Harper v. Adametz

Jere Adametz, hired by the conservator of an incompetent farm owner to sell an 80-acre farm, was offered $7,000 by Harper (plaintiff) for the whole farm but never conveyed that offer to the conservator, falsely telling Harper the offer had been rejected while secretly sending his own $500 as a down payment on a fabricated $6,500 offer. Harper then offered $6,000 for just the 17 acres containing the buildings, which Jere accepted on the conservator's behalf while telling the conservator that Harper wanted only 17 acres and that Jere himself wanted to buy the remaining 63 acres for his son Walter (defendant). Jere thus secured 63 acres for his son for $500 plus a $325 sales commission he collected from the sellers. Harper sued Walter for fraud; the trial court found Harper suffered no injury because Jere was the seller's agent, not Harper's, and ruled for Walter.