Bost v. McCrea
Bost v. McCrea
Opinion of the Court
The appellee, MeCrea, brought suit against the appellant, Bost, on a rental contract, and alleged a breach of the contract by the appellant. He alleged substantially that the terms of the contract were that appellant would lease to appellee certain lands for three years, with an option of a five-year term, and was to furnish teams, tools, implements, and feed, and that appel-lee was to do the work on the land and receive one-half of the crop.
“Where a tenant for years under a written contract was ordered to vacate by the landlord, and chose to do so, it amounted to a termination of the lease contract.”
The appellant requested the following special instruction:
“You are instructed in this case, to return a verdict for the defendant, for the reason that the evidence shows, if any contract was ever made and entered into between the plaintiff and the defendant, then the same was mutually terminated and abandoned by each of the parties thereto.”
The suit is based upon an original and supplemental contract. The original contract was executed between J. Q. Bost, appellant, and J. A. MeCrea, November 17, 1910. The original contract is to the effect that Bost leased to MeCrea for a period of three years — or five years, in case he (Me-Crea) wanted it at the expiration of three years — any number of acres of land from 160 to 500, if MeCrea cared to break it. The tenant was to pay one-half of all grain raised on the land leased, and to place the grain belonging to Bost in his crib or stack. On the 11th day of April, 1911, a supplemental contract was executed. It recited that Bost by the original contract had agreed to furnish land and four horses or mules, feed for the horses, and plows, to MeCrea during the term of said contract; that a dispute arose between the parties in regard to the manner and character of handling the horses. Me-Crea, therefore, agreed to take care of the horses furnished by Bost in a good and reasonable manner, and not overwork and not use the horses for any other work, except work upon the place and in going after and bringing to the place things necessary to be used thereon. MeCrea further agreed to cultivate the land in a good and “workmanlike” manner and in due season, and that he would not in any way interfere with Bost in the possession of the remaining portion of the place. Bost agreed not to interfere with the possession of the land leased to MeCrea under the terms of the original contract, and would not interfere with the horses and other personal property in possession of Me-Crea so long as MeCrea held and used the property as above set out. The recited consideration for the supplemental contract was to settle a dispute between the parties. It appears from the evidence that previous to executing the supplemental contract the appellant and appellee had a difficulty, but settled it by the supplemental contract, and that appellee went back to work on the land. The appellee testified:
“After Mr. Bost and I had entered into this supplemental contract that has been read here, I went back there and went to work. I broke about 18 or 20 acres of grass meadow. I stayed on the place until he ordered me off. It was probably about 10 days after the contract was made that he ordered me off. There was not anything that took place between Mr. Bost and I at that time. He just came up and handed me a letter. He refused to furnish me feed, and 1 went down and bought feed, and he forbid me feeding that. I fed it, and he came down the next day and said, T forbid you feeding any more of that feed to the mulesand I said, ‘Give me a reason; the mules cannot live on the grassand I said, ‘What will you do, if I don’t stop?’ And he said, ‘God damn you, I will kill you.’ ”
About a week after that appellant handed appellee the following letter:
“At Home, April 27, 1911.
“Mr. A. J. MeCrea, At Home — Dear Sir: This is notice to you that I consider that you have violated your contract with me, and is notice for you to quit working my teams and to leave the farm.
“Yours truly, John Q. Bost.”
The appellee further testified:
“After I had had the conversation with him about the feed, and he delivered this notice to me, I walked off. I left. Up to this time I ihad been working on the farm there under my contract.”
The appellant testified that appellee did not properly take care of the mules furnished him, and that he improperly fed them, and a day or so before the notice appellee left the mules for one or two days without water in the lot, or without any one to look after them, and, further, that the land was not properly broken, and that he considered the appellee himself had broken the contract by not taking proper care of the teams and not plowing in a farmerlike manner. He introduced other evidence to show that the land had not been properly plowed. The appellee denied these statements of appellant with reference to improperly breaking the land and improper care of the teams. From the briefs of the parties hereto this appears to be the substance of the evidence upon the breach alleged.
“Where one party assumes to renounce the contract — that is, by anticipation, refuses to perform it — he thereby, so far as he is concerned, declares his intention then and there to rescind the contract. Such a renunciation does not, of course, amount to a rescission of the contract, because one party to a contract cannot by himself rescind it; but by wrongfully making such a renunciation of the contract he entitles the other party, if he pleases, to agree to the contract being put an end to, subject to the retention by him of his right to bring an action in respect to such wrongful rescission. The other party may adopt such renunciation of the contract by so acting upon it as, in effect, to declare that he, too, treats the contract as at an end, except for the purpose of bringing an action upon it for the damages sustained by him in consequence of such renunciation.” Greenwall v. Markowitz, 97 Tex. 479, 79 S. W. 1069, 65 L. R. A. 302; Cornelius v. Harris, 163 S. W. 349.
“The intention to abandon the contract at some future date, is not a breach of it; but, when that intention is declared in positive terms and unconditionally, it has the effect, in so far as the promisor is able to do so, to repudiate the contract itself, and to terminate the contractual relations between the parties. This affords to the other party the opportunity to accept the declarations, if he chooses to do so, and thus make effective the declarations of intention not to perform, rendering the contract' thereby one that is broken on the part of the promisor himself.” Kilgore v. North Texas Baptist, etc., 90 Tex. 139, 37 S. W. 598 ; 9 Cyc. 635 (3a), 724.
