and had the shoulder
• The appellant testified and gave a different version of the verbal contract, and testified, in substance, that the written contract was in accordance with the verbal contract. Some other witnesses testified but their evidence did not bear upon the question whether the appellee was in a condition, at the time of signing the written contract, to “read and understand it.”
The case was submitted to the jury under proper instructions given by the court, the substance of which was that the appellee was bound by the written contract signed by him unless the jury should find that he was entitled, under the rules given them, to avoid it; that if the appellee had an opportunity to read the contract and was able to read and understand it at the time he is bound by it. The jury returned a verdict for the appellee and, while the evidence is such that different minds might come to different' conclusions, we think there was evidence from which a jury might reasonably believe that the appellee was not in mental condition to read and understand the force of the con
The judgment is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.