Mann v. Laws
Mann v. Laws
Opinion of the Court
The question presented by the report in this case arises upon the declaration and the construction of the correspondence which constituted the contract between the parties, and brings before us only the inquiry whether the defendants were bound, by any 'direction of the plaintiffs in accepting the consignment of their goods, not to sell them for less 'than the invoice prices contained in the plaintiffs’ bills. The declaration contained no averment that the defendants had not acted' faithfully and judiciously in the sale made by them. The plaintiffs did not desire to amend their pleadings, and while certain evidence was offered and rejected by the court as immaterial to the issue raised, no exception appears to have been taken to its exclusion.
We are of opinion that the court correctly ruled that the defendants were not limited in their sales to the invoice prices. While the plaintiffs had a right to fix definitely the prices of their goods, and to direct positively that none should be sold for less than they thus fixed, the giving of prices merely in the invoice which accompanied the shipment cannot be considered such a direction. In their letter requesting the consignment, of August 14,1872, while the defendants desire the plaintiffs to invoice the goods as low as they can, they inform the plaintiffs what the
While the contract between the parties is to be determined by the letters of August 14 and August 19,1872, as tending to show that the construction given by the court is the natural one, it is to be observed that the construction which the plaintiffs originally gave themselves was the same. This is sufficiently shown by their letter of September 11,1872, in which, while they say that the prices are not satisfactory, they make no claim- that any order has been violated by selling at less than the invoice prices, but object only to the commissions, which they think higher than have been agreed to. Judgment on the verdict.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Elbridge Mann & another v. James H. Laws & another
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published