Pelkey v. Norton

149 Me. 247, 99 A.2d 918 (1953)

From our private database of 46,200+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Pelkey v. Norton

Maine Supreme Judicial Court
149 Me. 247, 99 A.2d 918 (1953)

Facts

Pelkey (plaintiff), an automobile salesman, agreed to sell Norton (defendant) a 1951 Packard vehicle for $3,007.84. Norton paid $1,807.84 in cash and traded in a truck towards the purchase price for an amount of $1,200. At the time of their negotiation, Norton informed Pelkey that the truck was a 1949 Chevrolet truck in order to induce Pelkey to provide a greater trade-in amount. In reality, the truck was a 1947 Chevrolet model. To verify Norton’s claim that it was a 1949 model, the dealership looked at certain numbers and a serial letter from the impression on Norton’s truck. A mistake was made in reading the letter Q as O. If read correctly, the letter Q would have informed Pelkey that the truck was a 1947 model. The difference in the trade-in price between a 1947 model and 1949 model truck was about $700. When the truck was later sold to a third-party purchaser, it was discovered that the truck was a 1947 model. The third-party purchaser subsequently brought suit against Pelkey for damages. Pekley then brought suit against Norton for fraud. At the conclusion of Pelkey’s evidence at trial, Norton moved for a directed verdict, which was granted. Pelkey appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Tirrel, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 796,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials
  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 796,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 796,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,200 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership