Meloy v. Peterson
Meloy v. Peterson
Opinion of the Court
The only question for our consideration in this case is whether, under the proof offered by plaintiff, the court ought to have submitted the case to the jury. The court seems to have proceeded on the theory that the sale was of a known farm, of a “lump quantity,” for a definite gross sum. If it was, then the court was right. If not, then *the case should have been submitted to the jury.
The sale was negotiated through defendant’s agent, Main.
A plat of the land drawn from the description in the deed shows that it was of irregular shape, and that it would be quite impossible from a mere inspection of the farm for an
There can be little doubt, under this testimony, but that defendant made express representations as to the quantity of land sold. The fact that she told Mr. Main subsequently that she knew there was not 110 acres of land in the tract is a circumstance tending to show fraud. Construing the testimony, as we must, most favorably to plaintiff, we have then this state of facts: An express representation that there was 110 acres of this land; reliance by plaintiff upon such representation; proof that there was only about 103 acres; knowledge by defendant that such representation was false. Unless it can be said that the contoact so made became merged in the deed, and beyond which the plaintiff cannot go, it is evident the plaintiff would be entitled to submit her case to the jury.
It will be observed that the complaint charges that the representations as to the quantity of land were made with thq fraudulent intent to induce plaintiff to purchase the same and pay the price agreed. The proof alluded to tends to support these allegations. Unlike the case of Ohlert v. Alderson, 86 Wis. 433, the parol evidence offered was not offered here to dispute the contract between the parties, or to show a parol agreement antecedent to the.written contract, but rather to establish the contract as originally made. In that case no question of fraud was raised, and there was no claim that the contract or the deed contained any mention of the quantity of land conveyed or the price per acre. Here the contract as originally made is asserted; but it is claimed that plaintiff was induced to make this contract by the false representations that there was 110 acres of this land, and, retying, upon them, she accepted the deed, supposing that it conveyed that number of acres. It is a fair inference from,
If it be admitted that the evidence shows that the plaintiff was induced to make the contract to pay for 110 acres of land upon the false representation that there was that number of acres, and that she did not know that it was short when she- took her deed, this element of misrepresentation .survived the delivery of the deed, and remains as potential to her as though no deed had been given. The alleged fraud consists in the representation which induced her to contract for, and thereafter to pay for, more land than she actually received. Brooks v. Riding, 46 Ind. 15, is a case clearly in point. Plaintiff represented that a lot he desired to sell was fifty-five feet wide. Defendant did not know the width of
Suppose, in this case, no deed had been given, and defendant was here seeking to enforce the contract. Oould it be claimed for an instant that defendant could compel specific performance, if it were shown, as is here claimed, that the contract was induced by false representations? How is the situation altered when plaintiff accepts a conveyance of the land she has agreed to buy, laboring under the same delusion as when she made the contract. If it was fraudulent to represent that there was more land than there really was, does the giving of a deed according to the precise terms of the contract purge the transaction of the fraud? Just why or how the act of giving the deed possesses any such alche-mistic power is not easily seen. The original taint of fraud surrounds and possesses the deal through all its different stages, until the defendant, with knowledge of the situation, does something that will estop her from claiming the fraud. If the transaction reaches final culmination before any discovery is made, certainly she is not robbed of her remedy. Under well-recognized rules of law, she might have rescinded the contract, or sought redress for the damages sustained. She has chosen the latter remedy. The taint in the original contract inheres in and permeates the whole transaction. Had she accepted the deed with full knowledge, no such question could arise. Under all the canons of the law, her remedy would have been gone. So long as we can say that the evidence tends to prove that the purchase was by the acre, and not of a given tract or known farm; that plaintiff was induced to make her contract to pay for 110 acres of
By the Court.— The judgment of tbe circuit court is reversed. and tbe cause remanded for a new trial.
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