Brown v. Quinton

Citations

• 86 Kan. 658
• 122 P. 116
• 1912 Kan. LEXIS 361

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Evidence — Conclusions—Error—Curative Evidence. The admission of testimony giving a conclusion instead of the constitutive facts is rendered harmless by the reception of other and competent evidence so showing such facts that the verdict reached would have been required thereby.</p> <p>2. Contract — Employment—Promise to Pay — Instructions. The petition alleged an employment and promise to pay what the services should be reasonably worth, the performance of the services, and a subsequent agreement that they were worth $1000, followed by a promise to pay that sum. The court charged that if the jury should find for the plaintiffs and should find that such agreement to pay $1000 was made the verdict should be for that sum. The testimony touching the value of the services ranged from $250 to $2000. Held, that such instruction was not erroneous.</p> <p>3. Writings — Interpretation—Court—Jury. Instead of advising the legal effect of certain correspondence- alleged to embrace the contract of .employment the court submitted such correspondence to the jury, whose construction thereof was the only one justified by the language used in such correspondence. Held, no material error.</p> <p>4. Contract — Express—Implied—Quantum Meruit.. Each party asserted a promise as to compensation, one claiming it to embrace certain terms, the other that it contained different terms. The contention of the plaintiffs was adopted by the jury and supported by the evidence. Held, not to be a case of mutual misunderstanding whereby, the minds of the parties never met, relegating plaintiffs to a recovery quantum meruit.</p> <p>5. Statute op Frauds — Promise — Individual Liability. The Missouri statute of frauds (1 Rev. Stat. of Mo.-1899, § 3418) provides that “no action shall be brought to charge any . . . administrator, upon any special promise to answer ’ for any debt or damages out of his own estate, . . . unless the agreement ... or some memorandum or note th