Steiner v. American Alcohol Co.

Headnote

Steiner v. American Alcohol Co., Inc., 181 App. Div. 309 , affirmed.

Appeal from a judgment, entered April 22, 1918, upon an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the first judicial department which reversed an order of Special Term overruling a demurrer to the complaint and sustained such demurrer. The complaint alleged that plaintiffs and defendants entered into a certain agreement whereby defendant agreed to sell and the plaintiffs to purchase certain merchandise; that the agreement of sale was oral, and that plain

tiffs stated it would be necessary to reduce said agreement to writing, but defendant falsely represented to plaintiffs that it would fully perform its agreement and make delivery of the merchandise in accordance therewith as if said agreement were reduced to writing; that said representations were false and untrue and defendant did not intend to perform said agreement and did not intend to deliver said merchandise; that said fraudulent representations were made with the intention of avoiding the reduction of said agreement to writing and with the further intention of cheating and inducing plaintiffs not to purchase similar goods in the open market; that plaintiffs, in reliance upon such statements, did not purchase similar goods, as they could have done at the price mentioned in the agreement; that thereafter defendant repudiated the contract and refused to perform it and that at the time of such repudiation the market price of the goods had advanced so that plaintiffs were unable to purchase similar goods except at a price in excess of the agreed price.