Jahncke Service v. Heaslip
| Decision Date | 08 November 1954 |
| Docket Number | No. 20348,20348 |
| Citation | 76 So.2d 463 |
| Parties | JAHNCKE SERVICE, Inc., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. L. W. HEASLIP, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
Dart, Guidry, Price & Read and Henry P. Dart, III, New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellant.
Marcus & Steeg, Moise S. Steeg, Jr., New Orleans, for defendant-appellee.
Plaintiffs, Jahncke Service, Inc., claims of defendant, L. W. Heaslip, $439.18 as the unpaid purchase price of certain building materials and supplies which it alleges it sold to plaintiff. Defendant, while admitting that the materials and supplies were sold and delivered and that the prices are correct and that payment has not been made, denies that the sales were made to him or that he received the articles, and avers that the sales were made to L. W. Heaslip, Inc., a corporation. From a judgment dismissing the suit plaintiff has appealed.
The facts are not in dispute. Prior to December 19, 1947, L. W. Heaslip was engaged in business in and around New Orleans as a general contractor. In 1945 or 1946 he called upon Fred W. Hellbach, the credit manager of the Jahncke Company and requested that a line of credit be extended to him. His request was granted and in his contracting business orders placed by him were delivered to him by the Jahncke Company.
On December 19, 1947, Heaslip, because of the hurricane of September, 1947, became financially involved and he formed a corporation known as L. W. Heaslip, Inc., to take over the contracting business which he had theretofore conducted. Up to that time all bills rendered to Heaslip by the Jahncke Company were paid by Heaslip individually.
The record contains no reference to any transactions between the time of the organization of the Heaslip corporation and the beginning of the year 1952, but it does appear that between January 24, 1952, and March 7, 1952, seventeen sales were made by the Jahncke Company, the smallest for $8.34 and the largest for $239.17. All of these sales, so far as can be ascertained from the record, were on orders received from L. W. Heaslip. He contends that in placing each order he was acting for the corporation of which he was President and General Manager.
When each of these orders was received by the Jahncke Company, the charge was entered on its books as a sale to L. W. Heaslip and in each case an invoice was issued to L. W. Heaslip. In none of these book entries and in none of these invoices did the name of the corporation appear.
The record shows, however, that all but one of these seventeen orders were paid for by five checks of L. W. Heaslip, Inc. These checks are in the record and each bears the printed name of L. W. Heaslip, Inc., at the top and again just above the signature. Each of these checks was signed by L. W. Heaslip, President and R. M. Crane, Secretary-Treasurer. The other or sixth payment was made by check which is not in the record, but which is shown to have been issued by L. W. Heaslip, Inc., and its 'surety.' Apparently at that time the Heaslip corporation had encountered financial difficulties and the surety, on its contractor's bond, joined with Heaslip in making that payment.
Still later the materials and supplies, on which this suit is based, were sold all on the order of L. W. Heaslip who again says that in placing these orders he was acting for the Heaslip corporation and not for himself individually.
It is conceded by Heaslip that at no time until long after the delivery of these orders was any express notice given to the Jahncke Company that the purchases which were being made were for account of the Heaslip corporation.
It is the contention of the Jahncke Company that it extended the credit to Heaslip individually, and that, since it was never notified that the later purchases were being made by and for the Heaslip corporation, it was justified in assuming that all of the purchases which were ordered by Heaslip were for his individual account and that it had no means of knowing that they were for the Heaslip corporation, and plaintiff points to the fact that on every one of the seventeen prior invoices, all of which were paid, the sale was shown to have been made to L. W. Heaslip. Plaintiff also shows that this was true in every one of the thirteen invoices for which payment has not been made and which are involved in this suit. All were issued to L. W. Heaslip and not to the Heaslip corporation.
Defendant, on the other hand, points to the fact that though the seventeen invoices, showing purchases for...
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Pack v. Wise
...for him as the debtor for the printing of the subsequent issues. Hayes v. Claterbaugh, La.App.Orl., 140 So.2d 737; Jahncke Service v. Heaslip, La.App.Orl., 76 So.2d 463. Whether Wise was entitled to rely on Pack's continued personal responsibility for the enterprise might be considered a ve......
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Air Waves, Inc. v. Link
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