Case Name: Leland H. JOHNSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CAPITAL CITY FORD COMPANY, Inc., Defendant-Appellant
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1955-12-30
Citations: 85 So. 2d 75
Docket Number: No. 4098
Parties: Leland H. JOHNSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CAPITAL CITY FORD COMPANY, Inc., Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 85
Pages: 75–87

Head Matter:
Leland H. JOHNSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CAPITAL CITY FORD COMPANY, Inc., Defendant-Appellant.
No. 4098.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana. First Circuit.
Dec. 30, 1955.
Rehearing Denied Feb. 3, 1956.
Writ of Certiorari Denied March 26, 1956.
Taylor, Porter, Brooks, Fuller. &. Phillips, Baton Rouge, for appellant.
Kantrow, Spaht & West,. R. L. Klein-peter, Baton Rouge, for appellee.

Opinion:
TATE, Judge.
This suit is for specific performance of a contractual obligation allegedly resulting from plaintiff's acceptance by act (without negotiation or other discussion) of an alleged offer made by newspaper advertisement to the public by defendant automobile dealer. Defendant dealer appeals from judgment of the District Court decreeing specific performance of the alleged' obligation; plaintiff Johnson answered this appeal, praying for amendment of the decree.
The basic question involved is whether the newspaper advertisement in question constituted an "offer" rather than merely an. invitation to bargain. If the former, a secondary question for determination is whether any act or omission of plaintiff-acceptor-obligee waived his right to require the defendant-offeror-obligor to perform the obligation, resulting from plaintiff's acceptance. If as contended. by defendant the newspaper advertisement was merely an invitation to bargain, then of course defendant's objection to parol evidence as enlarging or varying a certain written contract in evidence was well founded; if, on the other hand, this newspaper advertisement constituted a continuing @ffer which the plaintiff accepted by such purchase, and thus as the District Court found, created a contemporaneous collateral obligation of defendant' to do something in addition to the obligation embodied in the written contract,' then of course such evidence was correctly admitted to prove the existence of this independent, collateral contract.
When the 1955 models were about to appear, defendant Ford dealer i:n an effort to dispose of an excessive supply of 1954 models (which were shortly to be outmoded by the 1955 Ford cars) engaged in an intensive advertising campaign by newspaper and radio, the first day's advertisement concerning which is self-explanatory:
(See exhibits J-l-2-3-4 advertisements of September 17th and 18th inserted both in the Morning Advocate, and State Times morning and evening papers, respectively, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.)
It may be added that the 1955 models were expected to arrive within'60-90 days of this bargain sale of 1954 models.
Plaintiff and his wife testified that in response to these newspaper and radio advertisements they went to defendant's premises on September 21st, 1954. Johnson there purchased a 1954 Ford Sedan with certain accessories; he received an allowance of $974.05 for his old car and paid boot of $1,660 in cash. Johnson executed an act of sale for the 1954 Ford purchased by him, which we will discuss below.
In December, 1954, when the 1955 models were advertised, Johnson appeared at de fendant's premises and requested its compliance with the newspaper offer accepted by him. At this time or soon after, Johnson or his attorney was informed that defendant's newspaper advertisements were not intended as offers, but merely as invitations to come in and bargain; that by delivery of the 1954 automobile for the consideration expressed in the executed act of sale, defendant felt it had fully complied with all obligations whatsoever to Johnson.
Detailed discussion of the evidence is unnecessary, for we do not find the District Court's determination of the facts manifestly erroneous, supported as it is by sworn evidence and certain corroborating circumstances. For instance, defendant urges with considerable effect that Johnson's behavior in buying the 1954 Ford without any discussion whatsoever as to his right per the newspaper offer to exchange said model for a 1955 model, is not the usual and normal course of behavior.
But what we are here concerned with is not the usual course of behavior, but what transpired on this particular occasion.
Basically, when defendant urges that because usually and ordinarily a person would not behave as Johnson and his wife stated they did, in assuming without further discussion that they acquired the right to a 1955 model Ford upon their purchase of a 1954 Ford per the newspaper offer, defendant is attacking the credibility of the testimony of plaintiff and his wife, which issue the District Court with opportunity to see and hear personally all witnesses has resolved in favor of the plaintiff. Because plaintiff's conduct was improbable does not require a holding that it did not occur as testified under oath by himself and wife and believed by the District Court, for human beings do improbable things at times.
We further do not find manifestly erroneous the District Court's determination that the pencilled notation "No '55 deal" was not on the contract of purchase of the 1954 Ford when executed by plaintiff on Sepetmber 21, 1954.
Accepting the facts so found by the District Court, we believe its application of legal principles thereto was correct.
