Alden Speare's Sons Co. v. Hubinger

Citations

• 129 F. 538
• 64 C.C.A. 68
• 1904 U.S. App. LEXIS 4065

Syllabus

<p>1. Sales — Breach oe Contract — Damages—Market Value — Sale of Goods— Reasonable Time.</p> <p>Where, on a breach of a contract of sale, the seller elects to sell the property at public sale for the purpose of establishing its market value, the sale, in order to be effective for that purpose, must be made within a reasonable period after the buyer has broken his contract, and the seller must exercise good faith and reasonable diligence to sell the goods for the best price obtainable.</p> <p>2. Same — Instructions.</p> <p>Where, after breach of a contract for the sale of starch on July 1, 1900, the seller did not sell the starch for the purpose of establishing its market value, until March, 1901, an instruction submitting the question whether the sale had been made within a reasonable time, so as to be binding on the buyer in an action for breach of contract, that the seller was required to use diligence to sell it at the best possible advantage, within a reasonable time after notice to the buyer, and that it was for the jury to say under all the circumstances whether the sale was made within a reasonable time, and that the fact that the buyer had some one representing him at the sale cpuld not be held to be an acquiescence in it, was proper.</p> <p>3. Same — Contracts—Parties.</p> <p>Where in an action for breach of a contract for the sale of starch the issue whether the starch was purchased by H. individually or by a corporation of which he was the president was properly submitted to the jury, which was left at full liberty to determine the question according to the evidence, as they saw fit, a statement of the judge in his charge that he thought that neither of the parties was satisfied with a telephone communication between' H. and plaintiff’s agent, during which H. gave the order, and that a letter written on behalf of the corporation the next day, confirming the purchase, really formed the contract, was not error.</p>