Weston v. Card
Weston v. Card
Opinion of the Court
Defendant ordered a binder of plaintiff. The machine was delivered to defendant, at Hillsdale, in June. On July 3, plaintiffs son and an agent of the Warder,. Bushnell & Glessner Co. set up and started the machine,, and it failed to work. July 4, plaintiff and the agent, went to defendants, and tried the machine, but failed to-make it work. July 5, plaintiff and two other of the-
There is a clause in the warranty of the machine as follows:.
“If the said machine does not perform as above [warranted], immediate notice must be given to the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Co., Chicago, Ill., or to their agent from whom the machine was bought, subject to a second trial in their presence, when, if the failure is found not to have arisen from any defect in the machine, it shall be kept by the purchaser, and continued use shall be considered conclusive proof that it fills the warranty; but, if upon said second trial, said machine does not work as .above, it may be returned to us, and the money will be .refunded.”
Plaintiff brought suit for the value of the machine, and on the trial the facts were found substantially as above set forth, and the court directed a verdict in favor of the plaintiff.
The reason given by the trial judge for this ruling was that, inasmuch as the defendant again tried the machine, or used it, on July 6, he was estopped from relying upon the contract of warranty, and had., in fact, made the machine his own. The court arrived at this conclusion from the interpretation he gave the words in the contract, “ continued use shall be considered conclusive proof that it
The contract of warranty was made by the Warder, Buslmell & G-lessner Co. of Chicago. The plaintiff claims to recover the value of the machine, as sold by him, and at the same time it is conceded that the warranty is from the company, which he represents as agent. Under this contract which defendant had- from the company, payments were to be made to the company direct, and not to the plaintiff. No claim was made on the trial that plaintiff could recover except under the contract with the company. It cannot be said that the order and warranty constituted a contract with the plaintiff. He was dealing with defendant as the agent of the company, and as such agent issued the written warranty, which the company was bound to fulfill. It was not the personal guaranty of the plaintiff, but of the company. Yet the plaintiff did not aver in his declaration, or prove on the trial, any assignment of the
Judgment reversed, and new trial ordered.
Concurring Opinion
I concur in the result, on the ground' that it was a question for the jury as to whether the-defendant continued the use of the machine with the intention of accepting it, as answering to the terms of the warranty.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- George E. Weston v. Potter G. Card
- Status
- Published