G. Ober & Sons Co. v. Wm. G. Smith, Inc.
G. Ober & Sons Co. v. Wm. G. Smith, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the 'court.
The decree complained of by appellant and upon which cross-errors are assigned by appellee was based upon three master commissioners’ reports, made by the same commissioner on successive recommittals to him of the cause and his reports as first made, to none of which report .was any exception taken by the appellant. To the commissioner’s reports first filed the appellee took exceptions, raising the questions arising upon said cross-assignments of error.
This condition of the record renders it unnecessary for us to state in detail the facts of the case bearing on the appellant’s assignment of error. And in the view we take of it, the following outline of the facts and statement of the questions raised on appeal by appellants and by the appellees will be sufficient.
The appellant is a manufacturer of fertilizer and the appellee (as-it must be taken to be upon the issues made in the cause before us) was appellant’s agent for its sale. The
The appellee, in accordance with the contract, was to endorse farmers’ notes taken for all sales of fertilizer on time, thereby making itself liable thereon to appellant as surety for the payment of such notes. Accordingly, appellee endorsed all of such notes, so taken, aggregating quite a large amount; the particular notes on which appellee was relieved from liability by the decree complained of aggregated, however, only $2,190.85; and under such contract appellee gave a bond, to appellants, with Wm G. Smith and Mrs. Nannie V. Smith as sureties, covering the amount of certain prices of all fertiliser shipped to appellee, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the latter as agent, etc.
The appellant was entitled to the custody and control, under the provisions of the contract aforesaid, of the farmers’ notes -aforesaid which were uncollected on October 6, 1910, because the appellee then, without the consent of appellant, ceased all attention to the business of said agency and accepted other employment in the State of Florida from that date until the latter part of May, 1911. Further—
At the time of such breach of contract by appellee, although 1,176-1/6 tons of fertilizer had been sold .by appellee, as much as 1,000 tons had not been collected for by it, or by it and appellant.
The decree complained of contains the following adjudications, which are drawn in question, namely:
(b) It further decreed that the appellee be “absolved and released * * * from further liability * * * as endorser” on said notes; and that upon the payment by appellee to appellant of said sum of $1,313.23, with interest as, aforesaid, .“both the said defendant (appellee) and its surety upon a certain bond herein filed” (being the bond above mentioned) “shall be absolved, and released.”
Appellant complains of the provisions of said decree referred to in sub-paragraph (b) next above, and urges that the evidence returned with said commissioner’s reports is insufficient to sustain the decree in this particular, in that it does not show such laches or other conduct on the part of appellant as would release the appellee from his. liability as endorser aforesaid. This is the sole assignment of error by appellant. We will first consider this assignment of error.
1. Whether there was such conduct amounting to such failure on the part of the appellant to perform its duties under said contract as in equity relieved the appellee as endorser of said notes from liability to the appellant (plain-;tiff in the court below), on the principle that he who asks equity must do equity, depended upon the conduct of the' appellant as shown by the evidence before the commissioner..
In his first report the commissioner reached the conclusion from the evidence before him that the appellee was-“not liable in any way (as endorser or otherwise) to the' plaintiff (appellant) on account of said notes” and so reported. As above stated, there was no exception to that:
The cross-assignments of error of appellee involve two questions only, which will be considered in their order as stated below, which were" raised by exceptions by appellee to the two commissioner’s reports aforesaid first filed.
2- Were the commissioner’s reports and the decree aforesaid thereon correct in allowing the appellee its compensation of $2.00 per ton only on the proceeds of fertilizer sales collected by appellee and appellant and received by appellant and not on the gross sales by appellee?
The commissioner reports sales by appellee of 1,177-1/6 tons of fertilizer and allowed appellee his compensation above mentioned of $2.00. per ton on all proceeds of such sales which were collected by appellant and appellee and received by appellant and which will be received when appellee shall have paid to appellant the $1,313.23 balance due to the latter above mentioned. The decree complained of by appellee made the same allowance.' Appellee claims, however, that it should have been allowed said $2.00 per ton on all of its sales of 1,177-1/6 tons of fertilizer, regardless of
3. Were the commissioner’s reports and the decree complained of thereon correct in failing to allow the appellee the $500 bonus aforesaid? .
By the terms of the contract aforesaid, as shown by the evidence in this cause, the bonus in question was not agreed to be paid unless and until the appellee should sell, collect and settle with appellant for as much as 1,000 tons of fer-
For the foregoing reasons, we are of opinion to affirm the decree complained of, both as to the assignment of error by the appellant and 'the cross-assignments of error by the appellee.
Affirmed•
Reference
- Full Case Name
- G. Ober & Sons Company, Inc. v. Wm. G. Smith, Inc.
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- Syllabus
- 1. Appeal and ERROR-^Commissioner’s Report—Exceptions.—Where on the face of the report of a commissioner no error is apparent, and no exception thereto was taken by appellant in the court below, it is too late to raise the objection on appeal. The evidence in the cause cannot be looked to by the appellate court to ascertain whether the commissioner’s conclusions were sustained or not sustained by the evidence. The conclusion of the commissioner and the adjudication of the court below based thereon are final and conclusive upon the appellant and are not open to review in the appellate court. 2. Principal and Agent—Commissions:—A contract of agency provided that the compensation of the agent of a manufacturer of fertilizer should be $2.00 per ton on all sales of fertilizer by him, with additional compensation of a bonus of $500.00 when the agent should sell, collect and settle with the manufacturer for as much as 1,000 tons of the fertilizer. The agent was to endorse notes of farmers taken for all sales of fertilizer on time. The manufacturer became entitled to the custody and control of the notes under the provisions of the contract, because the agent, without the consent of the manufacturer, ceased to pay any attention to the business of the agency and accepted other employment in another State. Held: That, the withdrawal of the notes by'the manufacturer and the undertaking of the collection of them by him to the exclusion of the agent, was not a breach of the contract on • the part of the manufacturer. 3. Principal and Agent—Commissions.—A contract of agency provided that the compensation of the agent of a manufacturer of fertilizer should be $2.00 per ton on all sales of fertilizer by him, with an additional compensation of a bonus of $500.00 when the agent should sell, collect and settle with the manufacturer for as much as 1,000 tons of the fertilizer. The agent sold more than 1,000 tons of fertilizer but did not collect for 1,000 tons. Further, the agent breached his contract with the manufacturer by accepting employment in another State and giving no further attention to the business of the agency or the collections. Held: That, this breach of contract by the agent abrogated the promise in respect to the bonus.