Wilson & Co. v. M. Werk Co.
Wilson & Co. v. M. Werk Co.
Opinion of the Court
The question of first importance in this case arises from the contention of counsel for the plaintiff in error, that, assuming the evidence established the claimed breach of warranty as to the quality of the product sold and delivered, the only possible basis of recovery by the defendant in error, plaintiff in the trial court, is the difference between the value of such product as warranted and
The questions of what the warranty as to quality actually was and whether there was a breach thereof were questions of fact which were submitted to the jury by the trial court with instructions which were correct in all respects, and the findings upon these questions of fact were for the plaintiff and against the defendant.
We come then to the question of the rights' of the buyer and the seller under such circumstances as disclosed by the record of this case, and also the remedy of a purchaser of goods which do not measure up to the warranty of the seller thereof as to quality, the purchase price having been paid upon delivery of the bill of lading and before opportunity for inspection.
Under the provisions of Section 8449, General Code, when there is a breach of warranty by the seller, the buyer may, at his election—
“(a.) Accept or keep the goods and set up against the seller, the breach of warranty by way of recoupment in diminution or extinction of the price;
“ (b.) Accept or keep the goods and maintain an action against the seller for damages for the breach of warranty;
“ (c.) Refuse to accept the goods, if the property therein has not passed, and maintain an action against the seller for damages for the breach of warranty ;
“ (d.) Rescind the contract to sell or the sale and refuse to receive the goods, or if the goods have*513 already been received, return them or offer to return them to the seller and recover the price or any part thereof which has been paid.”
It is further provided by this section that “(2.) When the buyer has claimed and been granted a remedy in any one of these ways, no other remedy therefor can be granted.”
It is perfectly clear that the plaintiff elected to pursue the remedy afforded by subdivision “d” above quoted. If the facts are such as to entitle the buyer to the remedy of rescission, what shall be his method of procedure? That is prescribed by subdivisions 4 and 5 of Section 8449, General Code, as follows:
“ (4.) When the buyer is entitled to rescind the sale and elects to do so, the buyer shall cease to be liable for the price upon returning or offering to return the goods. If the price or any part thereof has already been paid, the seller shall be liable to repay so much thereof as has been paid, concurrently with the return of the goods, or immediately after an offer to return the goods in exchange for repayment of the price.
“(5.) When the buyer is entitled to rescind the sale and elects to do so, if the seller refuses to accept an offer of the buyer to return the goods, the buyer shall thereafter be deemed to hold the goods, as bailee for the seller, but subject to a lien to secure the repayment of any portion of the price which has been paid, and with the remedies for the enforcement of such lien allowed to an unpaid seller by section 8433.”
It is averred in the petition and admitted in the answer that the defendant refused to accept the re
Passing for subsequent consideration the question of the legality of the sale of the car of grease stearine, and for the present assuming its regu
It is the further contention of counsel for plaintiff in error that the sale of the car of grease stearine by the plaintiff to itself was irregular and invalid, and, for the reason that plaintiff kept the same, the measure of plaintiff’s recovery was the difference in- value between the article delivered and the article as warranted, and that the values must be ascertained as of the time of delivery to the plaintiff. To support the contention of invalidity of such sale numerous cases are cited, but reliance is chiefly placed upon Cullen v. Blimm, 37 Ohio St., 236, and Glidden v. Mechanics’ Natl. Bank, 53 Ohio St., 588.
In Cullen v. Blimm, supra, a resale of property was similarly made after breach of warranty and election to rescind. The court says in discussing the case, page 238: “"Whether a purchase by an agent or trustee at his own sale is, in the absence of
In the case of Glidden v. Bcmk, supra, it was held that while the pledgee could not become the purchaser at his own sale in the absence of an express agreement authorizing it, and the relations of the parties are not changed unless the pledgor elects to treat the transaction as a valid sale, if the pledgor does not so elect, the pledgee, while he retains the possession and control of the property with the ability to perform his part of thé contract by restoring the property to the pledgor, cannot be held for its conversion without demand for its return accompanied by an offer of the pledgor to perform his part of the agreement. In this case as in the case of Cullen v. Blimm, supra, the sale was either objected to or repudiated by the pledgor, and the record clearly shows that fact as well as the offer by the pledgor to perform the contract, and such facts were influential, if not controlling, in the disposition of those cases.
It may be assumed that a purchase by a bailee at a sale to satisfy his lien is invalid. Yet in this case it does not appear that the defendant either objected to the sale or repudiated the same, and neither in its pleading nor otherwise has the defendant indicated
The record discloses that the very day of delivery, the plaintiff, through the broker who made the sale, informed the defendant of his claim that the product delivered was not the product contracted for, and five days later demanded the return of its money, and offered to return the car or follow shipping instructions which were then requested. A week later another demand was made for the return of the purchase price and shipping instructions again requested. Some efforts were made to dispose of the controversy by arbitration, but failed, and thereupon plaintiff sent samples of the grease stearine to several large consumers and also to brokers who handled such products, with request for bids. Only one bid was received which was 9% cents per pound. The defendant was thereupon (January 4th) advised of the same, and its offer solicited, but no response having been received by the plaintiff, it, on January 11th, bought it at 10 cents per pound, giving the defendant credit for the amount upon plaintiff’s claim against it: The evidence tends to show not only the exercise of reasonable care and judgment, but the utmost care and
The instruction requested by counsel for defendant, being defendant’s request No. 5, and which appears in full in the statement preceding this opinion, was not proper, hence no error was committed in the refusal to give it to the jury, for the reason that the mere fact of a secret arrangement between the broker and the plaintiff whereby the plaintiff was to receive a part of the broker’s commission would not in and of itself defeat the plaintiff’s claim against, the defendant for repayment of his money upon a breach of warranty. If it amounted to a fraud it would not render the contract void, but only voidable, and the defendant not only did not seek to avoid the contract of sale, but is here relying thereon to retain the money paid by the plaintiff and to defeat his action to recover it.
Upon the whole case we find no prejudicial error. The judgment of the court of appeals is, therefore, affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.