Perkins v. Franz
Perkins v. Franz
Opinion of the Court
Appeal from a judgment and an order overruling motion for a new trial. Appellant, who- was plaintiff, brought an action in the circuit court of Spink county, alleging that on the 5th day of April, 1906, he entered into _ an agreement with defendant, whereby defendant was to' sell and deliver to plaintiff a certain mare in sound condition, at the agreed price of $200 in cash; that upon the making of, said -agreement plaintiff paid defendant $100 on account thereof, and promised and agreed to pay defendant a further sum of $100 upon delivery to plaintiff of said mare in sound condition on the 7th day of April, 1906; that defendant failed to deliver the mare in sound condition, and refused to repay plaintiff the sum of $100 so paid; and demands judgment for $100. Defendant, for answer, pleads a general denial, except as to matters specifically admitted; admits that defendant sold plaintiff the black mare for $200 and that plaintiff, at the time he purchased said mare, paid defendant $100 and that plaintiff agreed with defendant to come and take the mare on the 5th day of April; alleges that it was -agreed at the time of the purchase that defendant should keep said mare for -the plaintiff until the date of delivery; that on April 7th plaintiff .came for the mare, but found her sick, through no fault of defendant, and
The only errors assigned, which are discussed in appellant’s brief, relate to certain portions of the charge of -the trial court, one of which is stated in appellant’s assignment of error in -the following language: “If a person buys a piece of personal property, the sale is complete, and under the agreement the property is left to the seller until future date, the title passed as much as if the person took it away with him. Moreover, the fact that the money was not paid on that date does not cut any figure. If no money had been paid there could have been as complete sale of the horse -as if $100.00 had been paid down. And if the defendant is entitled to recover $100.00 here, if there had not been a dollar paid, he would be entitled to recover $200.00 at this time.” The same language is again quoted in appellant’s brief. An examination of the charge as printed in the abstract discloses a material inaccuracy in the assignment of error and in appellant’s brief, in the statement of the language used by the court. As given in the abstract, the court used the following language: “Moreover, the fact that the money was not paid on that day does not cut any figure. If any money had been paid there could have been as complete sale of the horse as if $100.00 had been paid down.” It is the contention of appellant’s counsel that this charge was absolute error, prejudicial, confusing, and misleading. Counsel contends that because of the language of the charge, “If a person buys a piece of personal property, the sale is complete,” the jury would be. justified in assuming that the court intended
On -the trial plaintiff introduced testimony tending to sustain the facts alleged in his complaint, while defendant introduced evidence tending -to- establish the facts a-s alleged in his answer and counterclaim. Two questions thus arose under the pleadings and evidence: First. Did the transaction between plaintiff and defendant on the 5‘th day of April constitute an executed or an executory sale? Second. If -the jury found, under the evidence, that the transaction on the 5th day of April was an executory agreement for a sale, to be consummated on the 7th day of April by a delivery of the mare to the plaintiff in sound condition, then did the plaintiff on the 7th day of April actually accept and receive the mare in her then condition', in fulfillment -of plaintiff’s agreement to deliver her at that time? An examination of the entire charge discloses that this latter issue was not submitted to the jury, an omission 'which is decidedly favorable to appellant under the evidence as disclosed by the record. The language used by the court makes it clear that the -only question submitted to the
The -order and judgment of the trial court are affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- PERKINS v. FRANZ
- Status
- Published