Horn v. Beal
Horn v. Beal
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This action, as originally brought by F. M. Horn against A. Beal, was one to recover on three cattle transactions between the parties. One count was to recover $7,000, another one to recover $111.50 on a commission for the sale of cattle, and still another to recover $14,500. Interest on the several claims was asked.
While the case was pending in the district court, and before trial, A. Beal died testate, and there was a revivor of the case in the names of Harlan E. Beal and the National Bank of Topeka, executors of the last will of A. Beal. Harlan E. Beal and the National Bank of Topeka thereafter prepared the defense and tried the case, contesting the claims of plaintiff. The defendants prevailed in the action, and plaintiff appeals.
The principal controversy between the parties arises upon the first and third counts of plaintiff’s petition, in which he asked a recovery of $7,000 on the first count, and $14,500 upon a third count. On the first, plaintiff alleged, in substance, that in 1925 the plaintiff and A. Beal entered into an oral agreement that the plaintiff should use his time and experience in the purchase of cattle in Texas and that A. Beal would furnish the money to pay for them, the cattle to be pastured and fed by Beal and then marketed, the profits and losses to be equally divided between plaintiff and Beal after deducting any legitimate expenses incurred by either party in handling them.
It was alleged that in 1926, by oral agreement, 300 head of steers were purchased from W. R. Schreiner, of Texas; that plaintiff went to Texas and made the purchase, and that on October 14, 1926, the cattle were received and paid for by a draft on Beal, and then it was arranged to have them wintered by Schreiner; that these cattle were shipped to Beal at Valencia in the spring of 1927; that on or about August 1, 1927, W. H.'Shroyer, who was a cattle dealer of the Missouri Live Stock Commission Company, of St. Joseph, Mo., came to the plaintiff’s office and represented that he had a buyer interested in the purchase of said steers. Beal and .plaintiff, con
The claim of $111.50 under the second count was for one-half of the commission, $223, claimed to have been paid on the sale of the 300 head of steers sold to Shroyer which was charged to him in the settlement and which he alleges he would not have paid except for the fraudulent representations that an actual sale had in fact been made.
In the third count plaintiff alleges that in 1926 he told A. Beal that W. R. Schreiner, of Texas, had 400 three-year-old steers for sale and advised Beal to make arrangements for their purchase. The plaintiff says that he procured an option for their purchase and delivery in the succeeding fall, and he states that it was arranged that
In their answer defendants deny there was ever any general partnership between Beal and the plaintiff, but they admitted that there were several individual or special agreements in which plaintiff had an interest, but that settlements had been made at the closing of these deals. One of these was the purchase and handling of the 300 steers mentioned in the first count of the petition, and that these steers were purchased and shipped to Valencia to Beal and after being pastured and fed were sold to Shroyer, and that the profits of the transaction were equally divided between them. On January 16, 1928, they alleged, the settlement was made. They specifically deny that there was any misrepresentation or fraud in the sale to Shroyer and allege that Shroyer purchased the 300 head of steers and later sold them to A. Beal and his son, Harlan E. Beal, for a small margin of profit. Shroyer, they alleged, sold the cattle to A. Beal and H. E. Beal, and that the plaintiff had no connection with ;fche purchase, had no interest in those steers then or since that time. They state that they purchased them solely on their own account, and that neither A. Beal nor his son, Harlan E. Beal, ever had made any agreement that plaintiff should have any part in the ownership of the cattle or profits or rights in that purchase. They deny that plaintiff had any interest or connection with the transaction mentioned in the third count of the petition where 400 head of cattle
On the issues joined testimony was produced and the jury made special findings as follows:
“1. Was the written contract for sale of the 300 head of cattle described in plaintiff’s first cause of action, which was signed by F. M. Horn, A. Beal and W. D. Heidrick by-W. H. Shroyer, on August 2, 1927, a sale in good faith to W. D. Heidrick? A. A sale to W. D. Heidrick, in good faith, if he wanted them; if not, to W. H. Shroyer.
“2. Did F. M. Horn sign the contract mentioned in question 1, believing at the time he signed it that it was a sale in good faith to W. D. Heidrick? A. Yes, either W. D. Heidrick or W. H. Shroyer.
