Diamond Glass Co. v. Ladwig
Diamond Glass Co. v. Ladwig
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The plaintiff declared in assumpsit that on September 17, 1903, the defendant gave the plaintiff two written orders for show cases; that the plaintiff accepted the orders; that the show cases were delivered to and’ received by the defendant, and that he refused to pay the price agreed upon. Upon the second trial of the case, and after the motion for compulsory nonsuit had been made, the plaintiff presented the petition for amendment of its statement of claim which is set forth in the first assignment of error. The petition does not show how the “ mistake or inadvertence ” occurred which resulted in the omission of the averment proposed to be inserted in the statement. But further, the proposed amendment is not in matter of form but in a matter of substance. It would not be difficult to show that it averred a substantially different cause of action from that set up in the original statement of claim. The amendment was not such as the plaintiff was entitled to under the statute as matter of right, and, under the circumstances, we are not prepared to hold that there was an abuse of discretion in not permitting it.
The facts are that the plaintiff did not deliver to the defendant four show cases, but did ship by rail consigned to the defendant several crates of parts, which when “ set up ” would be show cases, and that within twenty-four hours after these crates of parts were placed in defendant’s store, they were consumed by a fire which destroyed the store as well. The plaintiff’s shipping derk testified upon the subject of shipment as follows: “ On October 22, we shipped one crate of frames, roofs and bases, two crates of bases and one box of hardware, and on October 23rd four cases of plate glass, two boxes of glass, one crate of marble ; the two shipments being all of the goods which are necessary for two outside cases and two special cases, and comprise the order given by John H. Ladwig of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to the Diamond Glass Company on the 17th day of September, 1903.” Manifestly, the delivery of these parts out of which the show cases could be constructed
But, it is contended, notwithstanding the express stipulation of the written order that “ there is no condition or understanding relative to the above order that is not specified therein,” that the court erred in rejecting the defendant’s offers to show, first, that the trade meaning of the words “ to
The judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Diamond Glass Company v. Ladwig
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- Syllabus
- Contract — Manufactured article — Future delivery — Passing of title. The general rule is that a chattel ordered to be manufactured and to be delivered in the future continues the property of the manufacturer until completed and delivered or tendered. This general rule gives way where the intention of the parties is that the title shall pass upon completion of the article and notice thereof to the vendee, or at an earlier period. But the cases in which it has been held that the title passed during the progress of manufacture are recognized as exceptional, and such conclusion is sustainable only where it is in accordance with the actual intention of the parties. It is a question of intent, arising on the interpretation of the entire contract in each case. If taking all the stipulations together, it is clear that the parties intended that the property should vest in the purchaser during the progress of the work and before its completion, effect will be given to such intention and the property will be held to pass accordingly; but, on the other hand, it will not be deemed to have passed out of the builder unless such intent is clearly manifested, but the general rule of law will prevail. In an action for goods sold and delivered it appeared that the defendant gave an order to plaintiff by which the latter was to construct, deliver and “set up” show cases of a particular design, material and dimensions, and that the defendant was to pay for them a stipulated price when “set up.” The plaintiff did not deliver to the defendant the show cases, but did ship by rail to the defendant several crates of parts which when “ set up ” would be show cases. A drayman without special order from the defendant, but with whom the defendant had a general contract to bring to his store any goods that he might find at the railroad station consigned to the defendant, ordered one of his drivers to haul these crates to the defendant's store, and when they arrived there, the defendant ordered them to be taken to the third story where unopened packages were kept. Within twenty-four hours a fire occurred which destroyed the crates as well as the store. Held, that the title to the show cases had not passed to the defendant at the time of the fire, and that the court committed no error in nonsuiting the plaintiff.