80 Iowa 456 | Iowa | 1890
— I. The defendants allege in their answer that they entered into a contract with plaintiff wherein they undertook to “find a purchaser” for certain land at a specified price, for which they were to receive as compensation $1,133.33; that they found a purchaser for the land, and made a sale thereof, receiving from the purchaser five hundred dollars as part payment, which is the money for which plaintiff seeks to recover in this suit. In another count of the answer, defendants plead a counter-claim to recover $683.33, balance due them upon the contract for the sale of the land. There was evidence showing that defendants did “find a purchaser” for the land, and settled the terms of sale with him ; that the five hundred dollars was paid by the purchaser ; that there was delay in the consummation of the sale, through the facj; that plaintiff had not a deed for the land, holding it under a lease with the Agricultural College; that the deed was finally obtained; and that the purchaser then did not, through
II. The district court held, and so instructed the jury, that the burden rested, upon defendants to show that they found a purchaser who was able, ready and willing,to take the land upon the terms agreed upon. Evidence was admitted by the court, against plaintiff ’ s objection, tending to show transactions and payments made by the purchaser at the time the contract of sale was made with him, for the purpose of establishing his ability to perform the contract. The admission of this evidence is the subject of complaint by plaintiff. We are not wholly agreed upon its admissibility, and, therefore, do not rule on the point, as on another ground the judgment of the district court must be reversed.
III. The defendants claim that the failure of the trade was attributable to the delay by plaintiff in procuring the deed to himself for the land. As applicable to this position, the court gave the following instructions, which are the ground of an objection urged by plaintiff: ‘'7. If you find from the evidence that defendants found purchasers of plaintiff’s land about March 2, 1887, and that plaintiff at that time was not in condition to transfer the title because he held the same under an Agricultural-College lease, and that the condition of his title had been made known to the defendants as his agents, and also to the purchasers, then the plaintiff would be entitled to a reasonable time in which to procure his patent from the state of Iowa, if no time therefor was agreed upon between the parties. But such reasonable time would be such time as men of ordinary skill and prudence would deem requisite to obtain such title, under the circumstances, and would
Reversed.