144 Minn. 228 | Minn. | 1919
Action to recover damages for deceit, alleged to consist of false statements made by the defendant Hansen to the plaintiff with reference to the legal sufficiency of a certain contract to convey title to real property. The cause was tried to a jury and a verdict returned in favor of the defendants. From a judgment entered thereon plaintiff -appéaled.
In his complaint the plaintiff alleges, in substance, that the defendant Hansen, at the time of the execution of the deed and contract on June 12, for the purpose and with the intention of inducing plaintiff to. rely thereon and to induce him to make and deliver the deed to his farm and make said exchange, did falsely State and represent to him that he knew that said contract when signed by Shillin was valid and. sufficient to convey a good and absolute title to the plaintiff of the property therein described, and that plaintiff could rely thereon. That plaintiff believed such statements to be true, and was without any notice or knowledge of any of the laws of the state of Minnesota pertaining to such transactions, and without any knowledge whether Shillin was a married man or'whether his wife was insane, and that he relied upon all of the statements
It is contended on behalf of the appellant, that the trial court erred: (1) In charging the jury that there must have been an intention on Hansen’s part to deceive or there can be no recovery; (2) in denying plaintiff’s motion for a new trial, because the verdict is not justified by the evidence and is contrary to law.
Hansen was president of the bank. He was not a lawyer, nor was he particularly skilled in drafting papers or in passing upon the validity thereof. Each of the parties paid him one. dollar for his services. He was not otherwise concerned in the transaction. Under such circumstances he owed to the plaintiff no higher duty than to act honestly and in good faith. He must not intentionally mislead, but, if he acts and answers honestly to the best of his ability, he does his whole duty. In such case a less degree of care is required than where one makes a statement for a consideration as a part of a contract. In the latter case, it is his duty to be accurate, and ignorance or mistake will not relieve him from liability. Jacobson v. Chicago, M. & St. P. Ry. Co. 132 Minn. 181, 156 N W. 251, L.R.A. 1916D, 144, Ann. Cas. 1918A, 355.
While the bank held the Ziebler contract as collateral and subsequently received the deed to the farm in lieu thereof, this of itself is not sufficient to take the case out of the rule which is particularly applicable to representations made by third parties who have no interest in .the transaction to which the statements relate, “that one is not guilty of fraud which will sustain an action for deceit, if he does not know that his statements are false, and honestly intends to tell the truth.” 12 R. C. L. 349, § 104; Nash v. Minnesota Title Ins. & Trust Co. 163 Mass. 574, 40 N. E. 1039, 47 Am. St. 489, 28 L.R.A. 753.
The court instructed the jury that, in order to entitle the plaintiff to recover, it must appear that, “when Hansen made, that representation, if he did, he intended to deceive N'eelund, that is, he intended to induce Neelund to act in reliance upon it and deed away his farm property in order to get the Barnum property. There must have been an intention on Hansen’s part to deceive.” It is upon this instruction that the appellant alleged error in his motion for a new trial.
To determine whether there is liability in an action for deceit, the
•The case of Busterud v. Farrington, 36 Minn. 320, 31 1ST. W. 360, is not in point. The liability of a disinterested third person for representations which turn out to be untrue was not there involved. The representations there the subject matter of the action, were made by one of the parties to the transaction and such was the foundation of the decision rendered.
Judgment affirmed.