116 Minn. 174 | Minn. | 1911
Defendant was the owner of certain property situated on the-shores of Bass Lake, near St. Paul, known as the Oakland Inn. It was equipped as a summer hotel, . or country “roadhouse,” and seems to have been patronized largely by people of questionable-
Plaintiff is a gullible young man, whose chief occupation, according to his testimony, had been for many years prior to the time-here in question that of playing the piano in resorts like that conducted by defendant, practically without education, and wholly inexperienced in business matters, and without knowledge of the value of the property of the character of the Oakland Inn. For some time prior to the completion of the transaction here involved he was a frequent visitor at the Inn, and was constantly more or less under the influence of intoxicants. He was acquainted with defendant, and had been an attendant at her other resort in the city of St. Paul. His acquaintance with Mayer, the manager of the Inn, had assumed an apparently friendly and confidential nature,, and plaintiff seems to have been impressed with his character and business ability as manager of the place. In 1910 plaintiff received the sum of $40,000 as an inheritance from his mother’s estate, sn fact known to Mayer, which he proceeded to dispose of as rapidly as possible, principally in the delights and depressions of Oakland Inn.
Some time after the receipt of this money, plaintiff stated to Mayer that he thought some of starting in business, and intimated that he might go into the automobile trade. Mayer advised him not to do so, and stated that “I have something better for you.”' Plaintiff became interested, and was anxious to know about the opportunity Mayer had in store for him. Mayer put him off for a time, but finally suggested that plaintiff buy the Oakland Inn. It seemed a large proposition to plaintiff, and he was doubtful; but Mayer reassured him, and agreed to remain as manager if plaintiff should buy the place.
In the course of the negotiations, and, the jury was justified in finding, to induce plaintiff to make the purchase, Mayer represented!
He finally concluded to buy, and agreed to- pay the price demanded, $35,000, and testified that he was influenced to do so by the representations respecting the value of the property, which he •accepted as true. A deed of the property was executed by defendant, and plaintiff thereupon paid her $20,000 in cash. The balance of the purchase price, $15,000, he secured by a mortgage, of which plaintiff subsequently paid something over $1,800. The transaction was closed and the papers delivered at defendant’s place •of business in St. Paul, and plaintiff returned to the Inn as sole proprietor. The liquor license soon expired, and its renewal wras refused, owing, as we apprehend, to the character of the place. A fire destroyed part of the property, and the business wholly collapsed.
It may be further stated, as bearing upon the question of plaintiff’s intelligence and business capacity, and the influence and control exercised over his conduct by Mayer, that subsequent to the sale, being anxious to retain Mayer as manager, plaintiff entered into a copartnership arrangement with him, by the terms of which plain
This purchase of an interest that did not exist, and the payment therefor of $3,000, is a fair illustration of plaintiff’s capacity, all of which was well known to Mayer, the manager and agent of defendant. Whether plaintiff also “bought out” his bartender does not appear from the record. But whether he did or not is not a ■controlling factor in the case, though it may be remarked, in passing, that if he did not, the.record fairly justifies the conclusion that his failure to do so was because of a disinclination on the part of the bartender to relinquish his holdings, or his failure seasonábly to intimate to plaintiff a willingness to sell.
Subsequent reflection led plaintiff to the opinion that he had been cheated and swindled, and he brought this action to recover damage therefor. He had a verdict below for $14,100, and defendant appealed from an order denying her alternative motion for judgment -or a new trial.
1. The trial court submitted the ease to the jury upon the theory that, unless the representations as to the value of the property were intended and understood by the parties as assertions of fact, there could be no recovery, even though the same were false, and
It is well settled that a representation as to the value of property offered for sale is not ordinarily one of fact, upon which may be predicated a charge of fraud. Smith, Law of Fraud, §• 66. Such representations are treated generally as “dealer’s talk,” not arising to the dignity of an assertion of a fact, upon which reliance may be had. 20 Cyc. 51; Columbia Electric Co. v. Dixon, 46 Minn. 463, 49 N. W. 244. But the rule is founded upon the theory that the parties are dealing “at arm’s length,” and that each is afforded an equal opportunity of ascertaining the true value, and it has, like all general rules, its well-defined exceptions. Where it is clear, or reasonably so, that because of such a representation, and a reliance thereon, a palpable fraud has been perpetrated, the strict rule yields to the justice of the case and resolves the question into one of fact. 20 Cyc. 62; Leonard v. Springer, 197 Ill. 532, 64 N. E. 299; Coulter v. Minion, 139 Mich. 200, 102 N. W. 660; Stoll v. Wellborn (N. J. Eq.) 56 Atl. 894; Haygarth v. Wearing, L. R. 12 Eq. 320; Smith, Law of Fraud, § 68.
The evidence in the case at bar was ample to justify the conclusion that the parties were not dealing at arm’s length; that plaintiff was wholly ignorant of the value of property; that by the improper influence exercised over him pending the negotiations by defendant’s agent he was deprived of an opportunity to learn the truth; in short, the evidence is fairly conclusive that by the aid of the representation as to value he was wilfully cheated and defrauded. The trial court was therefore right in submitting to the jury the question whether the representations were intended and understood as as
2. The other assignments of error have been fully considered, and we discover no substantial basis for interference with the order denying a new trial. The damages are not excessive. The question whether a new trial should have been granted on the ground of newly discovered evidence, though made a part of the motion, is not presented by the assignments of error. There were no errors of sufficient importance to justify a new trial.
Order affirmed.