Gillespie v. Gray
Gillespie v. Gray
Opinion of the Court
This is the second appeal of this case. 214 S. W. 730. In each of the two trials Gray obtained judgment, and for the same amount, and the questions raised here were practically all adjudicated in the first appeal. The case is fully stated in the former opinion, to which reference is here made for such statement in detail. It will be sufficient here to state, generally, that appellant owned the land in controversy, and in August, 1913, sold it to appellee, by the acre, at the agreed price of $100 an acre, up‘on appellant’s express representation that *1028 the tract conveyed contained 128 acres. The deed of conveyance described by metes and bounds an area of 128 acres, and appellee paid for 128 acres; but as a matter of fact appellant had title to and could actually convey only 114 acres. The 114 acres were within an old inclosure marking the boundary, while the remaining 14 acres included within the description in, the deed lay outside the inclosure. Appellant thought he owned and had title to the entire acreage described, and there being no bad faith involved, the error was purely a mistake into which all concerned were led. The high character and reputation of appellant, the manner of his representations about the acreage, all the circumstances surrounding and following the transactions, were such as prevented appellee, in the exercise of ordinary diligence, from discovering, until August, 1917, when he actually made such discovery, that there was a shortage in the acreage he had paid for. The difference between the value of the acreage appellee paid for, and* the value of that to which appellant delivered title to him, was $1,400, which amount appellee recovered, with interest. The findings of the jury embrace the foregoing facts, which were fully supported by the evidence. The deed to the land was made on September 4, 1913, but appellee did not get possession until January 1, 1914. This suit was filed November 2, 1917.
The measure of damages in this case was defined by the trial court in its charge to the jury to be “the difference between the value of the property as sold, and the value of the property as actually received by” ap-pellee. As appellant does not complain of the form or substance of this charge, we will not discuss it, or express any opinion as to whether or not it correctly states the true measure of damages applicable to actions of this nature, the latest authoritative definition of which seems to be that set out in Vogt v. Smalley (Com. App.) 210 S. W. 511, as follows:
“The correct rule is that plaintiff’s damage is measured by the difference between the price paid by him for the land which it was represented that he was receiving by his deed of conveyance and the value of what he actually received as of the date óf his purchase, with interest.”
The conclusions we have set out require us to overrule all of appellant’s assignments of error, and affirm the judgment of the court below.
Affirmed.
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