62 Neb. 207 | Neb. | 1901
The facts in this case present a very singular transaction. On and prior to November 12, 1892, Willard E. Stewart was the owner of lots 7 and 8 of College Hill, an addition to the city of Lincoln, upon which was erected a seven-room dwelling-house. The premises were incumbered by a mortgage of $2,000, together with a small
Much as the court may feel disposed to condemn the selfish cunning manifested by defendant in this transaction, and to lament the artless confidence of plaintiff, yet the legal rights involved are governed by Avell established principles of the law, and by the law only must they be settled. The rule is well established that where persons are dealing Avith each other upon equal terms, and no confidential relation exists between them, neither is bound to disclose superior information he may haAre respecting the transaction, and, in the absence of fraud or deception to induce the contract, the courts can afford no relief. The law pre
For the purpose of determining the amount of plaintiff’s damage, in the event the jury should find there had been false representations made by defendant, upon which plaintiff relied in making the contract, testimony Avas introduced on both sides as to the value of the property at the date the trade Avas made. Plaintiff’s witnesses, four in number, placed the value of the real estate at sums ranging from $2,500 to $2,700, while the defendant’s witnesses, seven in number, placed it at from $4,000 to $5,000. There was ample eAddence for the jury to find that the value of the property received by the plaintiff was equal to the value of the property he parted with. This question was also submitted to the jury under proper instructions, and being resolved by the jury in defendant’s favor upon fairly conflicting evidence, their finding Avill not be disturbed. Interstate Savings & Loan Ass’n v. Strine, 59 Nebr., 27; Van Housen v. Broehl, 59 Nebr., 48. This rule has been announced so many times by this court that it is unnecessary to cite authorities to support it. Fourteen cases can be found in the index of volume 59, under the title of “Review.”
Another error complained of by plaintiff was a ruling of the court excluding from the evidence a part of the defendant’s ansAver, which had previously been stricken out, to the effect that the moneys standing to the credit of
The defendant testified that he told the plaintiff that, in his opinion, the property he was deeding to him was of about equal value of the property he was getting from plaintiff. To discredit this, and to show defendant did not regard the properties of equal value, plaintiff sought to
All of the elements of fraud presented by the pleadings were fully and fairly submitted to the jury by the instructions, and after a careful investigation of the record, we can find no legal reason to disturb the judgment. It is therefore recommended that the judgment be affirmed.
For the reasons stated in the foregoing opinion the judgment of the district court is
Affirmed.