Coalinga Mohawk Oil Co. v. R. H. Herron Co.

NOURSE, J.

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment in favor of defendants in a suit to recover damages for breach of contract. The complaint alleged that on the fifth day of March, 1917, plaintiff and defendants entered into a written contract whereby defendants agreed to sell to plaintiff and plaintiff agreed to purchase from defendants certain quantities of oil-well casing and that defendants agreed to make deliveries thereof on certain specified dates. It was then alleged that defendants had failed to make deliveries, that the price of such casing had greatly increased over the

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price fixed in the contract; that when the contract was executed the defendants knew that plaintiff intended to' use the casing for the purpose of drilling oil wells; and that by reason of the failure in delivery of the casing plaintiff had been damaged to the extent of $102,660, segregated as follows: Increased cost of casing $12,350; interest on other equipment purchased by plaintiff but remaining idle on account of failure to deliver casing $1,750; anticipated profits from oil wells if they had been sunk as contemplated $88,560.

Demurrers to the complaint were overruled and separate answers were filed by each defendant. The Oil Well Supply Company denied the execution of any contract with plaintiff, and as the trial court found in accordance with this denial, this defendant may be dismissed from further consideration. The defendant R H. Herron Co. denied the execution of the contract pleaded in the complaint and set forth

in haec verba

the full contract entered into between the parties; it then set' forth facts upon which it relied to excuse performance of the contract so pleaded.

Consideration should first be given to the pleadings. If the plaintiff had fully pleaded the contract which was in fact executed, without any further allegation than those appearing in its complaint, the action would have fallen on demurrer. By an incomplete statement of the transaction plaintiff was able to put forth a complaint for breach of contract to deliver certain specified quantities of casing on specific dates, whereas the contract actually made contained the specific proviso: “We cannot guarantee deliveries, but have promise for shipment as near to the dates you mention as it is possible for the mill to ship. We will do all we possibly can to have the goods shipped.” This is far different from the contract pleaded by plaintiff “that defendants agreed to deliver 3500 feet of . . . casing on October 1,’ 1917; 3500 feet ... on January 1, 1918,” etc.