Anderson v. Hall

• Decision Date: 16 February 1918
• Docket Number: No. 20089.,20089.
• Citation: 273 Mo. 307,202 S.W. 539
• Parties: ANDERSON v. HALL.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

202 S.W. 539

273 Mo. 307

ANDERSON v. HALL.

No. 20089.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 2.

February 16, 1918.

Rehearing Denied April 9, 1918.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Jackson County; Thomas B. Buckner, Judge.

Action by Alice J. Anderson against Nathan J. Hall. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Reversed and remanded.

Plaintiff recovered judgment against the defendant for $10,160 as damages for the breach of his alleged contract to purchase and pay for a farm. Defendant has appealed.

The case was here on a former appeal and is reported in 188 S. W. at page 79.

The plaintiff, in writing, leased to J. H. Lipscomb of Kansas City a farm of about 800 acres at Aullville, Lafayette county, in this state, for a term of three years ending on March 1, 1911. In the same writing she gave Lipscomb an option on the land at $36,000, and gave him also the power to sell the farm any time during the lease; he to have all excess over that sum. The evidence on both sides shows that said farm was sometimes called the "Jo Shelby farm," and sometimes called the "Anderson farm."

Defendant was a resident of Kansas City, but spent much of his time looking after his live stock interests in Texas. He had a secretary and financial agent, R. B. Thornton, in Kansas City, who paid his accounts and furnished defendant's family with money from defendant's funds as they needed it. Lipscomb took the defendant and defendant's daughter over the farm to inspect it. He also took Thornton to see it. Lipscomb testified that he was paying Thornton a commission in the matter. There is no evidence in the case to indicate that defendant knew that his agent Thornton was in the pay of the other side.

We will now set out the correspondence between the parties, giving all the contents of the letters so far as they are material here, and leaving out the remainder.

Exhibit 2. "May 10, 1909. Mr. Nathan Hall, 115 Garfield Ave., City—My Dear Mr. Hall: From the conversation I had with your daughter, I know that she wants very much the 800 acre farm at Aullville, but I am also satisfied that she will be governed entirely by what you say. [Signed] J. H. Lipscomb."

Exhibit 3. "September 18, 1909. Mr. Nathan Hall, Junction, Texas—My Dear Mr. Hall: I suppose, of course, that you have abandoned the idea of purchasing the 800 acre farm, but I would regard it as a great personal favor if you would send me the letter which Mr. White wrote in answer to yours to him asking about the Lafayette county farm. [Signed] J. H. Lipscomb."

Exhibit 4. "Junction, Texas, September 26, 1909. Mr. J. H. Lipscomb, K. C., Mo.—Dear Sir: I have abandoned the idea of purchasing Anderson farm at price asked. If you want to present another offer to Mrs. Anderson I will make you a proposition. I will give $54,000.00 for the farm provided I could get possession any time soon in payments as follows: $20,000 down the balance vendor lien notes payable on or before two years at 5 per cent. interest. Complete abstract and titles to be furnished at her expense. If this proposition suits you I will take chances on buying the farm. [Signed] N. J. Hall."

Exhibit 5. "December 15th, 1909. Mr. Nathan Hall, Richland Springs, Texas—Dear Sir: On November 30 I wrote you what I thought was a very persuasive letter but it seems that I was entirely mistaken and you have not even answered it. I do not like to take your failure to answer my letter as a refusal on your part to buy the farm. [Signed] J. H. Lipscomb."

Exhibit 6. "January 12, 1910. Mr. Nathan Hall, Richland Springs, Texas—Dear Mr. Hall: I am not going to take your failure to answer my last two letters as an evidence that you are not interested in the 800 acre farm nor as an evidence that you are opposed to hearing from me. [Signed] J. H. Lipscomb."

Exhibit 7. "Feb. 11, 1910. Mr. Nathan Hall, Richland Springs. Texas—My Dear Mr. Hall: If you will pay $56,000 for the 800 acre farm I will give you possession immediately; that is within 30 days, or if you do not care to look after it this year I can allow you $2,000.00 for rent until March 1, 1911. You offered $54,000 for the place. Please let me hear from you at once. Yours truly, J. H. Lipscomb."

