Jones v. Holtzen
Jones v. Holtzen
Opinion of the Court
This suit was brought by ap-pellee to recover commissions alleged to be due him, and his cause of action is stated in two separate counts. The first count declares upon a contract made with “J. P. Jones Land Company, a firm composed of J. P. Jones and W. E. Cobb, acting through J. P. Jones.” The defendants filed sworn pleas, denying the partnership. Both parties admit in their briefs that no evidence was introduced in support of the first count, and it will not be further noticed here.
The second count declares first upon an agreement “with J. P. Jones, a real estate agent at Wichita Ealls.” This is followed by statements of transactions between appellants and appellee, the owner of the land and the purchaser, set out in such order and manner as to render it uncertain, from the allegations, whether appellee was seeking a judgment against J. P. Jones upon an ex *122 press contract, or against J. P. Jones and W. E. Cobb upon a quantum meruit, or against Jones upon tbe contract and Cobb upon a quantum meruit, and it was equally uncertain as to the amount sought to be recovered whether one-half of the commissions already received by Jones or one-half of the amount received by him, and to be hereafter received, or one-half of all commissions and one-half of the profit made by Cobh, or hy Cobb and Jones, out of the sale of said land. Appellants excepted specially to the second count on the ground that it was uncertain, contradictory, ambiguous, duplicitous, and in the alternative, and we think these exceptions should have been sustained. Appellee, having elected to state his case in separate counts, was bound to observe the rules governing that method and plead his case accordingly. There was no prayer in the alternative.
There was no allegation as to the amount, if any, that had been received, either by Jones separately or by Cobh, as commissions or compensation.
The question of variance between the contract, as set out in appellee’s petition, and the one testified to by Jones, and the further question of the right of appellee to recover a portion of the $200 not yet paid, but evidenced by J. A. Kemp’s conditional due-bill, may not arise upon another trial, and it will not be passed upon by us now.
The testimony of Hatcher and Wildermuth was admissible upon the measure of appel-lee’s recovery against W. E. Cobb alone and should have been so limited by the court.
For the errors above specified, the judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JONES Et Al. v. HOLTZEN
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published