In Louisiana and elsewhere a newspaper advertisement may. constitute an of-, fer, acceptance of which will consummate a contract and create an obligation in the offerer to perform according to terms of the published offer; Schreiner v. Weil Furniture Co., Inc., La.App., 68 So.2d 149; Youngblood v. Daily and Weekly Signal Tribune, 15 La.App. 379, 131 So. 604; Kodel Radio Corp. v. Shuler, 171 La. 469, 131 So. 462; Maginnis v. Union Oil Company, 47 La.Ann. 1489, 18 So. 459; Deslondes v. Wilson, 5 La. 397, 25 Am.Dec. 187; Corbin on Contracts, Vol. 1, pp. 60 et seq., Section 25.
In the Schreiner case very recently our brethren on the Orleans Court of Appeal observed: "It is possible to make offers to anyone, or to everyone, who may perform a specified act or make a specified promise. There is no doubt that as a result of Mrs. Butscher's success in the contest the defendant must be held bound to his obligation. When plaintiff performed all of the requirements of the offer in accordance with the published terms, it created a valid and binding contract, under which she became entitled to the promised rewards. That there was a serious and mutual consideration is obvious." 68 So.2d 151.
"In order to constitute a proposal which may be converted into a contract by acceptance, the offer need not be addressed to a particular individual. A binding obligation may even originate in advertisements addressed to the general public," 12 Am.Jur. 527, Verbo Contracts, Section 28. Whether in any individual instance the newspaper advertisement is an offer, rather than an invitation to make an offer, depends on the legal intention of the parties and the surrounding circumstances; Annotation, 157 A.L.R. 744-751, 77 C.J.S., Verbo Sales, § 26, p. 634; 17 C.J.S., Verbo Contracts, § 46, p. 389; 12 Am.Jur. 526-527, Verbo Contracts, Section 28.
The advertisement denotes itself as an "offer", the wording to a reader denotes a bona fide bargain offer, and it was certain and definite enough to constitute a legal offer, Articles 1779, 1886, LSA-Civil Code.
If the automobile dealer had stated on September 17th to a specific customer: "If you buy a 1954 automobile before October 1st, I will let you trade it even (except for license and sales tax) for a 1955 model of exactly the same model, body style, and accessories when these 1955 models come out in 60-90 days, providing you return the 1954 model with only normal wear and tear"; undoubtedly the offeree's purchase of a 1954 model before October 1st would have been a binding acceptance (without any further discussion) of the dealer's offer, creating in the dealer an obligation to furnish a 1955 model when available according to the terms of the offer.
In light of the legal principles above summarized, this same offer communicated to the general public by a newspaper advertisement has the same legal effect when accepted according to its terms. In the absence of any limitation in the offer solely to cash purchases, we do not feel the situation differs because plaintiff purchased the 1954 Ford by trade-in with cash boot, instead of by cash only.
If appellant-dealer argues it did not actually intend this newspaper advertisement to constitute an offer, and therefore the advertisement did not do so, nevertheless "The rights of plaintiff and defendant are to be tested by the actual legal consequences flowing from a sale [contract] made under the particular advertisement , These consequences cannot be altered or checked because the agent of the company may have had an erroneous belief as to what the advertisement as written meant,' or what it would legally convey. The advertisement controlled the rights and obligations of the parties", Maginnis v. Union Oil Company, 47 La.Ann. 1489 at pages 1495-1496, 18 So. 459, at page 461. In the Maginnis case, the purchaser's acceptance at public sale of the vendor's advertised offer to sell was held to require conveyance not only of the land and buildings, but also of the valuable machinery therein (immovable by destination), although it was the explicit intention of the vendor in preparing the advertisement not to include this machinery in the offer.
It must further be remembered that the words of the advertisement were of course chosen by defendant-dealer, and if any ambiguity exists as to their meaning, it must be -resolved against their composer; LSA-Civil Code, Article 1957; Crummer v. Nuveen, 7 Cir., 147 F.2d 3, 157 A.L.R. 739, holding a newspaper advertisement to purchase bonds at par was an offer, rather than a mere proposal to negotiate, being complete and definite, and if ambiguous, construed against offerer.
Defendant urges that plaintiff was under some duty when he appeared on defendant's premises in response to the advertised offer to indicate that he was accepting same, since defendant indicates it would have offered less trade-in value for plaintiff's old car had it known that this was a "1954-1955" deal as advertised. Assuming defendant would not 'have allowed as much trade-in if it had thpught this was a "1954-1955" deal, if there was a burden on anyone, it would seem to be upon defendant to inform the plaintiff.of any conditions or modifications of the apparently bona fide offer contained in the advertisement. "The party proposing shall be presumed to continue in the intention, which his proposal expressed, if, on receiving the unqualified assent of him to whom the proposition is made, he do not signify the change of his intention", Article 1801, LSA-Civil Code. See Loyd Mercantile Co. v. Long, 123 La. 777, 49 So. 521; Comment, (now Professor) Pascal, "Duration and Revocability of an Offer", 1 La.Law Review 182. "But if the doubt or obscurity [in the agreement] arise for the want of necessary explanation which one of the parties ought to have given, or from any -other negligence or fault of his, the construction most favorable to the other party shall be adopted, whether he be obligor or obligee", Article 1958, LSA-C.C.
