Heilman Machine Works v. Dollarhide
Heilman Machine Works v. Dollarhide
Opinion of the Court
— This action is on a promissory note, given by defendants to plaintiff, for one instalment of the purchase money, due on the purchase of a threshing machine. The sale was made by plaintiff ’ s local agent; the contract of sale included a written warranty as to the durability of the machine and of its capability for work. The contract contained, in addition, the following clause: “ All conditioned that if upon starting this machine the undersigned purchasers are unable to make it operate well, written notice stating wherein it failed to satisfy the warranty is to be given, in three days after starting the machine, by the purchasers to the dealer
Defendants pleaded the warranty and its failure, alleging a compliance with all conditions on their part, except giving written notice to either plaintiff or its agent. In avoidance of this obligation on their part, defendants pleaded a waiver of such notice.
The trial in the court below resulted in a verdict for defendants and plaintiff appealed ; urging now only the insufficiency of the case to establish a waiver.
The evidence tended to show that the machine did not fulfill the warranty, and that within three days, defendants verbally notified the agent from whom they purchased of such fact; that this agent notified one Hayden, a general agent of plaintiff, who had supervision of “the west half of Missouri and the state of Kansas,” and who was then somewhere in the state of Kansas. This agent came on in due time and brought with him one of the plaintiff ’ s experts. They succeeded in putting the machine in order as they claimed, but failed as defendants claimed. Defendants thereupon, on the same day, took the machine into Mt. Leonard and left it, notifying Hayden that they turned it over to him, but which Hayden refused to receive, disclaiming authority to receive it. Hayden afterwards took possession of the-machine under the power given in the mortgage and moved it to Blackburn, where, after giving notice as required by the mortgage, he sold it. As to the character of Hayden’s agency, it was further shown by his testimony that when he received the telegram from the local agent, he telegraphed to Springfield, Mo., for one of plaintiff’s expert machinists. That they met on the train and went to the machine together, the local
Prom this evidence of the scope and character of his agency I have no doubt of Hayden’s authority to waive the stipulation as to notice and the kind of notice. That such stipulations may be waived by the party for whose benefit and in whose behalf they are inserted cannot be questioned. The foregoing covers the points assigned by appellant and is sufficient for a proper disposition of the case.
The difference and distinction between this case and that of Nichols, Shepard & Co. v. Larkin, 79 Mo. 264, is apparent upon comparison.
The judgment is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.