21 S.D. 198 | S.D. | 1907
On the 19th day of August, 1901, respondents purchased'a corn husking and shredding machine manufactured by the appellant corporation, and this action was instituted to rescind such sale for a breach of the following warranty: “No person has any authority to add to, abridge, or change this warranty in any manner, and to do so will render it void and of no effect. The Plano husker and shredder is warranted to be of good material and workmanship, and, when properly adjusted and properly operated, to do good work. It shall be the duty of the purchaser to see that the machine is properly adjusted and operated. If, within two days from the time of its first use, the said machine shall fail in any respect to fill this warranty, written notice shall immediately be given by the purchaser of the Plano Manufacturing Company, at Chicago, Illinois, by registered letter, and to^ the local agent through whom the same was ordered, stating wherein it failed to fill the warranty, and a reasonable time shall be given the Plano Manufacturing Company and the agent through whom ordered to send a competent person to remedy the difficulty; the purchaser to give the necessary and friendly assistance and furnish the necessary material and power to start, operate, and test the machine, and help in general wherever it may be needed, free of charge. If the machine cannot .thus be made to fill the warranty, it is to be returned by the purchaser to¡ the place where it was received, where another machine, at the option of the Plano Manufacturing Company, will be furnished, or the money and notes which have been given for the above-named machine shall be returned to the maker, and no further claim be made on the Plano Manufacturing Company, nor its agent. Defect in material and construction found in any one part of the machine ‘ shall not condemn or be ground for returning the above-named husker and shredder, but the Plano Manufacturing Company agrees to rejplace any part found to be defective within 30 days from time machine is first started, without cost' to purchaser, except telegrams, express, freight, or1 similar expenses. The purchaser, in making1
The order was taken through, appellant’s local sales agent-at Redfield, subject to the approval of the corporation at its home office in the city of Chicago, and when the machine reached Redfield respondents were notified of the fact by Neis Johnson, the general agent of the company, whose headquarters were at Aberdeen. This general agent, together with the sales agent, accompanied respondents at the time they took the machine out for trial, and there was evidence abundantly sufficient to justify the jury in. finding that they utterly failed in the numerous efforts to make it do the work for which it was intended. From the testimony offered in support of the complaint it appears that the corn was dry and in favorable condition for a successful test of the machine, but that the same was constantly clogging up and breaking down, and after numerous unsuccessful trials, made at intervals to suit their convenience, pursuant to the assurance of Mr. Johnson that they should have as much time as they wanted for that purpose, respondents expressed their unwillingness to make any further experiments. Being- thus thoroughly dissatisfied with the machine and anxious to rescind the contract, Mr. Johnson pursuaded them to give it further trials at his expense and under his exclusive man
The witnesses for the respective litigants do not assign the same reasons for the almost constant breaking of different parts of the machine, and they disagree as to the cause of its being kept by respondents for nearly three weeks before returning it to the place from which it was taken. There is also some conflict in the evidence as to the result of the efforts of Mr. Johnson and his expert to make it do good work. But these questions were settled by the jury adversely to. appellant, and the facts and circumstances justify the inference that, in obedience to. the demand of the general agent, the machine was retained for further trials, and that such trials more fully demonstrated from day to day its inability to meet the terms of the warranty. It is plain that Mr. Johnson, as general agent of the compány, had full authority to supervise everything in relation to. starting and adjusting- these machines, and could furnish repairs and call to his assitance experts in the employ of the company whenever he deemed their services necessary'. It therefore appears that appellant had competent and authorized persons upon the ground at all times to remedy the difficulty, if possible, and
As corporations can act only through officers, agents, and employees, full force cannot be given the stipulation that “no person has any authority to add to, abridge, or change this warranty in any manner, and to do so will render it void and of no effect.” Were it to> he assumed that this written warranty has thus been rendered void and of no- effect, the existence of the statutory warranty might be urged with some plausibility, and, if established, there could be no escape from the conclusion reached in the court below. In the recent case of National Bank v. Dutcher, 128 Iowa, 413, 104 N. W. 497, it was held that an agent having authority to sell a machine under such a contract as the- one before us might bind his principal by -a waiver of all conditions of the warranty favorable to the seller, but this case does not require us to invoke a rule so unfavorable to appellant.
A careful examination of all points urged for á reversal in the brief of counsel for appellant discloses no prejudicial error, and the judgment appealed from is affirmed. .• . . .