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Majority — Blatcheord J.
Syllabus
ERROR .TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS.after stating the case as above reported, delivered the opinion of the court.
On the special findings, the only question open for review is, whether the facts found are sufficient to support the judgment. There can be no question, that, on those facts, the defendant is liable in damages for a breach of the contract. It is provided in the contract, that the rails are “ to be drilled as may be directed.” The Circuit Court finds that it appears from the proof, aside from the provision in the written contract in regard to drilling directions, “ that it was usual and customary for the purchaser of steel rails to give directions as to the drilling thereof; ” that each railroad has its own special rules for drilling; that the drilling of the rails is considered. in the trade as. a part of the work of manufacture, and a part of the duty of the manufacturer, in order to fully complete the rails for use; that, by four letters written in April, 1882, by the agents of the plaintiff to the defendant, and which letters were duly received by the defendant before May, 1882, he ivas requested to furnish drilling directions for the 1000 tons of rails tp be delivered in May, under the contract; that he neglected to comply with that request, and also notified the plaintiff that he was not then prepared to receive the rails which, by the contract, were to be delivered in May; that, in June, the plaintiff again asked for drilling directions from the defendant, in respect both to the 1000 tons, and to the 2500 tons to be delivered in July, but the defendant neglected to give such drilling'directions; and. that, in the latter part of July, he notified thejffaintiff, in substance, that he would not
• The Circuit Court finds, that it would have cost the plaintiff $50 per ton to have manufactured and delivered the rails-called for by the contract, according to its terms; that the-profits of the plaintiff, if the conduct of the defendant had not prevented it from fulfilling the contract, would have been, $8 per ton on each of the 6000 tons, being $48,000; and. that the plaintiff manufactured and sold to other persons 4000 tons of rails from the materials purchased by it with which to. perform the contract with the defendant, and received for-such rails $54.60 per'ton, and made a profit of $1.60 per ton on the 4000 tons, being a profit, in all, of $6400. Deducting this $6400 from the $48,000, leaves $41,600, for which amount the judgment was finally entered.
It is found by the Circuit Court, that, immediately' after the making' of the contract and before the time to begin its execution, the plaintiff purchased the requisite amount of material from which to manufacture the 6000 tons of rails; that, after the purchase of such supplies, there was a decline in their value before the time arrived for the delivery of any part of the rails; and that lower prices for such supplies ruled during May, June, July and August, 1882. It is also to be inferred, from the price at which the 4000 tons of rails were sold by the plaintiff, that the market price of rails declined below the price named in the contract; and the reason assigned by the defendant, in September, 1882, for not taking any rails under the contract, was, that he had made arrangements to purchase rails of others at a lower price. Under these circumstances, the defendant is estopped from insisting that the plaintiff should have undertaken the risk and expense of actually making and selling the rails. These considerations also show that
In United States v. Speed, 8 Wall. 77 , where the defendant agreed to pack a specified number of hogs for the plaintiff, and made all his preparations to do so, and was ready to do so, but the defendant refused to furnish the hogs to be packed, this
These views were again approved by this court in United States v. Behan, 110 U. S. 338 .
In the present case, the ability of the plaintiff to fulfil the contract at all times is found as a fact by the Circuit Court, as also the fact, that, by reason of the defendant’s refusal to accept the rails, the plaintiff was obliged to stop its mill for about three weeks, in August, 1882. The defendant received the benefit of all the mitigation of damages which, upon the facts found, he was entitled to claim, and the benefit of all the profits made by the plaintiff which could properly be regarded as a substitute for the profits it would have received had its contract with the defendant been carried out.
The defendant objects that, within the statement of the rule in United States v. Speed, there was no deduction made in this case for the time saved, and the care, trouble, risk, and responsibility avoided by the plaintiff by not fully executing the contract ; but there are no findings of fact which raise any such question. The finding is, that it would have cost the plaintiff $50 per ton to have manufactured and delivered the rails called for by the contract, according to its terms. Under this finding, it must be held that every proper element of cost entered into the $50; and it was for the defendant to have requested findings which would authorize an increase of that sum as cost.
There is a bill of exceptions in the case, on which two questions are raised by the defendant as to the admission of testimony. The contract between the parties was negotiated by C. H. Odell, ;who signed it as broker, between whom and the defendant the correspondence thereafter, down to and including the 1st of May, 1882, was carried on, Odell acting for. the plaintiff. He made the contract under special instructions, his authority being limited to that of a sales agent. On his exam
Smith was further asked to state in detail the elements of the cost of rolling the rails in question. He produced a memorandum showing items taken from the .plaintiff’s books, which, added together, exhibited the cost, in August, 1882, of manufacturing one ton of such rails as those described in the contract; and, on being asked by ihe plaintiff’s attorney to testify to those items, the court, under the defendant’s objection, allowed him to read the items from the memorandum.
The defendant contends that this evidence ivas inadmissible, in the absence of an opportunity for him to examine the plaintiff’s books, with a view to a cross-examination of the witness as to the mode of' computation adopted by him, the memorandum being, as contended, the result of the conclusions of the witness from the examination of a large number of entries in the books of the plaintiff.
It is a sufficient answer to this objection, that the cost of * the rails was not taken by the court at the sum of $48.25, the sum fixed by Smith, but the bill of exceptions shows.that the cost was taken at $50 a ton, from the testimony of Eichard C. Hannah, another witness; so that, even if the testimony was erroneously admitted, (which it is not necessary to decide,) the defendant suffered no prejudice from its admission.
The judgment of the Owewit Gou/rt is affirmed.
1 S. C. 42 Am. Dec. 38 .
Footnotes
- 1 S. O. 42 Am. Dec. 38 .
Cases cited
- Marsh v. McPherson 105 U. S. 709 at 28 p. 271
- Hopkins v. Lee 6 Wheat. 109 p. 271
- Shepherd v. Hampton 3 Wheat. 200 p. 271
- Martinton v. Fairbanks 112 U. S. 670 p. 272
- Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad v. Howard 13 How. 307 p. 275
- United States v. Speed 8 Wall. 77 p. 275, p. 276
- United States v. Behan 110 U. S. 338 p. 276