Mitchell v. Bressler
Mitchell v. Bressler
Opinion of the Court
Appeal by plaintiff from a judgment of the district court for Antelope county, entered upon a verdict directed for defendant.
The controversy in this case is over an oral agreement, which plaintiff claims was entered into in 1907, under which, it is alleged, defendant was to furnish the money to purchase a tract of land in Antelope county, for $3,300; that both parties should endeavor to dispose of the land for money or exchange for other property; that when such a deal should be closed there should be added to the amount received for the land the rents and profits thereof, and from this gross sum defendant should be reimbursed for all moneys expended by him in purchasing the property, paying taxes thereon, and caring for the same, and the remainder divided equally between, the parties. Plaintiff claims to have fully performed his part of the contract; alleges that defendant refused to convey the land, but has elected to retain the same for his own use and benefit. Defendant denies the making of the contract, as alleged, and claims that at the time he purchased the land plaintiff represented that he had a man, who was the owner of a stock of goods worth $10,000, who would trade the stock
The errors relied upon for reversal are: That the court erred in sustaining defendant’s motion for a directed verdict, for the reason that the verdict is not sustained by the evidence but is contrary thereto; that the court erred in sustaining objections to the offer of plaintiff to prove the market value of the land on February 2,1910. It is said in the brief of counsel for plaintiff that the construction of the court seemed to be based upon two propositions, the second of which they state is: “That the appellant did not show that the appellee had ever refused to perform any of the terms, that the appellee therefore had never breached the contract.” As this proposition is decisive of the case, it is the only one we deem it necessary to consider. Let the testimony of the plaintiff answer the proposition. He testified as follows: “Q,. When did he first intimate to you that he was no longer willing to live up to the terms of this deal? A. I don’t know as he ever intimated to me that he would not live up to the terms of this deal. Q. When did you first malm demands of settlement? A. 1910. Q. What time in 1910? A. February 2, 1910. Q. How do you fix that time? A. Because Mr. Bressler and I were settling xxp another deal of the same nature, and after we had settled that up and he had paid me my profits I says,
' An attempt was made to prove by a letter which counsel for plaintiff received from defendant, of date February 15, 1912, that defendant then refused to carry out the contract. The offer of this letter was refused. No error is assigned on account of such refusal, for the reason, doubtless, that the letter itself does not contain such refusal. The most that can be said for the letter is that defendant
The conclusion we have reached on the evidence renders a consideration of the authorities cited unnecessary. It is sufficient to say that they are not applicable to the state of facts shown in this case.
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.