“3. Did W. D. Heidrick give W. H. Shroyer any authority to purchase for him the cattle described in plaintiff’s first cause of action? A. No.
“4. Did W. D. Heidrick, prior to the execution of the written contract mentioned above, agree to meet W. H. Shroyer at Valencia or Topeka, at any certain time, for the purpose of going out and examining the cattle mentioned in said written contract, with a view to purchasing the same? A. No certain time.
“5. Did W. D. Heidrick tell W. H. Shroyer that if he did not arrive at a certain time, to inspect the cattle, that Shroyer might purchase them himself? A. No.
“6. Did W. H. Shroyer write out and cause to be signed by A. Beal, at the Jayhawk Hotel, contract of sale mentioned above before he took it to the office of Mr. Horn for his signature? A. No.
“7. Did F. M. Horn agree that W. H. Shroyer should be paid, and did W. H. Shroyer agree to accept, a commission of approximately $223 for making a sale of the cattle in question to W. D. Heidrick? A. Yes.
“8. Did F. M. Horn ever agree to pay W. H. Shroyer a commission of approximately $223 for making a sale of said cattle to himself? A. No.
“9. Was plaintiff’s half of the commission charged by Shroyer paid by plaintiff? A. No.
‘TO. Was the claimed purchase of the cattle mentioned in the contract of August 2, 1927, and the claimed resale thereof to A. Beal, or to Beal and his son, a bona fide sale or was it a pretended sale made for the purpose of transferring the title to plaintiff’s interest in the cattle to Beal, or to Beal and his son? A. Yes, bona fide sale.
“11. Was plaintiff advised, either by A. Beal or Shroyer, on August 2 or August 3, 1927, of any sale of the cattle in question other than the sale to W. D. Heidrick, as evidenced by the written contract? A. The sale to be made either to W. D. Heidrick or W. H. Shroyer.
“12. Was there a sale of the cattle described in plaintiff’s first cause of action from Beal and Horn to Shroyer, and if so, when was it made, and what was the consideration paid by Shroyer to Beal and Horn? A. Yes, August 2, 1927. $95 for 240 head and $90 for the cuts.
*782 “13. If you find there was a sale from Beal and Horn to Shroyer, did Shroyer sell the cattle to Beal, or to Beal and son, and if so, on what date was said sale made? A. A. Beal & Son, Harlan E. Beal, on or about August 3, 1927.
“14. If you answer the last question in the affirmative, what was the consideration for the sale from Shroyer to A. Beal or A. Beal and son? A. $95 for 240 head and $90 for the balance plus commission to the Missouri Live Stock Commission Company, St. Joseph, Mo.
“15. Did plaintiff procure an option from W. R. Schreiner for the purchase of the 400 head of cattle described in plaintiff’s third cause of action, for himself and A. Beal, in the spring of 1927? A. No.
“16. Was there an agreement between plaintiff and A. Beal by which they were to buy and handle the cattle described in plaintiff’s third cause of action as partnership cattle, and if so, when was such agreement made'? A. No.
“17. Were the cattle described in plaintiff’s third cause of action partnership cattle under any agreement entered into between plaintiff and A. Beal? A. No.
“18. Did A. Beal purchase from W. R. Schreiner, on August 13, 1927, for himself and his son, Harlan Beal, 364 head of three-year-old steers under written contract dated August 13, 1927, and marked defendants’ exhibit 5? A. Yes.
“19. Did A. Beal or his son Harlan Beal at any time after August 13, 1927, agree to give plaintiff any interest in the cattle referred to in defendants’ exhibit 5? A. No.
“20. Did A. Beal have any cattle deals with plaintiff Horn after January 16, 1928? A. No.
“21. Did Harlan Beal, acting for his father, A. Beal, on January 16, 1928, make a final settlement with plaintiff for all profits and losses on the several partnership deals between the parties, and did Harlan Beal pay plaintiff at that time $638.85 for A. Beal, in full settlement of the profits on the several previous cattle deals? A. Yes.
