Bolds v. Woods
| Decision Date | 29 March 1894 |
| Docket Number | 1,097 |
| Citation | 36 N.E. 933,9 Ind.App. 657 |
| Parties | BOLDS v. WOODS |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
From the Adams Circuit Court.
Judgment reversed.
P. B Manly, E. E. Friedline, J. J. M. La Follette and O. H. Adair for appellant.
J. F France, J. E. K. France, J. T. France and J. T. Merryman, for appellee.
Woods sued Bolds, and recovered damages of him for alleged fraud and deceit in the exchange of real estate.
The overruling of the appellant's demurrer to the appellee's amended complaint is claimed to be reversible error.
It appears from the averments of the complaint, that in June, 1890, the parties were both residents of Adams county, Indiana, and that Woods was the owner of a steam flouring mill situated in the town of Geneva, in said county, upon lot No. 256, in said town, which then was, and still is, of the value of $ 8,500; that Bolds was at that time, and is still, a resident of said town of Geneva, and a prominent citizen and business man of the town, engaged in a general dry goods, grocery, and notion trade, and that for more than three years before said time the appellee and appellant had been, and, at the time of the transaction complained of, still were, having business relations with each other which were of a pleasant and agreeable character, the appellee selling to the appellant flour, to be retailed by the latter at his store; that appellant handled and sold flour for appellee on commission during said time, and the appellee purchased from the appellant dry goods, groceries, and notions, and that business transactions between the parties were of daily occurrence during the whole period of said three years; that in the year 1888, the appellee was contemplating erecting said flouring mill in said town of Geneva, and was preparing to do so on condition that the citizens of said town should raise a certain bonus or subscription for the appellee, and that appellant took hold of said subscription matter, and was the leading and moving spirit in said transaction, and that through his influence and aid said subscription and bonus was raised, and the appellee did erect said mill, and that by reason of their business and social relations the appellant gained the confidence of appellee, and the reliance in his honesty and integrity, and fully believed and relied upon all his statements in business matters and transactions; that appellant was, in June, 1890, and for a long time had been, the owner of two hundred and twenty acres of land in Gray county, Kansas, near the town of Ingalls, the description of which is given in the complaint; that said land was, and is, about one thousand miles distant from the county of Adams, in Indiana; that appellant had, before the time hereinafter stated, frequently been to visit said land in Kansas, and to improve the same, and for about one year lived upon or near the same, all of which appellee well knew; that in June, 1890, the appellee was sick and crippled and unable to travel about by reason of such condition, and by reason thereof was unable to run, operate, and manage said flouring mill, and the business connected therewith, as the appellant then and there well knew; that appellee and appellant were then negotiating a trade of said land for said flouring mill; that appellee had never seen said land, and had no knowledge of its location, condition, value, and quality, except what he derived from the statements of appellant in relation thereto, as appellant then and there well knew, and that during such negotiations the appellee then and there informed the appellant that he was unable, by reason of said sickness, to go to the State of Kansas to see said land, and had no way of ascertaining its condition, location, value, and quality, and that he did not intend to go and see the same, but would rely fully upon appellant's word and statements as to its condition, location, value, and quality; and then and there said to the appellant that he had confidence in his truthfulness and honesty, and did not believe appellant would make any false or untruthful statements concerning said land, and said to appellant that in case they should exchange said properties he would take and rely upon the statements of appellant in relation to the location, condition, value, and quality of said land, and the appellant being then and there fully advised, and knowing of the appellee's sick condition, as aforesaid, and knowing that he was unable to go and see said land, and unable to ascertain anything about its condition, location, value, and quality, except as he learned it from appellant, and fully knowing that appellee would rely on and believe whatever he might say concerning said land, and knowing of the great confidence and reliance the appellee put in him, the appellant did then and there wrongfully take advantage of appellee and of his reliance and confidence, and did then and there falsely and fraudulently represent and state to the appellee that said Kansas land was, by reason of its close proximity to the said town of Ingalls, the county seat of Gray county, Kansas, and its location, condition, and quality, of the value of twenty-five dollars per acre, and that the same could be readily sold for said price at any time; and he further falsely and fraudulently stated that it was as good and valuable land as there was in Gray county, Kansas; and he further falsely and fraudulently stated to appellee that said land was within one mile of said town of Ingalls, county seat, as aforesaid; and he further falsely and fraudulently stated that said land was under good cultivation; and, further, that said town of Ingalls had a population, at that time, of five hundred inhabitants; and, further, that said land was good farming land, was well improved with good buildings and fences; and, further, that said land had theretofore produced good crops of all kinds; that said appellee, then and there having great confidence and reliance in the honesty and truthfulness of said appellant, relied upon and believed all of said statements herein set out, and then and there traded his flouring mill property in Geneva, Adams county, Indiana, to said appellant for his said real estate in Gray county, Kansas; that in said trade it was agreed and understood between the parties that said flouring mill should be valued and taken in, in said trade, at the sum of $ 8,500, and that said lands should be valued and taken in at $ 25 per acre, being the total sum of $ 5,500, and that the appellant should pay the appellee the sum of $ 3,000, all of which was done, and appellant paid the appellee said sum of $ 3,000, and executed and delivered to him a deed of conveyance for said 220 acres of land in Kansas, and appellee, still believing and relying upon the statements theretofore made as being true, did then and there execute and deliver to the appellant a good and sufficient deed, fully conveying to him said flouring mill property; and appellee further says, that said representations and statements hereinbefore set out concerning the condition, location, quality, and value of said Kansas land were each and all of them false and fraudulent, as the appellant then and there well knew; that said Kansas land was not, by reason of its close proximity to the town of Ingalls, the county seat of Gray county, Kansas, its location, condition, and quality, of the value of $ 25 per acre, but, in truth and in fact, was only then of the value of $ 5 per acre, and that said land could not then be sold at any time for $ 25 per acre, nor for more than $ 5 per acre; that said land was not then as good and valuable land as there was in Gray county, Kansas, but was in truth and in fact only of the value of $ 5 per acre, and was very poor land; that in truth and in fact there was at that time other good and valuable land in Gray county, Kansas, of the value of $ 40 per acre; that said land was not within one mile of the town of Ingalls, the county seat of Gray county, Kansas, but was, in truth and in fact, a distance of four miles or more from said town; that said land was not then under good cultivation, but that, in truth and in fact, it never had, at any time, been cultivated at all; that said town of Ingalls had not then a population of five hundred inhabitants, but that, in truth and in fact, it had, at that time, only about one hundred and fifty inhabitants; that said land was not then good farming land, and was not well improved with good buildings and fences, but, in truth and in fact, was very poor farming land, and had no buildings, fences, or other improvements thereon whatever; that said land had not theretofore produced good crops of all kinds, but had produced no crops of any kind whatever,--all of which statements and representations heretofore set out and mentioned were each and all of them falsely, fraudulently, and purposely made for the sole purpose of cheating and defrauding the appellee out of his flouring mill property, as the appellant then and there well knew; that appellant, at the time of said trade, as aforesaid, knew that appellee relied on and believed all the statements made by appellant to him, as aforesaid, and that appellee was induced to make said trade by reason of said false and fraudulent statements, by reason of all of which appellee has sustained damages in the sum of $ 5,000, for which he demands judgment, and for all other and proper relief.
It is earnestly insisted by the appellant's counsel, that all the averments of the complaint are directed to the question of the value of the land only, and that no action for damages can be maintained for mere misrepresentations of the value of the property sold or given in exchange.
It is the general rule that false representations of...
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