*563 The appellant cites the case of Davidson v. Harris, 154 S. W. 689, and tafees the following excerpt from the opinion, where Judge Reese says:
“If appellee was, in fact, ordered to vacate the leased premises, and chose to do so, this amounted to a termination of the lease.”
But the sentence is not completed in the quotation. It continues:
“And entitled appellee to a cancellation of his notes. Whatever rights either party would have would have been by way of damages for breach of the lease contract.”
That was a suit for the cancellation of separate notes for each month’s rent during the term of the lease. We thinfe that case, when properly understood, is in consonance with the rule by the Supreme Court above quoted by us. In the Greenwall Case, supra, it is further said:
“The necessary consequence qf both parties treating the contract as terminated by the renunciation of September 10th, as averred in the petition, was to prevent the accrual of any specific interest plaintiff might, by a different course, have acquired and preserved in the lease, the business to be conducted under it, and the proceeds of the sale of the same. *' * * Upon such a repudiation of an executory agreement by one party, the other may make Ms choice between the two courses open to him, but can neither confuse them together nor take both. It would seem to follow necessarily that the cause of action which plaintiff set up in his pleading entitled him, if sustained by the evidence, to recover * * * for the loss which he sustained from the breach alleged, which was the profit he would have made from the business.”
In this case the contention of appellant is that, because McOrea left the place, it terminated the lease. This may be admitted. In Preston v. Smallwood, 20 N. Y. Supp. 504,i cited by appellant, the court there held the tenant, because he abandoned the premises, could not recover his interest in the crop. So in the Greenwall Case, supra, our Supreme Court held that the necessary consequence in accepting the renunciation precluded the plaintiff from recovering any specific interest he might have acquired in the lease and would have had a different course, etc., but that did not preclude him from suing for damages for a breach of the contract alleged and a recovery therefor, which was held to be the profits he would have made from the business.
The jury found a verdict for appellee for the sum of $1,500. While the testimony is not clear and certain, as in the nature of things it would not be, and while there is also contradiction and conflict, and facts from which an inference could be drawn that ap-pellee was not damaged as much as found by the jury, yet we do not think we would he justified in disturbing the verdict upon the insufficiency of the evidence.
“and you further find that plaintiff could, by the use of ordinary diligence and effort on his part, 'have procured a similar and like contract with other persons, or as much land as lie could cultivate with a like team and tools and implements, that were agreed to be furnished by the defendant, and that he could have and would have produced like crops thereon, then you will find for the defendant for any and all years that xilaintiff could have procured like contracts therefor and so say by your verdict.”
We fail to find any evidence that appellee could have obtained a lease contract, like the one he had with appellant, with other persons for as much land, with like teams, tools, etc. The contract was a lease for the cultivation by appellee for 500 acres, or as much thereof as he desired. The appellee testifies that he could and would have cultivated that much of appellant’s land. The evidence that he could procure but 185 acres, and the facts, we do not think show that the tools, implements, etc., furnished were the same as those contracted to be furnished by appellant.
“5. You are further instructed that in the event you shall find that the contract was breached by defendant, as charged, then it was the duty of plaintiff, under the law, during the remainder of the term of said contract or lease, to exercise ordinary care and diligence to find and lease other premises or seek other employment, to prevent or diminish any damages that might result to him by reason of the breach of the lease contract complained of, if you find same was breached, and the defendant could not be held for any damages that may have resulted to plaintiff by reason of plaintiff’s failure, if any, to exercise such ordinary care and diligence.”
“7. You are further charged that, if you find for the plaintiff damages under the foregoing instructions, you will assess his damages as follows: You will allow Him such sum if any, as you shall find from the evidence to be the rea-, sonable market value on the said leased premises of one-half of the grain which you may find from the evidence plaintiff would in reasonable probability have grown on said premises for the years 1911, 1912, and 1913, deducting therefrom the following items,, to wit: Such expenses other than plaintiff^ own labor that plaintiff would have necessarily expended in cultivating, harvesting, and marketing said crops, and also such sums of money as he has earned since April 27, 1911, during the period of time and including the year 1913; or such sums of money as he could, by the use of ordinary care and diligence, have earned or made during such period of time, at the same or other employment—and the difference, if any, remaining after such deduction, would be the amount of your verdict.”
It will be observed that in paragraph. 5 of the court’s charge the jury were told that it was the “duty” of appellee during the remainder of the term of said contract of lease to exercise ordinary care and diligence to find and lease other premises” to prevent or diminish the damages, and in the seventh paragraph they were charged to deduct such sums as he could have made by the use of ordinary diligence “at the same or other employment.” This charge we think substantially submitted the issue requested by appellant, and that there was no error in refusing the charge of appellant.
We overrule the fifth, sixth, and seventh assignments. The disposition made by us of the preceding assignments, we think, dis? poses of the latter.
We find no such error as will require a reversal of the cause, and it is therefore affirmed.
Reported in full in the New York Supplement: reported as a memorandum decision without opinion in 65 Hun, 624.
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