“22. Did W. H. Shroyer, at the time of the contract, August 2, 1927, marked plaintiff’s exhibit 1, give A. Beal, for Horn and Beal, a draft on the Missouri Live Stock Commission Company of St. Joseph, Mo., for $3,000, as a payment on the purchase price of the cattle mentioned in said contract, according to the terms of the same? A. Yes.
“23. Did plaintiff, at the time of accepting said check mentioned in question 21, have full knowledge of the material facts relating to the sale of 300 head of cattle described in plaintiff's exhibit 1? A. Yes.
“24. If you answer the last question in the negative, state what facts plaintiff did not have knowledge of. A. -.”
The court approved the special findings of the jury, with the exception of one to the effect that plaintiff had not paid the commission on a sale of the cattle, and this finding, in view of the result of the case, is of no material importance. Judgment was then entered for the defendants, except as to the commission charge of $111.50.
Defendants contend that plaintiff is not entitled to a review of the proceedings, as the motion for a new trial was not made within time. Plaintiff contends that the case was one of equitable cognizance, that the jury was only acting in an advisory capacity and that its findings did not become effective until they were approved and adopted by the court and a judgment thereon entered. The court stated, as we have seen, that it did not regard the case as one of equitable cognizance and that it was not one for a dissolution of a partnership or an accounting in any proper sense of that term. The court finally ruled that whether or not the motion for a new trial was made within time, the court, even on plaintiff’s theory, would be compelled to render judgment for defendants on the merits of the case.
'Without determining the contention of defendants and assuming that the motion for a new trial was filed in due time, we think that the judgment for defendants must be upheld.
On the first count the plaintiff charged conspiracy and fraud against A. Beal, but there was testimony that a bona fide sale was made by Horn and Beal of the- 300 head of cattle involved in that transaction. A written contract was prepared and signed by Horn and Beal, and W. D. Heidrick by Shroyer, in which the prices were
Plaintiff contended that the sale of the cattle to Shroyer and the. resale of the same to Beal and son was done to eliminate and defraud him. Later in the year and after feeding the cattle for a considerable time, Beal and son sold them for a higher price than the price at which they were sold by Horn and Beal to Shroyer. Whether that was an actual sale in good faith or one made to- deceive and defraud plaintiff was a question of fact for the jury. On conflicting testimony the jury has found that it was an actual and bona fide sale. Beal and son had a right to buy the cattle previously sold to Shroyer, and although Beal and Horn were former owners and had sold the cattle, there was no legal reason why Beal should not join with his son afterwards in buying them and feeding them in the hope of finding a better market. This they could do honestly, and the jury has determined that it was a real and an honest transaction. There was sufficient consideration for the purchase, and the finding of the jury has been approved by the court which heard the evidence on which the finding was based. It is not necessary to
On the third cause of action the jury found that the plaintiff did not procure an option for the purchase of that herd of cattle, ánd further that there was no agreement by plaintiff with Beal that he should have an interest in those cattle, or that they were to handle them together as partners and, further, that they were purchased and paid for by A. Beal and his son, Harlan, on August 13, 1927; and, also, that there was no subsequent agreement that plaintiff would have any interest in the cattle. While plaintiff testified that he had obtained an option on the cattle and offered some other testimony that he had an understanding with A. Beal that he was to have an interest in them, the jury has found to the contrary on what appears to be sufficient evidence. There was evidence that the sale was made directly to A. Beal and son, who paid for the cattle and pastured and fed them and finally marketed them. On the motion for a new trial, in which the plaintiff insisted that the evidence did not support the findings, the trial court stated that the findings of the jury on this branch of the case were’ strongly supported by the evidence, and a reading of the record leads us to the same conclusion.
On the second count, involving the $111.50 commission charged to plaintiff, the finding of the jury against the claim of plaintiff was set aside by the trial court. The judgment was in favor of plaintiff on that item, and while defendants complain of the ruling, it has not appealed therefrom and is not entitled to a review of the ruling.
The contention of plaintiff that there was error on the rulings on the admission of evidence and restricting the cross-examination is not sustained, nor was there error in refusing to grant a new trial.
The judgment is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.