Warner v. Benjamin

• Decision Date: 05 February 1895
• Citation: 89 Wis. 290,62 N.W. 179
• Parties: WARNER v. BENJAMIN ET AL.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

89 Wis. 290

62 N.W. 179

WARNER

v.BENJAMIN ET AL.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

Feb. 5, 1895.

Appeal from circuit court, Milwaukee county; D. H. Johnson, Judge.

Action by Helen M. Warner against H. S. Benjamin, Laura D. Benjamin, F. A. Bates, and others. From a judgment for plaintiff, H. S. Benjamin, Laura D. Benjamin, and F. A. Bates appeal. Reversed.

This is an action to recover damages for fraudulently inducing the plaintiff to purchase worthless mining stocks. The complaint is set out at length in 75 Wis. 278, and 43 N. W. 957, when this case was here on appeal from an interlocutory order. The answer of the defendant Bates was a general denial. The answer of the defendants Benjamin admits the purchase of mining stock by the plaintiff of the firm of Moore, Benjamin & Co.; denies all fraudulent or untrue statements, or that plaintiff relied on any information given her by defendants, but that she informed herself as to the facts; alleges that the stock, when sold, was worth what she paid for it, and afterwards greatly increased in value, and that the plaintiff had many opportunities to sell her stock at an advance, but refused to do so. Upon the trial the jury returned a special verdict, wherein they found: (1) That the plaintiff purchased from the defendants Laura D Benjamin, Nathaniel D Moore, and Elizabeth M. Bates, during the years 1886 and 1887, a large number of shares of the stock of certain iron mining companies upon the Gogebic range; the number of shares in each company and the amount paid for each share being separately set forth, and together amounting to about $15,000. (2) That, at the times of these several purchases, the defendant H. S. Benjamin was the agent of his wife, Laura D. Benjamin, in the business of the firm, and the defendant Bates was the agent of his wife, Elizabeth M. Bates, in the said business. (3) That the defendants, during the years 1886 and 1887, organized six of these iron mining companies by purchasing leasehold interests of land for various sums, ranging from $50,000, in one case, to $242,000, in another case, and stocked each of said companies for $1,000,000. (4) That such capitalization and putting such stock upon the market for sale was fraud upon purchasers without notice. (5) That the plaintiff, when she purchased, had no notice of such facts. (6) That the defendant H. S. Benjamin represented to the plaintiff, at the time she purchased her stock, that each of said stocks was a good investment at the price she paid; that it was impossible for her to lose thereby; that the property represented by the stock was in a good and promising condition; that the mines were being rapidly developed; that ore had been sold, or was ready to be sold, from some of them; and that they, or some of them, would yield dividends in the near future. (7) That the plaintiff relied upon such representations, and was induced thereby to purchase her stock. (8) That the defendant Laura D. Benjamin joined in and assented to such representations. (9) That the defendant F A. Bates represented to the plaintiff that said mines, or some of them, were in a good or promising condition, and were certain to pay dividends in the near future. (10) That the plaintiff relied upon the representations made by Bates, and was induced thereby to purchase stock, or to retain stock after she had purchased it. (11) That the parties making said representations did not honestly believe them to be true when they made them. (12) That the defendant H. S. Benjamin offered to repurchase from plaintiff the stock held by her at a sum which would yield her a large profit, but that the defendants H. S. Benjamin and F. A. Bates advised her not to accept the offer. (13) That the plaintiff was deterred from accepting said offer by the advice and representations then made to her by the defendant H. S. Benjamin. (14) That the defendants and others organized a scheme in the summer of 1887 for the consolidation of the iron mining companies, in which the plaintiff held stock, together with other companies, into a single company, to be called the “Lake Superior Consolidated Mining Company,” which scheme failed. (15) That the plaintiff knew of said scheme, and assented to it. (16) That she retained her stock in the original companies, instead of selling the same, for the purpose of availing herself of the anticipated benefits of such consolidation. (17) That she was advised and induced by the defendants to so retain her stock. (18) That such advice was not honestly given for the plaintiff's best interest, but for the purpose of keeping her stock out of the markets. (19) That the plaintiff purchased her several stocks, and retained the same, for the purpose and in the hope of selling them at a profit. (20) That the plaintiff's damages amount to $15,660.30. Upon this verdict, judgment was rendered for the plaintiff, and the defendants Benjamin and wife appealed, as did also the defendant F. A. Bates.

Glenway Maxon and W. J. Turner, for appellants.

Henry L. Buxton, for respondent.

WINSLOW, J. ...