Gillies v. Linscott
Gillies v. Linscott
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
A defendant, after the impaneling of a jury, objected to the introduction of any evidence, on the ground that the petition failed to state a cause of action. The objection was sustained, and the plaintiff appeals.
The petition was filed May 21,1913, and alleged substantially these facts: The defendant represented to
The defendant describes the action as one for the rescission of a contract of sale and the recovery of the purchase price, and contends that it can not be maintained, because the owners of the stock, from whom the defendant procured it, are not made parties. The plaintiff, however, does not' attempt to state a cause of action against the original owners of the stock, who may have acted in entire good faith, so far as appears from the pleading.
Giving the petition the liberal construction to which it is entitled when attacked in the manner indicated, it
“The relation of an agent to his principal is ordinarily that of a fiduciary, and as such it is his duty to act with entire good faith and loyalty for the furtherance and advancement of the interests of his principal in all dealings concerning or affecting the subject-matter of his agency, and if he fails to do so he is responsible to his principal for any loss resulting therefrom, or the principal may repudiate the acts of the agent and recover back any money or property paid him.” (31 Cyc. 1430.)
(See, also, Guernsey v. Davis, 67 Kan. 378, 73 Pac. 101; Sterling v. Smith, 97 Cal. 343, 32 Pac. 320; Whitehead v. Lynn, 20 Colo. App. 51, 76 Pac. 1119; Miller v. Wright et al., 109 N. Y. 194, 16 N. E. 205; Marvin v. Buchanan, 62 Barb. [N. Y. Supr. Ct.] 468.)
To avoid the bar of the statute of limitations the plaintiff relies upon allegations in the petition that on or about May 1, 1912, he “for the first time discovered and became aware of the actual facts in regard thereto, and that the statements and representations of the defendant as hereinbefore set forth were false.” The defendant maintains that these allegations are insufficient because they refer to the time when the plaintiff received actual knowledge of the facts, as distinguished from constructive notice, through such information as to put him on inquiry, which would be suf
The judgment is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- John Gillies v. George S. Linscott
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- SYLLABUS BY THE COURT. 1. False Representations — By Agent — Inducing Purchase of Corporate Stock — Liability of Agent. Where an agent, by false representations affecting' its value, induces his principal to authorize him to purchase treasury stock in a corporation, and instead of doing so procures other stock, previously issued, and delivers it without revealing its source, the principal may, after learning the facts, offer to return the stock to the agent, and maintain an action against him for the amount paid him. 2. Limitation op Actions — Discovery of Fraud — Allegations of Petition. In an action for relief on the ground of fraud, an allegation in the petition that the plaintiff did not discover the actual facts or the falsity of the representations made to him until a certain date will be regarded as negativing constructive notice, as well as actual, prior to that time, unless upon a motion directly challenging the language for uncertainty.