177 Iowa 93 | Iowa | 1916
The plaintiff is a machinist, as well as farmer and blacksmith. He became interested in a mail crane defendant claimed to have invented, and at defendant’s request made a model of it for his use and contributed $40 toward the expenses of obtaining a patent. They entered into a contract in words following:
“Contract and conveyance of ownership between James M. Hough, of the first part, and Frederick Hansen, party of the second part, entered into this seventh day of May, 1912, witnesseth that, in consideration of valuable services rendered to me by the said Frederick Hansen, I hereby convey and transfer to the said Frederick Hansen a two-fifths interest in the patent to my mail crane, to be issued to me by the United States Government, bearing date..............1912. And further, the proceeds accruing from the sales of said crane are to be shared and shared alike; that is to say, to the said Frederick Hansen, two fifths of all moneys or revenues, and to the said James M. Hough", three fifths of all moneys or other valuables. Witness our signatures this seventh day of May, 1912. James M. Hough, Party of the first part. Frederick Hansen, Party of the second part.”
The petition alleged that, about September 1, 1912,
On the other hand, the defendant denied ever having made any of the above statements, and swore that he had never sold the crane to the Chicago & N. W. R. Co. and had never received money from it therefor, but, <Jn cross-examination, explained that these matters were spoken of as a probability dependent on making a contract or disposing of the patent. At that time, he was 71. years of age, had been station agent at Woodbine 40 years and 30 days, had ceased to be such, and “did not live at any place” and “was journeying around the world.”
“Q. You are just flying around! A. I am spending a little of that $6,000. Q. Are you spending it! A. Well, I am a little of it. Q. Have you got it about spent! A. No, I have the greater part of my own $6,000 and my wife’s. Q. Where do you keep that! A. At the present time! Q. Yes. A. In Kentucky.”
Witness then explained that he thought counsel was talking about money of his wife’s. Manifestly, the jury might well have reached the conclusion, from this evidence, that defendant had disposed of the right to use the crane and received the money therefor, as alleged. But counsel for appellee argue that the probative force of these admissions was completely overcome by other evidence tending to- show that defendant never disposed of'the crane, nor received any money therefor. That his patent was worthless conclusively appears, though plaintiff might have been found unaware of this. The vice-president of the company testified to having received a letter from defendant in May, 1912, expressing his surprise that the company was installing a crane at Woodbine
“The Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company have not made any payment or made an agreement with Mr. Hough, or his representative, to pay him anything for his claimed rights under his patent for the mail crane. The Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company have not received from Mr. Hough or from anyone representing him, directly or indirectly, any authority or right to use the mail crane under his alleged patent. The attitude of the company was that Mr. Hough has no valid patent to a mail crane and that it could not make .any agreement with him.....No money can be paid out on transactions of the character of this one without my personal signature. I don’t know of all the vouchers and cheeks of the company that I signed during 1912. I knew there were more letters than this one and the duplicates that I have produced between the company and Mr. Hough. I think the last letter that passed between the company and Mr. Hough was in July or August, 1912. I don’t know if I have all of those letters with me. I have all of the .letters that passed between the company and Mr. Hewitt about this matter. I believe I have all of them here. I am sure I have all of the letters that passed-between Mr. Hough and myself about this matter. It is my recollection that I have not signed any vouchers to Mr. Hough of the character you mention on account of the crane and that a payment could not be made by the company for such an amount without my knowledge and without my signature.
Re-cross-examination:
“The machinery of the company does not provide for any oral agreement such as a moral arrangement between Mr. Hough and his brother-in-law, Mr. Hewitt, with the approval of the board of directors. It would have to be reduced to a contract, and my signature would appear on it just the same. They do not have any of these side understandings to my knowledge. Q. Do you know all that is going on in the business of that corporation! A. I have to know the greater part in my particular branch of business. Q. The greater part of it? A. Yes, sir. Q. You have to know all the operating part, don’t you? A. I have to go into detail of all I have to know, and I have to know everything on the railroad in respect to the corporation and in regard to the maintenance and in regard to the construction of the railroad. The traffic matters I do not profess to know or have any jurisdiction over them.”
The treasurer of the company explained that the voucher system was followed in making up the records thereof; that these state the name of the party to whom the account is due, for what, and the amount, with the approval of the official interested; that the vice-president “approves the vouchers for expenditures, such as the installation of signals, mail cranes, and matters of that kind. I have made a careful research for vouchers for moneys or vouchers paid to James M. Hough, the agent at Woodbine, from the first day of January, 1910, to the present time. There have been no disbursements to him except for salary” during that time. On cross-examination, the witness explained that most of the search had been done, under his direction, by clerks, and that
The cashier of the First National Bank at Woodbine swore that, during the period in question, defendant at no time exceeded $2,000-on deposit with his bank, and that was the proceeds of insurance on the life of his deceased wife. The evidence leaves no escape from the conclusion that defendant had procured a patent on a device which then was, and for 15 years had been, in use by the company, that he must have known of this for several years, and, with such knowledge, either acted with the design of extracting money from the company, or pursued the course he did through ignorance. In any event, his patent was utterly worthless, and there was no occasion for the payment of anything therefor by the company. Notwithstanding this, he may have been paid something in the purchase of peace. And this is to be inferred from the evidence that he had repeatedly asserted the receipt of money, even impliedly admitting its possession at the trial. Nor is the evidence adduced by defendant, con-, elusive. All that the vice-president of the company pretended to testify to was that he had no recollection of approving a voucher in favor of defendant for such a purchase, and the treasurer relied on the reports of others for the information he imparted. If the records of the company are kept as explained by these witnesses, we see no reason why it may not be ascertained absolutely whether any voucher or vouchers made out in his favor were approved between, say, July 15th and September 15th of the year 1912, and whether any check was issued to him during this time. For all these witnesses knew, this might have happened, and for this reason it cannot be said that the issue of whether defend