Miller v. Raymond
Miller v. Raymond
Opinion of the Court
This is an action for damages flowing from injuries to plaintiffs’ cattle, alleged to have been caused by the use of crude petroleum purchased from defendants for dipping said live stock. Defendants prevailed, and plaintiffs appeal.
Plaintiffs allege, in substance, that at the time of the transactions referred to in their petition they owned a herd of cattle within territory covered by a proclamation
Alleged errors of law occurring at the trial and errors in the giving and refusing to give instructions are assigned and argued in the brief, but in our view of the case it will be unnecessary to discuss those assignments for the reason that the pleadings and evidence will not in our judgment sustain a verdict for plaintiffs. The action is not to recover for the difference in value, if any existed, between the oil ordered and that delivered to plaintiffs, nor are defendants charged with malice or fraud. The word warranty does not appear in the pleadings; but, from a statement made in the district court by plaintiffs’ counsel, we conclude that the purpose of the suit is to recover upon an implied warranty that the oil was reasonably suitable for the purposes for which plaintiffs expected to use it. Plaintiffs in effect contend that a sale by description carries with it an implied warranty not only that the chattel shall answer to the specifications, but that it is suitable for the purpose for which it is bought. It is quite generally held that, where a manufacturer or dealer contracts to supply an article which he produces or in which he deals, to be applied to a particular purpose, so that the buyer necessarily trusts to the judgment or skill of the vendor, an implied warranty exists that the goods shall be reasonably fit for the purposes for which they are ordered. Jones v. Just, 3 L. R. Q, B. (Eng.) *197; Omaha Coal, Coke & Lime Co. v. Fay, 37 Neb. 68. But, where the purchaser specifies the qualities, dimensions or characteristics which the article to be supplied shall
In the instant case the oil was not an article manufactured by man, but a product of nature. Plaintiffs and defendants AArere in equal ignorance concerning the constituents of the liquid. Defendants did not profess to have any knowledge of the subject, and plaintiffs knew that defendants had not been handling crude petroleum. Plaintiffs and defendants alike received their information from the government pamphlet. This circular informed the reader that oil secured from different wells in the Beaumont district was not of uniform quality. Three specifications as to quality and one concerning locality Avere given in the pamphlet and plainly constituted the matters of description entering into the purchase and sale of the oil in question. The oil should be ordered from the Beaumont district. The evidence is undisputed and unquestioned that the oil came from the Beaumont district, and further that oil of the same grade had been sold to the government for dipping cattle. As to quality, the government recommended oil of a specific gravity of from 22-1° to 24¿° Baume, containing 1-j to 14 per cent, of sulphur, and 40 per cent, of the oil should distil over Avhen heated to a temperature of 300° Centigrade. Plaintiffs caused samples of oil from their dipping tank to be analyzed by Messrs. SeAvell and Crowley, and specimens taken from defendants’ oil tank to be analyzed by Mr. Emery, all expert chemists. Mr. SeAvell testifies that the specific gravity of the oil analyzed by him was 20.8° Baume, 40 per cent, of the oil distilled over at a temperature of 300° Centigrade, and it contained but .56 per cent, of sulphur. Mr. Crowley testifies that the specific gravity of the oil analyzed by him was 21° Baume, 37 per cent, of the oil distilled over at a temperature of 300° Centigrade, and it contained only .25 per cent, of sulphur. Mr. Emery testifies that one sample of the oil analyzed
It will be noticed that the oil taken from defendants’ tank conformed in density to the government recommendations, whereas that procured from plaintiffs’ open dipping tank was slightly heavier than 22-]° Baume. Three out of four samples answered to the distillation test, and in but one particular did the oil fail to answer the specifications, a lack of less than 1 per cent, of sulphur. There is not a scintilla of evidence in the record to show that an addition of 1 per cent, or any other (quantity of sulphur to the oil would have prevented injury to plaintiffs’ live stock. In fact counsel for plaintiffs state in their brief: “It was not because the oil was heavier and contained less sulphur that rendered it harmful to plaintiffs’ cattle, but was probably due to the presence of excessive quantities of certain caustics therein, such as carbolic acid, which probably could not exist or is never found in oil of the description contained in the order which produced the injury.” The difficulty is, there is nothing in the record to support the argument. The analyses merely indicate that the oil contains sulphur. The other ingredients are not shown. Defendants did not undertake to furnish oil free from such caustics as may be found in crude petroleum. Under the circumstances of this case, when defendants delivered oil answering the description found in the government pamphlet, they had performed their undertaking, and, if the liquid did not come up to the specifications, it was incumbent on plaintiffs to prove that the imperfection was the proximate cause of the injury to their cattle. This they have not done, nor do
The case was exhaustively tried in the district court. Plaintiffs have little, if any, just cause for complaint if it is conceded that' upon any phase of the case they might recover, and, it appearing to us that upon no just application of the law to the facts can defendants be held liable, the judgment of the district court will be affirmed, without a discussion of the errors assigned.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- William K. Miller v. Fred M. Raymond
- Status
- Published