179 Iowa 476 | Iowa | 1917
“September 1, 1905, Bal. due on note, ....$712.75
“September 1, 1905, Amt. due Pd. Satterlee, •Avith interest, ....................... 202.50
“September 1, 1905, Amt. due for mules, • Avith interest from March 15,......... 280.75
“Settled by note from date.............$1,250.00”
According to the defendant, the three items here presented are the items for AArhich the note Avas given. This contention is denied by the plaintiff as a Avitness, but he is wholly unable to account for the' items that did go into the note. He is able to specify only the $700 note and $100 which he claims to haAre loaned the defendant about that time, such loan being denied by the defendant: The substance of plaintiff’s testimony is summed up by him in the folloAving, which avg quote from his examination:
The occasion for giving the $1,256 note was that the plaintiff was about to remove from Farmington to Fort Madison, and he suggested to the defendant that they have a settlement. Concededly, the note was intended as a.settlement. The plaintiff contends, however, that the defendant was not owing him for the mules at the time the note was executed, but that the transaction was subsequently had on October 24,1905. For the defendant, it is contended that he purchased the mules in March, 1905, and was to pay for them when he sold them. The circumstances leading up to this transaction were that, on March 15, 1905, the plaintiff had bid off these mules at a public sale. They were not in good condition for the purpose of resale. He immediately offered them to the defendant at the same price at which he had bid them off, with a further understanding that they would be fitted up and that the defendant should pay the plaintiff for them when they were sold. The defendant claims to have accepted the offer. He took the mules to his own place on the same day, and continued to hold possession of them at all times down to the day of settlement.
The plaintiff’s version of the affair is that he simply allowed the defendant to use the mules for his own convenience, and that nothing had been said between him and the defendant concerning the purchase of the mules by the
Turning now to the Satterlee transaction: This was had a few months before the execution of the settlement note. The defendant had bargained with one Satterlee for a 20-acre timber lot for $250, but was without money to pay therefor. The plaintiff paid the amount for him and took title from Satterlee to himself. Both parties agreed that
2. Turning to defendant’s counterclaim: The princi
Another item of $.‘>0 is claimed for two hogs which Avere butchered for the plaintiff by the defendant and delivered to him. The plaintiff concedes that he received the hogs, but contends that he paid for them then and there. He is corroborated by his wife, who was present at the time, and Avho personally secured the money with which payment was made. The circumstances of payment are given in detail and appear plausible. We find this issue against the defendant. There are other small items included in his counterclaim, all of which are denied by the plaintiff. We have examined the evidence carefully, and reach the conclusion that none of the items are fairly sustained.