Plaintiff buyer appealed a judgment

Procedural Posture

Plaintiff buyer appealed a judgment from the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (California), which found in his favor in a breach of contract action against defendant seller but limited the buyer's award of damages. The trial court also denied the buyer's motion for a new trial.

Overview: civil code 3344

The seller agreed to furnish the buyer with a lathe of certain specifications. The buyer paid a down payment on the purchase price and agreed to pay up to a certain freight rate. Because the lathe shipped was of a lesser length than called for in the contract, the buyer filed a breach of contract action. The trial court found in the buyer's favor but only awarded him the down payment and the freight charges specified in the contract. The buyer then filed a motion for a new trial based on surprise, which was denied. On appeal by the buyer, the court affirmed. The court held that the buyer was only entitled to the freight charges as specified in the contract because that was the amount he actually paid to return the lathe to the seller. Also, pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 3308, the buyer was only entitled to recover the down payment as damages. There was no showing of an excess value to the buyer over the amount that would have been due to the seller under the contract. Further, the buyer was not entitled to a new trial based on surprise. Evidence of the price of a lathe of the same size did not in the remotest degree tend to prove an equivalent article.

Outcome

The court affirmed the judgment and the order.