Swayne v. Waldo

• Decision Date: 07 June 1887
• Parties: SWAYNE v. WALDO.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

73 Iowa 749

33 N.W. 78

SWAYNE

v.WALDO.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

June 7, 1887.

Appeal from circuit court, Ida county.

Action at law. The material allegations in the petition are that the plaintiff was the owner of a stock of goods which he sold to the defendant, and in consideration thereof the defendant assigned and transferred to the plaintiff certain contracts the former owned for the conveyance of certain land in Nebraska, at the price of $12.50 per acre; that defendant represented and warranted said land to be choice, well lying, good soil, and in every respect first-class, tillable farm land, within two and a half miles of the town of O'Connor, Nebraska, and that said representation and warranties were false, and that the plaintiff relied thereon; that in fact said land was not worth more than four dollars per acre, and that the plaintiff tendered back said contracts duly assigned to the defendant, and demanded of him $2,660. Wherefore the plaintiff asked judgment for said sum, with interest. Issue being joined, there was a trial to the court, a finding of facts made, and judgment for the plaintiff. The defendant appeals.Gray, Warren & Buchanan, for appellant.

Harrington & Brockett and Homer S. Bradshaw, for appellee.

SEEVERS, J.

1. This being an action at law, the finding of facts made by the court has the force and effect of a verdict of a jury. It is not our province to weigh the evidence, and determine any question of fact as if the action was in equity. If there is evidence which, fully considered, warrants the finding of the court, we cannot disturb it. After carefully reading the evidence, we feel constrained to say that the court was fully justified in making the finding it did. It is not our custom to set out the evidence at length, or state the reasons upon which our conclusion is based; and we deem it unnecessary to do so in this case except as will hereafter be done in the discussion of certain legal propositions made by counsel.

2. It is said there is no evidence tending to show that the defendant knew the representations made were false, and that this is essential in this action. In support of this position, Holmes v. Clark, 10 Iowa, 426, and other cases are cited. In the cited cases there were false representations only. In the case at bar it is alleged in the petition, and the court found, that the defendant “represented and warranted the lands to be choice, well-lying land, and in every respect first-class farm land, lying within about two miles of O'Connor, Nebraska,” and that the same “were false, and made with the intention to deceive and swindle the plaintiff.” There is evidence upon which this finding can...