Robinson v. Chapman Square, Inc.

WILSON, J. Since the evidence is insufficient to sustain the basic finding of fact that plaintiffs and defendant entered into the several contracts therein described without which the judgment in favor of plaintiffs from which defendant has appealed cannot survive, the judgment must be reversed.

The action is to recover damages for loss of profits alleged to have been suffered by plaintiffs by reason of defendant’s refusal to permit them to perform contracts for the installation of sheet metal work in a number of dwellings erected by defendant. Plaintiffs alleged and the court found that on or about January 24, 1944, contracts were entered into whereby they agreed to do the work and defendant agreed to pay stated prices therefor; that defendant renounced and repudiated its agreements, depriving plaintiffs of their anticipated profits.

[903]One Jane Reed Kissinger owned two tracts of real property in Los Angeles County which, in the latter part of 1943, she was planning to subdivide and to develop for sale by erecting small dwellings thereon. One tract was known as the Pleasant Valley Tract, the other as Chapman Square. On December 1, 1943, Robinson, one of the plaintiff partners, visited Mrs. Kissinger’s place of business to solicit orders for the sheet metal work to be installed in the buildings on her two tracts. Her agent, I. H. Brown, gave him several blueprints designated by plan and elevation numbers. The blueprints were not otherwise identified and contained no reference either to Pleasant Valley or to Chapman Square. From these blueprints Robinson made his estimates in duplicate on plaintiffs’ printed forms for the sheet metal work required for the various buildings, referring to the plans by their respective numbers. The estimates did not state how many houses were to be constructed from each plan. His offers were dated December 1, 1943. Bach offer was for work on “Building of Jane Reed Kissinger.” He gave Mrs. Kissinger the copy of each estimate and retained the original. Robinson returned to Mrs. Kissinger’s office on January 24, 1944, where he saw Brown, with whom he had previously conferred, and was introduced by him to G. R. Branch, whom Mrs. Kissinger had employed on January 9, 1944, as her building superintendent. Robinson brought with him on this occasion the originals of the estimates. Branch was authorized by Mrs. Kissinger to sign and he did sign an acceptance dated January 24, 1944, on each estimate, signing “G. R. Branch” without any designation as to whether he was acting as agent for any other person, and if so for whom. Defendant’s name did not appear on any of the originals or copies of the estimates.