Exhibit 8. "February 12, 1910. Mr. Nathan J. Hall, Richland Springs, Texas—Dear Mr. Hall: I cannot keep from insisting on your buying the 800 acre farm in Lafayette county. [Signed] J. H. Lipscomb."

Exhibit 9. "Richland Springs, Texas 2-16-10. Mr. J. H. Lipscomb—Dear Sir: Will say yours of the 2-11-10 came to me yesterday. Now I don't know that I can raise the amount a money necessary to buy the farm, however if the parties will come to my offer I will see if I can raise the money to comply with my offer of $54 thousand dollars. Yours truly, N. J. Hall."

Exhibit 10. "February 26, 1910. Mr. Nathan J. Hall, Richland Springs, Texas—My Dear Mr. Hall: Your favor of the 16th inst. at hand. I shall undertake to have your proposition accepted. Please notify me, or Mr. Thornton, just how you want the deferred payments. In your last letter you proposed to pay $20,000 cash and the balance in one or two years at 5 per cent. If I can have your proposition accepted, this arrangement as to payments will be satisfactory. [Signed] J. H. Lipscomb."

Exhibit 11. "Richland Springs, Texas 3-2-10. Mr. R. B. Thornton—Dear Sir: Your letter received also one from J. H. Lipscomb in regards to the sale of the Jo Shelby farm. You can say to Mr. Lipscomb that my offer of $54,000.00, $20,000.00 cash, balance in one and two years at 5 per cent. per annum, he to furnish a complete abstract clear of all liens of all kinds. You may say to him that at the time I made him the offer I had the $20,000.00 in the bank, but I have been making some investments and it may take me a few days to raise this money, and I do not care to raise it unless I make this deal; and if I make the deal I will want possession at once or by Apr. 1st at least. Now if he can close deal at once you can telegraph me and I will come and raise the money and close the trade. If I hear nothing from you or Mr. Lipscomb I will leave about the 20th for my ranch in Kimball Co. I think this is a bad trade for me as I will have to spend so much money in repairs on this place and if I had not of made the offer I would not make it now. Yours respectfully. In the meantime look around where I can get ten or twenty thousand or $50,000.00 at 4 per cent. on my Main street house. If I can get 4 per cent. money I will pay all case(?). Yours respectfully, N. J. Hall." Exhibit 12. "R. C. C. Night Message. The Western Union Telegraph Company. K. C. Mo., March 5th, 1910. To Nathan J. II ill, Richland Springs, Texas. Proposition to purchase Anderson farm at fifty-four thousand dollars is hereby accepted. Come at once. J. H. Lipscomb, Agent."

Defendant objected to each and all of those documents as evidence on the ground that they did not constitute a contract on the part of the defendant to purchase the land. The objections were overruled. A few days after the date of said telegram, the defendant came home, but refused to proceed with the deal. At the close of plaintiff's evidence, and again at the close of all the evidence in the cause, the defendant asked an instruction in the nature of a demurrer to the evidence which was refused.

Otto Basye and Ben T. Hardin, both of Kansas City, for appellant. Joseph S. Rust, of Kansas City, for respondent.

ROY, C. (after stating the facts as above).

I. The demurrer to the plaintiff's evidence forces upon our consideration points which were not called to this court's attention on the former appeal.

II. The whole of a contract for the conveyance of real estate must be in writing. Its terms cannot be eked out by parol. Meramec P. C. & A. M. Co. v. Kreis, 261 Mo. 160, loc. cit. 169, 168 S. W. 1148.

III. We will now consider the correspondence between the parties as above set out, to see if any contract In writing was agreed upon by the parties.

Exhibit 4 shows an offer by defendant of $54,000 on the terms there named for the "Anderson farm." If that offer had been accepted, even by parol, it would have been binding on the defendant.

Lipscomb, in Exhibit 7, refused that offer in effect by making another proposition to the defendant.

Exhibit 9 cannot be considered as a definite offer to take the land at the price named. That letter says:

"Now I don't know that I can raise the amount of money necessary to buy the farm, however if the parties will come to...