Myers v. Grantham
Myers v. Grantham
Opinion of the Court
Appellee sued for compensation for services or labors rendered appellant during the year 1912 upon an implied promise by appellant to pay appellee one-hall’ the gross receipts for pasturage received by appellant from various persons who might use appellant’s pasture, which was alleged to be the reasonable value of his services. The services or labor rendered, described in general terms, was riding the pasture fence, keeping them in repair, caring for the stock pastured, and keeping the stock in the pasture. The amount sued for was $25 which was one-half of $50, the gross receipts by appellant for the year. Appellee also sued for a balance of $79.50 due on an express contract, by which appellant promised appellee 5 per cent, of the price paid by A. D. Clem, the buyer for appellant’s land. There were 900 acres alleged to have been sold for $6.50 per acre. All the commission had been paid to appellee except, as alleged, $79.50. Appellant denied both items of indebtedness, answered that he had paid all that the agreement for commission called for, and pleaded accord and satisfaction of the amount of the commission. Also set out several other defensive pleas not necessary to mention. The court submitted special issues to the jury, which answered all questions in favor of ap-pellee. Upon the jury’s verdict, after a re-mittitur of $6, the court rendered judgment against appellant for $100.91.
“You are instructed as part of the law applicable to this case that plaintiff cannot recover of defendant any amount due as commissions for the sale of land.”
The reason urged by appellant for this peremptory instruction to find for appellant appears in the first proposition as follows:
“Where a claim is unliquidated or disputed, payment and acceptance of a loss sum in satisfaction thereof operates as an accord and satisfaction.”
The issue of accord and satisfaction was made by the pleadings, and there was a conflict of evidence upon the issue. The issue was not submitted to the jury. But the submission of the issue was not requested in writing by the appellant. ■ The issue willL be
*533 deemed by this court as found by the trial court to support the judgment. Vernon’s Sayles’ C. St. art. 1985. The facts of the case at bar did not authorize a peremptory instruction because of accord and satisfaction, because accord and satisfaction must be proven as any other agreement. Bergman Produce Co. v. Brown, 172 S. W. 554; Johnson v. Hoover, 165 S. W. 900. The testimony of appellee positively denied any agreement of accord and satisfaction; denied the claim was disputed; showed it was a liquidated claim; denied that the Hast check for an amount, plus the others, less than the whole sum claimed, was either given or accepted in full satisfaction. On the other hand, appellant’s testimony tends to show that appellant told appellee the check was in full'settlement of a disputed claim, and that appellee accepted it with that condition. This conflict in the testimony was decided in favor of appellee by the court, as shown above. The third assignment is overruled.
The error complained of in the ninth assignment is immaterial, as will appear from our discussion of the fourth assignment.
The tenth assignment is that the court should have set aside the verdict and granted a new trial because the verdict is not supported by the evidence, but is contrary thereto. The evidence abundantly supported all the findings of the jury and the judgment. This assignment is overruled
There is no error shown in the record. The judgment is affirmed.
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