Corbett v. Wolford

Bryan, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. ' Corbett contracted to purchase from the appellees twenty tons of hay at the price of eight dollars a ton. The hay was contained in several ricks in an open field which belonged to Wolford and his wife, and was occupied by the Ripples as their tenants. The contract was verbal. According to the seventeenth section of the Statute of Frauds, a sale ⁴²⁸ of goods and chattels of the value of ten pounds and upwards is not valid, unless the buyer shall accept part of the goods sold and actually receive the same, or give something as earnest to bind the bargain or in part payment, or some note or memorandum in writing be made and signed, &c.

Nothing was given as earnest to bind the bargain, or in part payment, and no note or memorandum in writing was made. Corbett was sued by the appellees for the price of the hay, and j udgment was rendered against him. The evidence tended to prove that shortly after the contract was made, Corbett ordered men who were in his service to go to the place where the hay was standing in ricks and pack it; and that one of his men took some of the hay from the top of one of the ricks and trimmed down the sides; and that in about twenty minutes afterwards all the hay was accidently destroyed by fire. The question at the trial was whether the title to the hay had vested in Corbett, before it was burnt up.

On the prayer of the appellees, the Court granted the following instruction : “ The jury are instructed that if they believe from the évidence that the defendant bought the hay in controversy and directed his hands or employees to bale the same, and said hands took possession of said hay, and by topping the same and cutting down the sides thereof prepared the same for such baling and that such hay was afterwards destroyed by fire, then the jury are instructed that such acts are evidence of the receipt and acceptance by the defendant of the hay in controversy, and their verdict must be for the plaintiffs.” ■ The facts stated if there had been no others in evidence would ha-ve justified the jury in finding a verdict for the plaintiffs. We do not.desire to be unnecessarily critical in considering the form of the instruction. It is well, however, to say, that this Court has, on several occasions, disapproved of this method of putting a case before the jury. Among other authorities we refer to Hurt v. Woodland, 24 Md. 417 ; Moore v. McDonald, 68 Md. 336 ; Kennedy v. ⁴²⁹ County Commissioners, 69 Md. 71—72.

We would not, nevertheless, be willing to reverse the judgment if there were not a more serious objection to this instruction. We will state it. Corbett in his, testimony, says: “ The hay was to have been delivered by the plaintiffs, after I had packed it, to Charlton Station or at the canal landing, which place I was to determine