Lemma v. Blanding
Lemma v. Blanding
Opinion of the Court
This is an action for an accounting, .growing out of an agreement in writing which provided
It is averred that the defendant furnished the plaintiff 177,539 feet of lumber for selling; that plaintiff furnished $5,074.28 for material and expenses; that the receipts from the sale of the lumber have not been sufficient to reimburse plaintiff for his expenditures; and that defendant refuses to-render an account of the transaction. The defendant claims that he has furnished the plaintiff with 290,000 feet of' lumber under the contract, that the value thereof is in excess of any expenditures made by the plaintiff, and that he has advanced $400 more for making purchases of logs than he has-received from the plaintiff.
The established facts are that the defendant kept no books of account and that he carried on other lumber transactions at the same time he was performing his contract with the plaintiff. Evidence was introduced in his behalf that the lumber belonging to these different deals was kept separate, and that, when the piling had been completed, estimates made-
The money received by the defendant from the plaintiff, ■as well as money received by the defendant in connection with another transaction, was placed in the hands of a merchant and paid out by him on orders from the defendant. 'These different sums of money were not separated or kept distinct by the defendant. Plaintiff purchased and paid for •directly 3,988 feet of logs. The books and papers of the •plaintiff, which were introduced in evidence, showed that the plaintiff had advanced under the contract a total of $5,074.28, •and that he had shipped and sold 182,153 feet of lumber.
The referee made the records furnished by the plaintiff •the basis of his report. He allowed the defendant $11 per M feet on the amount of lumber sold by the plaintiff, less the-•3,988 feet which plaintiff had paid for directly, and credited plaintiff with the amounts advanced for the purchase of logs by the defendant, the amounts paid out for scaling, sawing, and piling, the amounts paid for hauling, shipping, etc., subsequent to the piling, and the amount paid directly by him for logs. The 6,000 feet of culls which were sold for taxes were not considered in the referee’s account. The report allowed •the plaintiff as his share of the profits one half of the difference between the amount received by him from sales and the sum obtained by adding the cost of hauling, shipping, etc., subsequent to the piling, to the amount obtained by multiplying the number of thousands of feet credited to defendant against the plaintiff by $11, the contract price per M feet in the pile.
5 An exception is urged to the reception of plaintiff’s account books in evidence. The entries were shown to have been made under circumstances that made them evidence of their contents. The fact that the entries were made whenever reported as paid or received is substantial compliance with the requirements for making them competent evidence. Nor is there anything before the court of any substantial nature showing inaccuracies or errors in the book entries. The plaintiff laid a sufficient foundation to have the books received in evidence.
• It is contended that the court erred in construing the contract of the parties to the effect that the defendant undertook the purchase of logs, the scaling of the timber, and to saw and pile the lumber at the cost of not to exceed $11 per M feet. The contract specified in one article that the plaintiff was to furnish what money would be required to purchase the “oak timber and logs at a cost not to exceed $1 per M feet,” and in another article that the defendant was to do the buying, sealing, and arrange for sawing and piling the lumber “at a cost not to exceed $4 per M feet,” and that the “total cost of lumber in pile not to exceed $11 per M feet.” It is evident
We find no support in the evidence for the claim that the parties subsequently modified the agreement to the effect that the plaintiff was to share payment of the cost above the stipulated price. The contract thus made and existing between the parties negatives any claim that the defendant had a right to be credited or reimbursed the $400 he furnished for the purchase and manufacture of this lumber. This item was properly excluded from the account stated under the contract. . ,
The court charged the defendant with interest on the sum found due the plaintiff from the defendant on this transaction from May 1, 1901. The provision regarding interest is somewhat obscure. It is that the plaintiff “makes no charge of interest.” Whether this referred to the final settlement or to the time when the lumber had been marketed by the plaintiff is not clear. We find, however, that the statements and accounts upon which the transaction had to be closed and settled were in plaintiff’s possession, and that at no time was the defendant informed of them or in possession of information of the actual amount due from him to the plaintiff-Under these circumstances “the true rule that, except in special circumstances, interest is not to be allowed upon partnership accounts as between partners until the final bal
¡I,>, By the Oourt. — The judgment awarding recovery in the sum of $1,950.09 is modified by reducing the interest to be recovered to $216.08. This, when added to the principal, amounts to $1,610.17, for which judgment is awarded. As so modified the judgment is affirmed, appellant to recover costs on this appeal.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.