Opinion ID: 1862465
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: conflicting instructions

Text: In their answer the Warwicks set out as their first affirmative defense that Ford and Ford Motor Credit wholly failed and refused to grant approval as a condition to the Defendants' obligations under the Agreement. Matheney was granted an instruction that, because the Warwicks affirmatively pleaded that Ford had refused to approve, they had the burden to prove it. This was a correct statement of the law. The Warwicks were also granted Instruction D-11: INSTRUCTION D-11 Under the terms of the Agreement for Issuance and Purchase of Corporate Shares between Matheney and the Warwicks, the purchase of stock by the Warwicks from Matheney Ford, Inc., was contingent upon approval by Ford Motor Company and Ford Motor Credit Company. The contract provided that in the event Ford Motor Company failed or refused to approve the Warwicks as investors in Matheney Ford, Inc., then all obligations of the Warwicks would cease. If you believe from a preponderance of the evidence that Ford Motor Company and Ford Motor Credit Company had a reasonable time to approve or disapprove the transaction, but failed to do so, then Matheney has the burden of proving to you that the Warwicks were the sole and only cause of Ford's failure to approve the sale. If Matheney fails to meet this burden of proof, you should return a verdict for the Warwicks. The Warwicks complain that the instructions were in conflict because under D-11 the burden is placed upon Matheney to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Ford and Ford Motor Credit had a reasonable time but failed to do so. The first paragraph of this instruction is a correct statement of the law. The second paragraph, for the reasons above noted, is flawed because it places upon Matheney the duty of proving the Warwicks were the sole and only cause of Ford and Ford Motor Credit refusing to approve. The conflict between these instructions, if any, was caused by Instruction D-11, which was offered by the Warwicks. A party cannot complain of conflicting instructions when the conflict is caused by an instruction given at his request. Sheffield v. Journal Publishing Co., 211 Miss. 294, 300, 51 So.2d 479, 481 (1951); Clisby v. Mobile & O.R. Co., 78 Miss. 937, 949, 29 So. 913, 916 (1901). Therefore, this assignment is without merit.