José Malgor & Co. v. B. Silva Sucrs
José Malgor & Co. v. B. Silva Sucrs
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
At the close of plaintiff’s evidence, the defendants filed a motion for nonsuit which was granted by the lower court. In the appeals taken from the judgments rendered,
In the District Court of Mayagüez separate complaints were filed against B. Silva Suers., M. A. Carlo e Hijos, Santiago Hnos., and López Hnos. Said complaints, couched in almost identical terms, essentially allege that the plaintiff is engaged in the business of importation and wholesale purchase and sale of groceries for the purpose of resale and that the defendants are partnerships constituted pursuant to the laws of Puerto Rico and also engaged in the purchase for resale of groceries and other articles; that the plaintiff sold
In their answer the defendants interposed the defenses at law to the effect that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the subject matter and that the' complaints do not adduce facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. They also raised the defense that the sales were made by fixed quality known to the commerce of Puerto Rico and that the merchandise offered did not comply with said requisite. They likewise set up as a special defense the fact that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit, because the plaintiff had not deposited in court the merchandise prior to filing the complaints and, furthermore, because it did not comply with
A motion for nonsuit admits all the evidence in-, troduced by the plaintiff in the light most favorable to it. Pagán v. Santiago, 69 P.R.R. 136, 139; Villanueva v. Suárez et al., 41 P.R.R. 39; Shaw v. Missouri Pacific R. Co., 36 Fed. Supp. 651. So that there being only a scintilla of evi dence to support a cause of action the motion should be overruled. Was a cause of action alleged herein and was there such scintilla of evidence to support it? That is truly the gist of the question before us.
The evidence introduced by the plaintiff tended to establish all the allegations of its complaint and, as to the quality of the merchandise, that it was of the kind known in the Ma-yagiiez market as pink beans No. 2. The plaintiff also offered- evidence to the effect that it proposed to the defendants by different means an arbitration which would include an expert’s report.
Now-, does the Act demand as a prerequisite to the filing of a complaint of this nature that the plaintiff comply strictly with the provisions of § 245 of the Code of Commerce before resorting to the courts with any other proceeding? We think so. That Section — which was 327 of the Code of Commerce of 1886 — as amended by Act No. 42 of April 25, 1930 (Sess. Laws, pp. 320, 348), literally copied, provides:
“Section 245.- — -If a sale is made by samples or by fixed quality known to commerce, the purchaser shall not refuse to receive*772 the goods contracted for, provided they conform to the sample or to the quality previously stated in the contract.
“In case the purchaser refuses to receive said goods, experts shall be appointed by the parties, and said experts shall decide as to whether or not the goods are receivable.
“Should the experts decide that the goods are receivable, the sale shall be considered as consummated. Otherwise, the contract shall'be rescinded without prejudice to such indemnity as the buyer may be entitled to.
“If either of the parties refuses to appoint an expert or un-warrantedly delays such appointment, the other party, on the expiration of the term agreed upon, or, if there is-no agreement, after a reasonable term fixed by notarial requisition, may request such judicial authority as may be competent to designate one or more experts whose decision shall be final for the purposes of the preceding paragraph.” (Italics ours.)
A thorough examination of the question before us convinces us that the procedure specified in § 245, supra, is exclusive and that when the commercial purchase and sale is made by sample or by quality known to commerce and the purchaser’s refusal is based on the fact that the merchandise sought to be delivered is not according to the sample or does not conform to the known quality, the parties must give strict compliance to the provisions of said Section. Complaints such as the one involved here, in which it was not alleged that the services of an expert were engaged in the manner provided by § 245, supra, whose text is imperative, clearly do not allege a cause of action.
It is true that any defects in a complaint may be considered as amended by the evidence,
The deposit requested by'the seller did not lie. Pursuant to § 250 of the Code of Commerce “If the purchaser refuses without just cause to receive the goods bought, the vendor may demand the fulfilment or rescission of the contract, depositing the merchandise in court in the first case.” (Italics ours.) But here the rejection of the beans was withoiut just cause, but because according to the purchasers the quality of the beans offered to them was different from that which was known to commerce.
The judgments appealed from will be affirmed.
The lower court rendered four separate judgments because four different cases are involved which include the same questions, which were heard jointly in said court and which have been consolidated on appeal.
See the testimony of the witnesses Thomas Boothby, Manuel A. Ramirez and Emilio Figueroa Peiro at pp. 40, 94, and 145-174 of the transcript of evidence, respectively.
The 1930 amendment consists only in the addition of the last paragraph.
Rule 15(6).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.