Lind v. Reeves & Co.
Lind v. Reeves & Co.
Opinion of the Court
This is a suit instituted by appellant against Reeves & Co., a foreign corporation, John W. Felix, and the First State Bank of Skidmore, Tex., to rescind a sale to him of a certain 25 horse power traction engine, to cancel certain notes given for purchase money of the engine, and for actual damages in the sum of $2,740.75, and $10,000 exemplary damages as against Reeves & Co. and John Felix. In the alternative, it was prayed that he have judgment for the difference in value of the engine delivered and the one contracted for, which was alleged to be $2,600, and for actual damages in the sum of $2,740.75. No cause of action is shown in the petition against the First State Bank of Skidmore, and no judgment was sought by appellant against the bank, so far as the record discloses. The evidence fails to show that the bank had any connection with the ease; it filed no answer; and no disposition seems to have been made of it. The bank is not recognized in the appeal bond. Neither was it a necessary party.
It was alleged in the petition that on or about January 18, 1911, appellant bought a 25 horse power traction engine from John W. Felix, the agent of Reeves & Co., which engine was represented by the vendors to be new, well made, and of good material; that on January 27th Reeves & Co. delivered a traction engine to appellant, and, relying upon the representations of appellees, appellant executed for the purchase money of the engine his promissory notes, aggregating the sum of $2,600, and to secure payment of the same executed a deed of trust on certain land and a chattel mortgage on the traction engine and other personal property. ' It was further alleged that the engine was not a new one, but was secondhand and had been in use for years, and was very defective; that its defects and age had been concealed by paint and polish, so that they could not at first be discovered, but they developed from time to time as the engine was used. Appellees answered by general and special demurrers and general denial, and answered specially, admitting the sale of the engine, its delivery to appellant, his execution of the notes, deed of trust, and chattel mortgage, and prayed for judgment on the notes and foreclosure of' the liens on the land, engine, and other personal property.
The cause was tried without the intervention of a jury, and judgment was rendered that appellant take nothing by his suit; and that appellees recover from appellant thfe sum of $3,028.80, and that .the liens be foreclosed on the engine and appurtenances thereto belonging, and four horses, and on 320.7 acres of land in Bee county, and for all costs of suit.
The court filed the following conclusions of fact, which are adopted by this court: “On the 18th day of January, 1911, the plaintiff and defendants entered into a contract in writing, by the terms of which the defendant Reeves & Co. agreed to deliver to the plaintiff at Skidmore, Tex., one traction engine of 25 horse power, for a consideration of $2,600. On the 27th day of January, 1911, in compliance with the terms of said contract, the said defendants delivered to the plaintiff a 25 horse power engine in the town of Skid-more, Tex. On the 27th day of January, 1911, the plaintiff executed and delivered to said defendants "his four promissory notes for $2,600, together with a mortgage on a certain tract of land and a chattel mortgage on certain personal property, including said engine. It was not specified in said contract whether said engine should be a new one or a secondhand one; but said contract was drawn upon a form used in the sale of new engines, and said engine was represented to be a new engine (save some use thereof on exhibition at the fair grounds at Oklanoma City).”
What has been said about the testimony of Blanchard applies to that of Rendleman, objected to in the fourth assignment of error. The witness was present when the engine came, and stated, without objection, that it was a new engine; and we fail to see how a statement, if it had been made, that it had not been run enough to injure it could have prejudiced appellant. The witness had nine years’ experience with engines. He stated the engine had only been run a little.
The judgment is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.