Western Silo Co. v. Carter
Western Silo Co. v. Carter
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This action was brought by the Western Silo Company against M. V. Carter to recover the contract price of a wooden silo, sold and delivered to Carter. The defense was that the plaintiff had failed to comply with its contract and in a cross-petition defendant asked for damages sustained by loss of crops on account of the plaintiff’s delay in shipping the silo and also on account of defects in it. . On June 10, 1912, the defendant had given his order, written upon one of the blanks furnished by the company’s agent, calling for a silo sixteen feet in diameter, made of yellow pine and priced at $238, to be shipped by August 1, or at the plaintiff’s earliest convenience. The order provided that the plaintiff was to be notified in writing of any missing or defective parts upon receipt of the silo, that it should have a reasonable time in which to replace such parts and that when such replacements were made its responsibility would cease. It appears that the defendant, relying on the contract to deliver the silo," had planted a crop for ensilage and under the direction of Wingert, the plaintiff’s agent, had built a foundation upon which to erect a silo of the size purchased from the plaintiff.' The silo was not received by the defendant until the middle of September, although it seems the plaintiff could have- shipped it by August 5. The defendant noticed when the shipment arrived that the materials were defective, but with the assistance of the agent he undertook to place the silo upon the foundation and it was then found that there were three staves lacking so that it was too small for the foundation, that the guy rods were too short, that the hoops did not fit, that the staves did not join tightly and that there were knot holes in the material. ■ It appears that while the defendant was waiting for the silo to arrive, his crop, which had already ripened, dried up to such an extent as to reduce its value as ensilage about fifty per cent, but notice of this was not given to the plaintiff at the time of delivery.
The plaintiff complains of the ruling of the court permitting an amendment of the defendant’s answer and cross-petition in respect to the damages resulting from the delay in the delivery of the silo. After the jury had been impaneled a question arose as to whether the defendant might offer evidence to prove damage to the ensilage after it had been placed in the silo, .and the court held that such evidence was not admissible. Application was then made by the defendant for permission to amend his pleading as to the.damage to his crop resulting from the delay in the arrival of the silo. It was already alleged in his pleading that at the time of ordering the silo he informed the plaintiff’s agent, making the sale, that he had planted a crop especially for ensilage purposes, and must have the silo about August 1, and further that the crop was greatly damaged because it was not delivered at the agreed time, but he had not stated the amount of the damage to his crop because
The principal contention in the appeal is that the defendant was not entitled to a reduction in the price of the silo because of the defects in it, nor to any damages which resulted from the delay in the delivery of the silo. It is first contended that the defendant failed to give the plaintiff notice of the defects promptly upon discovering them, as he had agreed to do, and that therefore he could not rely on the defects as a defense. In the order for the silo the defendant stated that if upon its receipt he found parts of it to be defective or missing he would at once notify the plaintiff in writing and give it a reasonable time to replace such parts. The plaintiff’s agent had notice of the defects and missing parts and tried to help the defendant to overcome them. On account of the lateness of the season and the rapid drying up and deterioration of the corn, staves were obtained in the vicinity. The lapse of time necessary to have sent to Des Moines where the plaintiff’s factory was located to obtain staves would have greatly lessened the value of the crop planted for ensilage and correspondingly increased the resulting damages. Acting upon the suggestion of the agent, the defendant undertook to make the best out of the material received and to reduce the constantly accruing damages. Where a thing sold does not meet the conditions of the contract between the parties, and the defect is one that it is practicable to repair, it is the duty of the purchaser to take reasonable steps to have the repairs made and do what he reasonably can to diminish the damages to which the seller will be liable. (Lumber Co. v. Sutton, 46 Kan. 192, 26 Pac.
In Lumber Co. v. Sutton, 46 Kan. 192, 26 Pac. 444, as in this case, the material was purchased for a special purpose and to be delivered at a stated time, but it was not delivered at the time agreed upon, and when delivered did not comply with the contract of purchase. The defendant in that case, as here, accepted the material and undertook to lessen the damages for which he intended to hold the plaintiff liable. It was held that the plaintiff was responsible for such damages as were-the direct result of his failure, although the damages exceeded
“Under special circumstances, as where merchandise is purchased for a particular purpose, and to be delivered at a specified time, and where it. can not be purchased in the market at the place of delivery, and these facts are known to the vendor, the general rule of damages would be inadequate to compensate the vendee for a delay or a non-delivery of the merchandise, but in such a case he would be entitled to recover the actual loss directly and naturally resulting from the default of the vendor.” (Syl. ¶ 3.)
The same view was taken in Skinner v. Gibson, 86 Kan. 431, 121 Pac. 513, where many other cases are cited, and in stating the rule it was said:
“It is a general rule that damages may be recovered when they arise naturally — that is, according to the usual course of things — from the breach of a contract, or are such as may reasonably be supposed to have been in the contemplation of the parties at the time they entered into it.” (Syl. ¶1.)
The damages allowed herein appear to be the reasonable and natural consequence of the breach of the contract and may reasonably be supposed to have been in the contemplation of both parties when they entered into the contract.
Although complaint is made of the instructions of the court they fairly presented the issues in the case to the jury. The order required the shipment of the silo on or before August 1, 1912, or “at your earliest convenience.” In one of the instructions the court properly advised the jury that the term “at your earliest convenience” used in the contract, meant that it should be shipped on August 1, or within a reasonable time thereafter, and that what was a reasonable time should be determined from the evidence and the circumstances of the case, including the use intended to be'made of the silo or the material purchased. We find nothing substantial in the objections to other instructions nor in the rulings on the admission of evidence.
The judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The Western Silo Company, Limited v. M. V. Carter
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- SYLLABUS BY THE COURT. 1. Pleadings — Amendment—Judicial Discretion. The allowance of an amendment to a pleading at the opening of a trial, under which a party was permitted to set forth the amount of one element of damages which he had sustained because of facts already pleaded, is not an abuse of discretion nor a ground of reversal, especially where the court offered to give the objecting party a continuance of the case in order to make preparation to meet the new matter, which offer was refused. 2. CONTRACT' — Sale of Silo — Breach of Contract — Defective Silo — Delay in Delivery — Elements of Damages. Where a person agrees to make and sell a silo to another to be used and filled 'with ensilage from a growing crop and to deliver the silo to the buyer on August 1 of that year or at the earliest convenience of the seller, but which was not delivered until September 20 following, although the seller could have conveniently shipped it to the buyer on August 5, and where the silo delivered was defective in several respects and the result of the delay in delivering it was the ripening and deterioration of the crop planted by the buyer to be placed in the silo, the seller is liable not only for the difference in value between the kind of silo purchased and the defective one delivered, but also for such damages as are the reasonable and natural consequences of the breach of the contract; and the deterioration of the crop grown to be placed in the silo because of the delay may reasonably be supposed to have been in the contemplation of the parties when the contract was made, and for this loss the seller is liable. 3. Same — Sale of Silo — Defective Parts — Waiver of Notice of Defects. In the contract the buyer agreed that if upon receipt of the silo any parts were found to be defective or missing he would at once notify the seller in writing and give him reasonable time to replace the parts and that when such replacements were made the seller’s responsibility would cease. The buyer did not give the seller written notice of the defects until January 18 following the delivery, nor was any notice given except to the local agent who made the sale. After the notice was given the seller entered into negotiations with the buyer in regard to remedying the defects and expressed a willingness to supply what was lacking and defective. Held, that the delay of the buyer in giving the written notice was waived by the seller.