Sanderson v. Carroll

• Decision Date: 07 March 1921
• Citation: 238 Mass. 142
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
• Parties: EDWARD P. SANDERSON & others, trustees, v. DANIEL F. CARROLL & another.

238 Mass. 142

EDWARD P. SANDERSON & others, trustees, v. DANIEL F. CARROLL & another.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Middlesex.

March 7, 1921

January 18, 1921.

Present: RUGG, C.

J., BRALEY, CROSBY PIERCE, & JENNEY, JJ.

Evidence, Relevancy and materiality.

At the trial of an action for the purchase price of certain sheet metal, there was evidence tending to show that the defendant, a principal building contractor, had contracted with a subcontractor for the installation of the sheet metal required in certain building operations, that the subcontractor had sought to purchase the metal of the plaintiff, that the plaintiff had refused to sell it upon the subcontractor's credit, and that, after negotiations with the defendant, the plaintiff and the defendant had agreed that the goods should be billed and shipped to the defendant, which was done. The defendant denied his liability and offered evidence of the total amount which he had paid to the subcontractor for work performed and materials furnished on the building in question, that the portion of the full amount which would be due to the subcontractor from the defendant was paid by the defendant and the amount of work required under the contract between the defendant and the subcontractor which was completed by the subcontractor. The evidence was excluded. Held, that the evidence was immaterial and irrelevant and that its exclusion was not error.

CONTRACT by "Edward P. Sanderson, Robert M. Vaughan and Robert H Sanderson, trustees doing business as E. P. Sanderson Co." upon an account annexed for $1,546.06, a balance alleged to be due upon the purchase price of one hundred and thirty bundles of galvanized iron sheets, and interest. Writ dated March 2, 1918.

In the Superior Court the action was heard by Sanderson, J., without a jury. Material evidence and exceptions saved by the defendants are described in the opinion. The judge found for the plaintiffs in the sum of $1,757.86; and the defendants alleged exceptions.

J. C. Reilly, for the defendants. C. C. Barton, for the plaintiffs.

CROSBY, J. The defendants, who were engaged in the plumbing business entered into a contract with the city of Lowell for alterations in the Bartlett school house in that city. The contract provided, among other things, for the installation of certain sheet metal, and the defendants made a subcontract with the Bay State Sheet Metal Works covering that portion of the work. There was evidence that the subcontractor placed an order with the plaintiff for a hundred and thirty bundles of sheet metal; that the plaintiff, owing to lack of financial responsibility of the subcontractor, refused to accept the order; that thereafter the plaintiff's salesman saw one of the defendants with reference to guaranteeing the account who asked him what form of guaranty the plaintiff wished and to bring it to him, and that thereafter a paper was submitted by the plaintiff which the defendants declined to sign; that later the defendants gave to the plaintiff's salesman a written instrument containing a guaranty of only one half of the amount of the materials to be furnished; that the salesman told one of the defendants that "the plaintiff could not do business on that basis but the only way they could do business was for the full amount of the bill because of the lack of financial responsibility of the Bay State Sheet Metal Works;" that at a later conversation with the same defendant the salesman said: "Why not bill the goods to you?" and that this defendant replied: "Yes, that would be all right;" that this defendant told the plaintiff's salesman to ship the material to Carroll Brothers, in three separate shipments; that this order was complied with, the goods were charged to the defendants, and bills therefor were sent to the defendants at various times. There was further evidence to show that the...