276 Pa. 404 | Pa. | 1923
Opinion by
The Uniform Sales Act provides, in section 4, that a contract to sell goods of the value of $500 or upwards shall be unenforceable “unless the buyer accepts part of the goods......so contracted to be sold or sold, and
The contract was not in writing. It provided for the sale of six hundred bags of sugar at $20 per bag, f. o. b. Chicago, to merchants in Pennsylvania. It is now urged delivery to the carrier satisfied section 4 of the Act. It is undoubtedly true that, for a great many purposes, delivery to the carrier transmits title and possession to the purchaser, enabling him to recover for damages arising from loss or intermeddling. See Sales Act of 1915, P. L. 543; Dannemiller v. Kirkpatrick, 201 Pa. 218, 224; Mitchell v. Baker, 208 Pa. 377, 379.
The purpose of the act was to establish uniformity of usages and customs in trading throughout the United States, so that, where any buying and selling is engaged in, the parties may know their rights and liabilities, no matter where the contract is made. The act embodies simple rules founded on the prevailing trade usages and customs, and is intended to produce certainty in dealing, to promote freedom of exchange and flexibility in all matters pertaining to buying and selling. We may here note, the statutes of Illinois and Pennsylvania are the same as far as they control the subject-matter of this controversy.
Section 4 was intended to strike down sales not evidenced by writing, where the price exceeds $500. This provision may have been necessary as the outgrowth of the many uncertainties in, or failure to clearly understand, the terms of a parol contract of sale or sales— more frequently to prevent deliberate overreaching. Whatever the impelling motive, the legislature has laid down this rule for business engagements, which we are bound to follow. It uses definite, precise language to express the controlling requirements, and exemptions therefrom. !' Under the words “accept part......and
In delivering goods to a carrier, the vendor has the right of stoppage in transit if the vendee is insolvent or in failing circumstances. He may retake the goods before actual receipt or acceptance, to protect his claim. When goods are delivered to a carrier for delivery to a vendee, while the property may be in the vendee for many purposes, his dominion is not absolute. The vendee has the right to inspect and reject if the goods are not as ordered, or he may “accept” them. The latter is necessary to bring a parol sale within the exemption. The buyer must' assent to become the owner, and acceptance has nothing to do with possession or delivery. This right to examine may ultimately defeat the contract or sale, and it would, if exercised adversely, where the goods are not of the kind, quality or quantity purchased. It may be said, if the latter condition existed, there was no contract or sale. We are dealing, however, with the different outstanding rights
There is no merit in the contenton that suit on a book-account obviates the necessity of averring a contract when the obligation is predicated on a sale made in pursuance of a contract. This would be a novel way to circumvent the Sales Act.
Judgment affirmed.