Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Cases on Torts
The defendant demurred to the first count, on the ground that the declaration did not set forth a legal cause of action.
The Superior Court sustained the demurrer, and ordered judgment for the defendant; and the plaintiff appealed to this court.
Devens, J. The alleged misrepresentations of the defendant, by which the plaintiff avers that he was induced to enter into a contract for building thirty miles of the Florida Midland Railway, are that the defendant had purchased a certain quantity of rails at a certain price, and that he would sell those rails to the plaintiff at the same price if he would make such contract. The plaintiff's declaration alleges that the defendant had not then purchased the rails, and did not sell, and did not intend to sell, any rails so purchased to the plaintiff and that by reason of the contract into which the plaintiff was induced to enter, he was obliged to purchase a large number of rails at a much higher price than that named by the defendant, to his great injury. If the formalities required by law in order that contracts for the sale and delivery of goods of the value here in ques tion had been complied with, that these facts would constitute a con tract upon a valuable consideration, will not be questioned. The plaintiff does not seek to recover upon this contract, but in an action of tort in the nature of deceit, because he was induced to enter into the contract with the Florida Railway Company by reason of the representations above set forth.
A representation, in order that, if material and false, it may form the ground Of an action where one has been induced to act by reason thereof, should be one Of some existing fact. A statement promissory in its character that one will thereafter sell goods at a particular price or time, will pay money, or do any similar thing, or any assur ance as to what shall thereafter be done, or as to any further event, is not properly a representation, but a contract, for the violation Of which a remedy is to be sought by action thereon. The statement by the defendant that he would thereafter sell rails at a particular price if the plaintiff would contract with the railway company was a promise, the breach Of which has occasioned the injury to the plaintiff. Knowlton v. Keenan, 146 Mass. 86.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.