Thus we have here what is denoted both in the common law and in our civil code as a unilateral contract, or an obligation created by an offer accepted by an act: the offer or exchange of a promise for an act. The execution of the act (purchase of the 1954 Ford) by plaintiff in compliance with terms of defendant's published offer constituted plaintiff's acceptance of said offer, -creating defendant's duty or obligation to furnish a 1955 Ford according to the terms of the published offer. See Comment, "The Unilateral Contract in Civil Law and in Louisiana" 16 Tulane Law Review 456.
Plaintiff's motive in purchasing the 1954 Ford was not only to receive it for the trade-in and boot given, but also to receive the right to exchange without substantial charge 'this 1954 Ford for a 1955 model when the latter became available. The cause or consideration for what plaintiff gave the dealer, included not only the 1954 Ford but also the right to exchange it for a 1955 Ford according to the terms of the published offer. See Civil Code Article 1896: "By the cause of the contract, in this section, is meant the consideration or motive for making it."; also (Professor) Smith, "A Refresher Course in Cause' Law Review 2. 12 La.
The executed sale which plaintiff signed when he purchased the 1954 Ford contained within a paragraph printed at the bottom of the page:
"The front and back of this order comprise the entire agreement pertaining to this purchase and no other agreement of any kind, verbal understanding or promise whatsoever, will be recognized."
Defendant urges with considerable force that applying the rule stated in United Engineering Co. v. Durbin, La.App. 1 Cir., 68 So.2d 614, the alleged independent collateral agreement based on acceptance of the newspaper offer was so closely related to the contract for purchase of a- 1954-Ford as to be "naturally and normally" included in the written contract; therefore , that parole proof should have been barred; or, that, in ariy event plaintiff waived his right to enforce this obligation as against defendant in view of the quoted clause.
However, as pointed out above, in the present case defendant was under a duty to notify plaintiff of any modification of the newspaper offer. The omission in this contract is construed against defendant. In a very similar situation, construing a similar clause, our Supreme Court held that acceptance of an advertised order completes the contract, which is not subject to further modification by either one of the parties without the consent of the other, Kodel Radio Corporation v. Shuler, 171 La. 468, 131 So. 462. Further, the: terms of this proviso limit it as the "entire agreement pertaining to this purchase"T which indeed was a complete contract within itself; but this purchase-sale contract, complete within itself, was nevertheless also the acceptance of an offer, creating another and a separate obligation.
Acceptance of an offer may of course be made by silent deed as well as by word; consent may be implied- from ac-> tions under 'the circumstances, as well as by expressed words; but such acceptance of, founded on such consent to, an offer nevertheless creates a valid contract, and the offerer is bound by the obligation previously offered by him in exchange for the act which the obligee has performed in response to the offer, LSA-Civil Code Articles 1802, 1811, 1816; Shreveport Traction Company v. Mulhaupt, 122 La. 667, 48 So. 144; Lowy v. Builliard, La.App. 1 Cir., 17 So.2d 855; Netterville v. Police Jury, 6 La.App. 512 (1 Cir.).
The record reflects that plaintiff went to defendant's premises .with the perhaps naive belief that the advertisement meant just what it said; that as subsequently blazoned by heavy black headlines in large advertisements, "TVyO FOR ONE . . . Til September 30th AND THERE'S NO CATCH.IN IT" (Exhibits J-S, J-6, J-7, and J — S); that everyone who bought a 1954 Ford during the 2-week period was ipso facto entitled to exchange it for a 1955 model when such were available, according to the dealer's offer. The published offer without qualification was that plaintiff's acceptance thereof by purchase of a 1954 model entitled him to receive a 1955 model in exchange, which implicitly no more needed discussion or formalized warranty in acceptance than does the assumption' of one purchasing a new car that it will be painted rather than nakéd steel.
If defendant seriously argues that despite the plain wording of the advertised offer, defendant had absolutely no intention of making a bona fide offer but was merely intending to lure customers to defendant's sales lot, or that, if a bona fide offer, the routine signing of a form document by plaintiff amounted to A waiver of substantial property rights because of small print at the bottom, not called to his attention by defendant, it may be well to recall the expression of the Ohio Supreme Court in an almost identical factual situation as reported at Meyer v. Packard Cleveland Motor Co., 106 Ohio St. 328, 140 N.E. 118, at page 121, 28 A.L.R. 986, at page 991:
"There is entirely too much disregard of law and truth in the business, social, and political world of to-day. It is time to hold men to their primary engagements to tell the truth and observe the law of common honesty and fair dealing."
