McCord & Bradfield Furniture Co. v. Wollpert

Citations

• 89 Cal. 271
• 26 P. 969
• 1891 Cal. LEXIS 810

Syllabus

<p>Sale of Furniture— Agent of Manufacturing Firm—Limitation of Authority — Old Patterns — Non-delivery — Damages. — A letter from a manufacturing firm to a customer, to the effect that for the next year they had certain new patterns of furniture, which they would be ready to submit to the inspection of the customer at the end of the month, and that “our Mr. W. will call on you early in January, aud talk to you about handling the line for next year,” only authorizes the agent to sell the new patterns of furniture which were in the process of manufacture, were already manufactured, or were offered to be manufactured, and the customer cannot recover damages for the failure of the manufacturer to deliver old patterns of furniture which the latter had ceased to manufacture, and which the customer claimed to have bought through the agent.</p> <p>Id. —Ostensible Authority of Agent. —The mere fact that one acts as agent of a manufacturing company in one year for the sale of goods manufactured for sale for that year does not make him an ostensible agent to sell the same goods for the next year, unless such goods are continued to be manufactured or are in stock, and the principal wishes to sell them.</p> <p>Id. — Goods Out of Manufacture. —An agent authorized to sell new-pattern goods, to be manufactured, in addition to those that the principal has already manufactured or was willing to manufacture, has no authority to sell old-pattern goods, which have ceased to be manufactured, and could not be manufactured except at a loss.</p>