Griffin v. McDonald
Griffin v. McDonald
Opinion of the Court
Action by replevin for possession of a horse. Trial by court, judgment for plaintiff and defendant has appealed.
Plaintiff and defendant exchanged horses. The horse traded by defendant to plaintiff was a stallion which defendant at the time understood plaintiff wanted to use in connection with a jack which he kept
There is but one question for us to determine in this case and that is whether o,r not there was evidence sufficient to sustain the judgment of the court upon the theory that defendant had warranted the stallion to be sound. If defendant did so warrant him and plaintiff relied thereon in making the exchange and the horse was, in fact, not sound, then on discovering that fact plaintiff had the right to rescind the contract and the issues were properly found in his favor. [Faust v. Koers, 111 Mo. App. 560, 86 S. W. 278; Childs v. Emerson, 117 Mo. App. 671, 93 S. W. 286; Laumeier v. Dolph, 145 Mo. App. 78, 130 S. W. 360.]
Looking to the testimony in this case and considering that most favorable to plaintiff as we are required to do in determining whether or not the judgment of the court is supported by the testimony, we find the following facts: In about a month after the trade, plaintiff discovered that the stallion had some disease of the genital organs, and there was evidence tending to show that this disease was what is known as dourine. That it is an infectious disease and is contracted by intercourse with an infected animal. That the disease may develop in a few days or it may not appear for a few weeks or months after infection. That the stallion had no chance to become infected after the trade was made. On the question of warranty, we find this testimony. Defendant testified that he knew the purpose for which plaintiff wanted the stallion. Plaintiff testified that defendant represented that the stallion was all right and that he relied upon that representation and was induced by it to make the trade. If this evidence was believed by the trial court
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.