Staring v. De Lancy Co.
Staring v. De Lancy Co.
Opinion of the Court
A statement of facts leading to the bringing of this action, and of the issues made by the pleadings, appears in the opinion rendered by this court upon a former appeal. 152 Minn. 78, 188 N. W. 212. The note sued upon was given by the defendant to plaintiff on
In July, 1919, the defendant herein brought an action against the plaintiff herein to recover damages for fraudulently misrepresenting the character and value of the Texas lands, securities and obligations given by plaintiff as part of the consideration for the apartment buildings involved in the transactions referred to. The trial of that cause was completed on June 3, 1921, and resulted in a verdict of $10,036 in favor of the defendant De Lancy Company. Judgment was entered for the amount of the verdict, with interest and costs. Prior to the commencement of the present action, the judgment in the fraud action was assigned to the interveners herein.
The plaintiff in the present action asks for a verdict for the full amount of the note with interest, amounting to something over $27,000, and to have the judgment in the fraud action offset against the amount of the verdict on the note, and for judgment for the balance of the verdict. In its complaint the plaintiff sets forth that defendant brought the fraud action for damages and recovered a verdict upon the theory that the contracts were entireties, and thereby affirmed the entire transaction and bound itself to perform all unperformed parts of its own obligations. Under such pleading and theory, the order of the trial court cannot be sustained. But it is contended bn behalf of the respondents that, notwithstanding the allegations of the complaint, the two cases were fully litigated by mutual consent of the parties, upon the theory that the executory portions of the contracts had been rescinded by mutual consent of the parties. This contention necessitates an examination of the history of both trials insofar as it appears from the record. There was no motion for a new trial, or appeal in the fraud case, so we are without a record therein.
It appears from the record before us that, in January, 1917, long prior to the trial of the fraud case, defendant informed the plaintiff that it had no intention of carrying out any of the terms of the contracts that had not been fully performed, and to that extent it
At the former trial the court charged the jury in effect that, if there was no fraud, the De Lancy Company could not recover, but if there was fraud, then it had the right to repudiate the executory parts of the contract just as it did. The court also instructed in the former case that the De Lancy Company was limited to $52,000 damages with interest, on the first cause of action, and to $19,000 with interest, on the second cause of action, on the theory that it could not claim damages as to the portions of the transactions it had repudiated.
In the case now before this court, the trial court found that, in part performance of the terms of the second Texas land contract, the De Lancy Company executed to the Realty Company its promissory note for $21,236.40, payable in 5 years, with interest, no part of which has been paid; that no part of the Texas land contracts has ever been performed by the De Lancy Company, excepting the giving of said note; that it has never had possession of said land; that the Realty Company has paid the taxes- thereon, leased portions thereof and retained the proceeds.
The court further found that no exception was taken to said charge by the Realty Company, nor did it call the court’s attention to any possible inadvertence therein nor was it ever questioned by motion or appeal in any manner. While the testimony as .shown by the record becomes considerably involved at times and difficult to decipher, on the whole it supports the findings which warrant the judgment.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STANLEY S. STARING v. DE LANCY COMPANY. L. D. RICHARDSON AND ANOTHER, INTERVENERS
- Status
- Published