Messersmith v. G.T. Murray & Co.

667 P.2d 655 (1983)

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Messersmith v. G.T. Murray & Co.

Wyoming Supreme Court
667 P.2d 655 (1983)

  • Written by Tammy Boggs, JD

Facts

In late July 1982, Frances Messersmith (defendant) contacted a stock-brokerage firm, G.T. Murray & Co. (Murray) (plaintiff) about the possibility of selling stock of unknown value in Western Preferred. Murray responded that the stock was selling for about $46 per share. That same day, Messersmith brought her stock certificate showing 200 shares of Western Preferred to Murray, and Murray completed the sale at $47 per share. Days later, Francis and Daniel Messersmith (defendant) received a check for the net proceeds of the sale, or over $9,200. The Messersmiths proceeded to use $8,000 as a down payment on a house and the rest on bills. In October 1982, Murray discovered that there had been an error in the sale of the Messersmiths’ stock, which had been previously subject to a stock split and had only been worth about $235. Murray contacted the Messersmiths to inform them that they had been overpaid by about $9,000 (the overpayment). The Messersmiths disclosed that they had already used or spent the overpayment. Murray sued the Messersmiths to recover the overpayment under a theory of unjust enrichment. The trial court granted judgment in Murray’s favor. The Messersmiths appealed, claiming that they had changed their position after receiving the overpayment.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Brown, J.)

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