Remington Rand v. Sugarland Industries
| Decision Date | 23 November 1938 |
| Docket Number | No. 10640.,10640. |
| Citation | 122 S.W.2d 729 |
| Parties | REMINGTON RAND, Inc., v. SUGARLAND INDUSTRIES. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
This action was brought by Remington Rand, Inc., against the Sugarland Industries in the district court of Fort Bend County, to recover rentals claimed to be due on certain accounting machines leased by the plaintiff to defendant, aggregating the sum of $2,176.12.
The trial, which was before the court without a jury, resulted in a judgment for defendant. The court, at the request of plaintiff, made and filed findings of fact and conclusions of law.
The following pertinent facts were proved:
By written contract, dated September 2, 1932, plaintiff leased to defendant certain accounting machines consisting of two Automatic Key Punches, one Alphabetical Key Punch, one Sorter, and one 6-unit Printing Tabulator.
On December 15, 1930, plaintiff's predecessor in business had leased certain equipment to defendant under the same terms as the contract of September 2, 1932, above referred to, except that the property listed in this contract was described as two Alphabetical Key Punching Machines, one Sorting Machine, and 1 6-unit Printing Tabulator. This contract was in force at the time of the execution of the contract dated September 2, 1932, and all of the property described in the latter contract was in the possession of defendant, having been installed prior to September 2, 1932.
On December 7, 1933, defendant executed and forwarded to plaintiff a purchase order for 1 Model 2-620 Alphabetical Tabulator at the price of $225 per month. This tabulator was delivered to defendant on or about May 1, 1934, and the tabulator then in use by defendant was removed by plaintiff and no rental was claimed or charged on the machine that was removed after that date.
The contract of September 2, 1932, provided that the lease should continue in force with respect to each machine installed for the term of one year "from the date each such machine is placed on rental". It provided for the cancellation of the contract at the expiration of one year "provided 30 days notice in writing of the desire to terminate the same shall have been sent by registered mail by either party to the other before the expiration of 11 months after the date each machine is placed on rental."
The defendant, more than 30 days before expiration of 11 months before September 1, 1934, notified plaintiff of its desire to terminate said contract, including purchase order No. 572. This notice was received by plaintiff in due time. All rentals for all said property were paid by defendant up to September 2, 1934. No rental subsequent to that date was tendered by defendant, and none of the rented property was used by defendant after September 2, 1934.
Plaintiff contended that under said contract rental on each machine installed accrued from the date of installation thereof, and that defendant is indebted to plaintiff in the following amounts: $1,800, rental on the model 2 alphabetical tabulator for 7 and a fraction months; $60, rental on the automatic key punch for 4 months; $158.06, rental on the M-20 Sorter for 4½ months; $158.06, rental on the alphabetical key punch for 4½ months.
Plaintiff contended that the contract of September 2, 1932, was plain and unambiguous, and that parol testimony was not permissible to contradict or vary its terms; that in the event there was an ambiguity in said contract, which they denied, the defendant, having failed to plead such ambiguity, was estopped from so contending; that the court had exceeded its discretion in allowing defendant to file two trial amendments setting up the various defenses on which it relied. They further contended that the court committed reversible error in admitting the testimony of Walter F. Burer, a representative of defendant, in reference to conversations with P. F. O'Deay, a representative of plaintiff, and one Lee Curtis, an attorney, as to the legal effect and meaning of certain terms of said contract.
Defendant's contentions, briefly stated, are that since September 2, 1932 was the execution date of said contract, that date would be the installation date of the punches and sorter, the equipment installed prior to September 2, 1932, and would fix determination of the annual period of rental, and that any future anniversary date would be the date on which the contract could be terminated, after giving notice of such intention not less than 30 days before such anniversary date; that the anniversary date for termination purposes was September 2, and that defendant gave notice of its intention to terminate said contract on September 2, 1934, more than 30 days before that date, and tendered all of said leased property to plaintiff; that if order No. 572 was not a part of said contract it could be terminated at any time after reasonable notice. A notice having been given, the contract made thereby ended on September 2, 1934, and no rentals thereafter accrued; that the words and terms of said contract were ambiguous and that the court properly found that the objects remaining subject to the two contracts were not placed on rental or installed prior to its date, September 2, 1932; that the tabulator covered by order No. 572 was not additional equipment, but was substituted for the removed tabulator, with the same effect as if placed on rental on September 2, 1932; that to permit the contract to terminate on different dates as to the several articles constituting the whole would be unreasonable, unjust, and injurious, while the construction given the contract by the court was just and fair to all parties.
The trial court in his conclusions found in effect that the contract dated September 2, 1932, and purchase order No. 572, were ambiguous in many of their terms. He found that the alphabetical tabulator referred to in said order No. 572 and installed on May 1, 1934, was not additional equipment but was equipment to be substituted for original equipment that had been installed prior to September 2, 1932, and would carry the same installation date as the original tabulator involved and referred to in the contract of September 2, 1932, and that such was the meaning intended by both parties to the contract; that...
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- Remington Rand, Inc. v. Sugarland Industries
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Murphy v. Dilworth, 10525.
...Nat. Bank v. Rush, Tex.Com.App., 210 S.W. 521; Guardian Trust Co. v. Bauereisen, Tex.Sup., 121 S.W.2d 579; Remington Rand v. Sugarland Industries, Tex.Civ. App., 122 S.W.2d 729; Pitts v. Camp County, 120 Tex. 558, 39 S.W.2d This conclusion settles the appeal, and other questions raised by a......