Mickelwait v. W. Union Tel. Co.
| Decision Date | 28 January 1901 |
| Parties | MICKELWAIT ET AL. v. WESTERN UNION TEL. CO. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from district court, Pottawattamie county; N. W. Macy, Judge.
Action for damages because of a mistake made in a message received by plaintiffs. A jury was waived, and trial had to the court. From a judgment in plaintiffs' favor, defendant appeals. Reversed.J. B. Rockafellow, for appellant.
Shinn & Stitt, for appellees.
Plaintiffs are engaged in the business of buying and selling grain at the town of Macedonia. On August 27, 1897, one M. T. Russell, of Des Moines, gave to defendant company, for transmission to plaintiffs, the following message: This was an offer of 20 1/2 cents a bushel for No. 3 corn, or better. As delivered by defendant to plaintiffs, the message read: On receipt of the message, plaintiffs went into the market and purchased 18,200 bushels of corn for Russell, paying 20 cents per bushel for 16,400 bushels, and 21 cents per bushel for 1,800 bushels. Russell refused to pay more for it than 20 1/2 cents per bushel, and it was sold him at that price.
Plaintiffs bring this action to recover what they claim to be their damages.
It is apparent from these facts that plaintiffs have suffered no actual money loss. They paid for the corn:
+---------------------------------+
¦16,400 bushels at 20 cents¦$3,280¦
+--------------------------+------¦
¦1,800 bushels at 21 cents ¦378 ¦
+--------------------------+------¦
¦ ¦$3,658¦
+---------------------------------+
They received for it:
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¦18,200 bushels at 20 1/2 cents¦$3,731¦
+------------------------------+------¦
¦Leaving them a profit of ¦73 ¦
+-------------------------------------+
Plaintiffs claim a loss of profits. If this were a case where loss of profits might be considered, still we think they could not recover. The mistake in the message caused them no loss of profits; for, if it had been correctly transmitted, they would have been in the same situation they now are. They obtained from Russell the exact price fixed in his message as it should have been sent. There is no showing that the work of...
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Harris v. Western Union Telegraph Company
...between the price paid and the market price of the goods at the time and place of purchase. 37 Cyc. 1763-5; 92 Ark. 133; 19 S.E. 100; 84 N.W. 1038. 3. recovery can be had for failure to make this purchase, because such failure was not the direct, natural and probable consequence of the erro......
- Mickelwait v. Western Union Telegraph Co.