Day v. Gumaer
Day v. Gumaer
Opinion of the Court
Two questions raised by the pleadings were litigated on the trial. These are: (1) Did defendants warrant the accuracy of Burns’ scale of the logs? and, if so, (2) Was any shortage proved ? The jury answered both of these questions in the affirmative, else they could not have found for plaintiffs. As to the first question, the learned counsel for defendants conceded in his argument that the testimony was sufficient to support a finding that the warranty was made as claimed by plaintiffs. This concession was advisedly made, for there can be no doubt the testimony fully supports such finding.
The jury assessed damages at $4,539. They were instructed, if they found for plaintiffs, to allow interest at seven per cent, on damages from the time plaintiffs demanded of defendants a settlement for the shortage, which demand the proofs show was made one year before the trial. Plaintiffs paid defendants for 2,305,397 feet at $5175 per thousand. A computation based upon these data will show that the jury found a shortage of 737,739 feet, which, at $5.75 per thousand feet, amounts to $4,242. Add interest for one year ($297), and we have $4,539, which is the amount of the verdict. Hence the jury allowed the defendants for 1,567,658 feet of logs delivered under the contract. This is nearly 400,000 feet in excess of the mill scale.
Does the testimony of the alleged shortage support the verdict? This question involves an inquiry as to the number of the logs delivered to plaintiffs, and the quantity of lumber contained in them. Burns’ scale showed 19,038 logs. The mill scale showed only 15,210. The logs were delivered to plaintiffs as they were banked on Spirit river, and they took upon themselves the obligation and risk of
As already stated, the jury found that the logs delivered to plaintiffs contained only 1,567,658 feet of lumber. This is an average of 82-J- feet per log, or about 12-J logs to the 1,000 feet. The mill scale showed an average of about 12.9 logs to the 1,000 feet, which is more favorable to the plaintiffs than the finding of the jury. We are opinion that the
Several errors are assigned upon certain rulings of the court on objections to testimony. Many of these rulings are manifestly correct. If' any of them are not, we are unable to perceive how they could affect the verdict or harm the defendants. The charge of the court seems to state the law of the case correctly. Further reference to these alleged errors is unnecessary. We find in the record no reason for disturbing the judgment.
By the Court.— The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.