Answer to Appeal.
The District Court judgment orders in specific performance of the contract, the defendant to "deliver to the said plaintiff a 1955 Ford two-door Sedan Customline V-8 with radio, heater, overdrive and windshield washers, in exchange for plaintiff's 1954 Ford, all at defendant's cost, the said plaintiff to pay the license fees and sales tax due thereupon." In answer to the appeal, plaintiff points out that this was adequate relief in May of 1955 when the judgment was rendered; but due to the appellate delays the 1955 Ford model has now been superseded by a 1956 model. Plaintiff requests that judgment be amended to command defendant to deliver a 195(5 Ford of the same style, accessories, etc., instead of a 1955 Ford.
There is no evidence in the record that a 1956 Ford is of the same value as a 1955 Ford; there is no evidence that the additional depreciation on plaintiff's 1954 Ford does not exceed the legal rate of five per cent per annum interest to which increase in award alone plaintiff is entitled by reason of the appellate delays (in the absence of frivolous appeal); we cannot amend the judgment as requested.
Initially, the plaintiff had alternatively demanded monied damages for the difference in value between his 1954 Ford and the 1955 Ford model to which plaintiff is entitled under the contract. Through defendant's sales manager, the record indicates that the value of a 1955 Ford of the same style and accessories, etc., as plaintiff-appellee's 1954 Ford is $2,622, while the value at date of trial of plaintiff's 1954 Ford, which it was necessary for him to exchange for a 1955 Ford, was 'between $1,400 — $1,475. Adopting the lower figure, it would appear that plaintiff would be entitled to a judgment on his alternative demand in the sum of $1,222 plus legal interest from date of judicial demand until paid, and plus costs. (With this sum plus the 1954 Ford, at date of trial plaintiff could have obtained a 1955 model according to the terms of defendant's obligation.)
However, in the answer to the appeal plaintiff-appellee did not see fit to request this alternative relief, although he did pray for "all general and equitable relief".
We are cited to no authority that gives us the power to amend a decree in favor of the appellee in a manner other than as prayed for in an answer to the appeal, even though such answer contains a further prayer for "general and equitable relief". On the other hand, the answer to the appeal was timely filed and does indicate that plaintiff is now entitled to further relief than allowed by the original decree. Under Code of Practice Article 906, we are remanding this case in order that the judgment may be amended in accordance with the views expressed herein. In all other respects, the judgment appealed from is affirmed. Defendant-appellant is to pay all costs of these proceedings and of this appeal.
Affirmed: but remanded for amendment of decree.
. Although E. J. Daigle, the salesman involved testified that he must have discussed the lack of application of the advertised offer, because he invariably did so, plaintiff and his wife testified unequivocally and were believed by the District Court, that no discussion whatsoever occurred concerning the right to acquire a 1955 model automobile when plaintiff purchased his 1954 Ford. And it is to be noted that by implication defendant's president admitted that the salesmen did not invariably discuss with customers whether they were interested in the bargain deal expressed, by the advertisements, see testimony of J. Theron Brown, President of Defendant at Tr-16:
"Q. Well, now, was it the policy of you and your employees or your salesmen, or anyone connection with these deals, to discuss that with these people and inform them when they bought a 1954 Ford that they might not be entitled to a 1955 Ford?
"A. If they came m and referred to the ad and for the purpose of discussing tbat particular proposition offered in the paper, yes. But that, as I understand it, was not mentioned in this particular case by the purchaser." (Italics ours.)
. To the naked eye this notation appears to be by a different hand and different pencil than the signature of the salesman who allegedly made this notation; on a photostat of this sale, all other pencilled notations allegedly made at the same time are legible, but this notation is almost invisible and cannot be read. Plaintiff and his wife testify positively that such notation was not on the contract when executed, nor when they returned approximately 2 months later, to receive their 1955 model; and while defendant's salesman testified that it must have been on there because he would not have made such notation after the deal, another representative of defendant whom plaintiff and his wife testified on the latter occasion had examined the contract with them and found no such notation, was unable to remember either to confirm or to deny this visit of John son and his wife or whether or not he saw the contract on that occasion. Some further corroborative force to plaintiff's story is the testimony that such transactions were always stamped with a rubber stamp when a "No 1955" deal was made, and in this instance plaintiff's contract was not so stamped. Of course, defendants testify with allegedly equal effect that these contracts were always likewise noted when a 1955 exchange deal was consummated. But it is to be remembered that contracts, including omissions, are to be construed against him who prepares them, in this ease defendant dealer.
. Plaintiff's answer is that he would not have bought the 1954 Ford car from defendant, even 'at 'that trade-in value given him by defendant, unless he thought he was to receive the 1955 car in exchange therefor without extra' cost (except' for sales-tax and license) when such later model was available.