New Blue Grass Canning Co. v. Dougan & Hollis
New Blue Grass Canning Co. v. Dougan & Hollis
Opinion of the Court
Opinion op the Court by
Affirming.
Plaintiffs, Albert Dougan and Ott Hollis, partners doing business under the firm name of Dougan & Hollis, brought this action against J. Ed. Guenther and H. L, Kolinsky, partners doing business under the name of New Blue Grass Canning Company, to recover damages for breach of contract for purchase of four carloads of pumpkins. The jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiffs for the sum of $347.62. Judgment was entered accordingly, and defendants appeal.
The petition is based on a contract by which defendants purchased of plaintiff ten carloads of pumpkins at $3.30 per ton, to be delivered on board cars at Princeton, Indiana, or at Oakland City, Indiana. In addition to the price of $3.30 per ton, the defendants agreed to pay all freight and other charges from the place of shipment to Owensboro, Kentucky, the place of delivery. The pumpkins were consigned to plaintiffs’ order, and the bills of lading, with drafts attached for the amount due for each shipment, were to be sent to the National Deposit Bank, of Owensboro, Kentucky, and upon payment of the drafts the bills of lading were to be delivered to the defendants. Plaintiffs shipped six carloads of pumpkins, which were received, accepted and paid for by the defendants. Subsequently they shipped four more
The evidence for plaintiffs fully .sustains the allegations of >the petition. It appears that on October 10,1908, defendants directed one Monarch, as their agent, to go to Princeton, Indiana, and buy pumpkins for them. About that date Monarch went to Princeton and concluded the trade with Dougan, of the firm of Dougan & Hollis, for the purchase of ten carloads of pumpkins at $3.30 per ton, delivered on board the cars at Princeton or at Oakland City, Indiana. After Monarch and Dougan made this contract, they went to the livery barn of Henry C. Book, at Princeton, Indiana, where the particulars of the contract were repeated in the presence of the liveryman. Monarch, Dougan and Book all testified to the contract as set out in the petition. It further appears that when the four carloads of pumpkins in dispute reached Owensboro, the defendants refused to accept them. In the meantime, the pumpkins remained on the cars, and the charges for freight and demurrage were accumulating daily. Plaintiffs then directed Mr. Monarch to sell the pumpkins. The sale was made to defendants :at the price of $2.00 per ton. The purchase price was to be applied on the car charges, for freight and demurrage. The evidence for plaintiffs further shows that the pumpkins which were shipped to defendants were sound and merchantable, and properly loaded on the cars.
The evidence for defendants is to the effect that they purchased only 150 tons of pumpkins. Among the first six carloads of pumpkins there were some that were not sound and merchantable. Having purchased only 150 tons, they advised plaintiffs about the 21st of October that the pumpkins they had furnished were not up to the contract, and that they had only purchased 150 tons, and directed defendants not to ship any more. Guenther and some of his employees also swear that the pumpkins .in the last four cars were not sound and. merchantable.
It is first insisted by defendants that plaintiffs are estopped to claim any damages in this action by reason
-Complaint is also'made of the failure of the trial court to give the following instruction, which wa-s offered by defendants:
“If the-jury believe from the evidence that the pumpkins were to be sound, marketable and suitable for can ning purposes, and .shall further find from the evidence that the first six carloads -of pumpkins were not sound or suitable .for canning purpose's, then defendant had the legal right to refuse to accept further shipment of pumpkins and this without regard as to whether the sale was of ten carloads of pumpkins or of 150 tons, provided defendants notified plaintiffs of the damaged and unsound condition of the pumpkins- alreadv shipped and that no further shipments of said pumpkins would' be received. ’ ’
It is- argued that this instruction should have been given because under the evidence introduced' by the defendants the defendants had the right to and did -rescind the contract of purchase, and notified plaintiffs before the shipment of the last four carloads thalt no more pumpkins -would be accepted. While there are cases
The real issues in this case were: (1) Did defendants purchase ten carloads or 150 tons of pumpkins? (2) Were the pumpkins furnished by plaintiffs sound and merchantable ? In .addition to. these two issues, there was a third issue, bearing on the measure of damages, and that is: Did plaintiffs receive notice of defendants ’ refusal to accept the four carloads of pumpkins prior to their being loaded and delivered to the railroad company for -shipment to Owensboro. These issues were all -submitted to the jury by instructions which, though subject to verbal criticism, are substantially correct. Upon each of these issues the evidence preponderates in favor of the plaintiffs. Being satisfied, upon a consideration of the whole case, that the jury reached a fair and just conclusion in the matter, and being unable to find any error in the record prejudicial to the substantial rights of the defendants, it follows that the judgment .should be affirmed, and it is so ordered.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.