88 Wis. 22 | Wis. | 1894
The trial court failed to find the value of the land conveyed. Mr. Ehr readily agreed to take $2,600 therefor, less two per cent, commission for making the sale. There is nothing to indicate that he ever expected to get any more, nor that in his judgment it was worth any more. There is some evidence that it was not worth as much. It seems quite certain that it was not worth any more.
Beattie was to have all he could get over the $2,600, as well as the commissions named. Beattie had been in the real-estate business at Portage for about thirty years. Living thus about two miles from the farm, and being in that business, we may fairly assume that he knew all about its value. It does not appear that Beattie made any attempt to sell the farm to any one living in the vicinity of it and likely to know its real quality, character, and value.
Upon receiving the descriptions, plat, and statements from Beattie, Unger appears to have gone at once to Williams, a real-estate dealer at Waterloo, and engaged him to aid in finding a purchaser for the land, and agreed to give Williams therefor one half of his commissions,— that is to say $120; and he thereupon left with Williams Exhibit A, as a true description of the farm to be sold. Williams thereupon advertised in the Waterloo Democrat for those wishing to buy farms to call at his office and, among others, examine this plat. The plaintiff saw the notice, and in pursuance of it went to Williams’ office. He was there shown Exhibit A, and examined it carefully. It presented an attractive bargain, and so the old man agreed with Williams to go with him and look at the farm. Unger resided only four miles from Waterloo; and, as he was not then in the real-estate business, it is fair to assume that he had already agreed with Beattie to put the matter, in the hands of Williams to secure a purchaser. In fact the trial court finds that Beattie employed Williams to assist in selling the lands, and that “ Williams had a plat in his possession purporting to represent the said farm,” thereby referring to Exhibit A. We must assume that Beattie was the author of that plat and all that is contained in Exhibit A, and that he made and devised the same for the sole purpose of securing a purchaser of the farm at a price $1,400-higher than was asked by the owner.
With such knowledge as the plaintiff obtained from Williams and Exhibit A, he and Williams Avent to Portage. They got there in the afternoon, and after dinner they and
The plaintiff was at the time nearly seventy-three years of age, and, seemingly, had always been a farmer. He was
The trial court decided against the plaintiff apparently on the sole ground that he had, in law, no legal right to rely upon any of such misrepresentations, after having visited the premises and having had an opportunity of investigating such facts for himself. In Castenholz v. Heller, 82 Wis. 30, the purchaser, prior to the purchase, had in his possession a correct abstract and a true plat of the lots purchased, from which he might have learned the true boundary of such lots, yet it was held that he was not thereby precluded from recovery by reason of the false representations made. The mere fact that neither Beattie nor Williams nor the vendor, at the time the plaintiff inspected the farm, used any artifice to prevent or dissuade him from further investigating whether the statements and representations contained in Exhibit A were true or false, did not prevent the plaintiff from relying upon such misrepresentations, in so far as their falsity was not obviously discoverable by him. Gunther v. Ullrich, 82 Wis. 222; McKinnon v. Vollmar, 75 Wis. 82. We must hold that the sale was procured by false representations, upon which the plaintiff relied, to his great damage; and that he is entitled to a rescission of the same. The defendants must surrender the notes and mortgage for cancellation, and in case of their transfer to a
By the Court.— The judgment of the circuit court is reversed, and the cause is remanded for further proceedings and final judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the ■defendants in accordance with this opinion. ■