Howard v. Allgood

• Decision Date: 19 June 1915
• Docket Number: 377.
• Citation: 85 S.E. 757,143 Ga. 550
• Parties: HOWARD v. ALLGOOD.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

85 S.E. 757

143 Ga. 550

HOWARD v. ALLGOOD.

No. 377.

Supreme Court of Georgia

June 19, 1915

Syllabus by the Court.

In an action for damages the petition alleged, among other things as follows: A corporation agreed to sell stock to the plaintiff, with a covenant to resell it at a stated price, if at the expiration of one year the purchaser should be dissatisfied and desired to have it resold. "As a guaranty" of this contract, certain officers and directors of the corporation, in writing undertook to "sell or take up" the shares in question at the specified price, and assumed the payment of such amount, as a means of inducing the plaintiff to take the stock from the company. The persons negotiating the trade represented to the plaintiff that these officers and directors were solvent and in good financial and commercial standing, one of them being worth $100,000, another $50,000, and a third from $5,000 to $10,000, which representations were false and fraudulent and, with knowledge of their falseness, were made for the purpose of deceiving the plaintiff and inducing him to take the stock, and did so induce him. The company having failed and gone into bankruptcy, the plaintiff endeavored to communicate with these officers, but they could not be located; and he then found that the representations above mentioned were false, and he thereby lost the amount which he had paid for the stock. Held, that such petition was not subject to general demurrer.

(a) Civil Code 1910, § 4411, dealing with representations to obtain credit for another, does not apply to a transaction like that here involved.

(b) A special demurrer was interposed as to certain allegations of a petition. An amendment was made, striking some of them and altering others, so as to materially change the paragraph to which the special demurrer was directed. Demurrer was again interposed, but the second demurrer did not include a special demurrer, or again raise the question involved in the former special demurrer, but only relied on the general grounds; and the special ground of the first demurrer will be treated as abandoned.

There was no error in overruling the demurrer.

Error from Superior Court, Lowndes County; W. E. Thomas, Judge.

Action by H. C. Allgood against H. W. Howard. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant brings error. Affirmed.

Neel & Neel, of Cartersville, for plaintiff in error.

Mundy & Mundy, of Rockmart, and Patterson &...