Seward v. Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co.

Citations

• 266 Pa. 457
• 109 A. 617
• 1920 Pa. LEXIS 590

Syllabus

<p>Contract — Written contract of sale — Parral agreement — Inducing cause.</p> <p>1. In an action by a purchaser of goods to recover damages for a breach, of contract to deliver goods, where defendant sets up as a defense that the offer to sell was made upon the faith of an express parol agreement that plaintiff was to organize a new company for a pujóse specified, in which all of the product in question should be used and none resold, that otherwise the offer would not have been made, as that was the inducing cause, and that no new company was organized, defendant has no ground to complain, if the trial judge fairly submits such defense to the jury, by whom it is rejected; and especially is this so, where the affidavit of defense made no denial of the contract, but sought to avoid it by setting up the inducing cause as stated.</p> <p>Contracts — Sale—Breach—Failure to deliver — Measure of damages — Anticipated profits — Speculative — Contract price — Market value — Individual sales — Actual damages — Nominal damages.</p> <p>2. In an action by a vendee against a vendor for failure to deliver goods according to contract, the measure of damages is the difference between the contract price and the market value at the time and place of delivery, with interest; and plaintiff may recover such damages without having supplied his wants elsewhere; but, unless the proof shows that the subject of the contract had a market value greater than the contract price at the time of delivery, so as to bring the case within the general rule, plaintiff can recover only nominal damages.</p> <p>3. If the product was not obtainable in the open market, plaintiff may recover his actual damages.</p> <p>4. Where the subject of a contract is a large quantity of a particular chemical, evidence of its having a market value, is not shown by proof merely of individual sales in comparatively small amounts, not at all corresponding to the quantity specified in the contract, and not shown to have been