Page:United States Reports, Volume 209.djvu/269

 DoTSON . MILLIKEN. 209 U. , Opinion of the Court. gave the plaintiff to understand, no doubt the purchaser would have been content and the sale would have been made. One or two subordinate objections need only a word. It is said that the instructions did not require the jury to find that the owner and' purchaser had agreed on terms. But this is best answered by reading the instruction. What is meant is that on the evidence there were possible points of disagreement open. This may or may not be true. Buta finding that the poxtics had agreed was warranted-and was presupposed in the request. So as to th, ability of the purchaser. No question ever was raised about it; the defendant was satisfied with it, and it is .questioned here only as a technical means of getting a large and doubtful verdict set aside..It is urged, faint heartedly, that a binding agreement was necessary before a commission_was earned. This is not the prevailing view, and could not be the law in a case like this, where the iury must have found the defendant liable on a contract with the broker that might be performed before an absolute agreerne.nt with the purchaser should be reached. The ruling requested for the defendant was as follows: "If the jury believe from the evidence that any bona fide purchaser was actually found by the plaintiff for 10,000'acres of said land as claimed in the declaration, upon the represen- tations of said plaintiff to said purchaser as to the existence of a certain agreement between the defendant and the Southern Railway Company concerning the construction of a branch railroad into said lands and the purchaser did not rely on the said statements and representations of said plaintiff, but with the knowledge or coSperation of said plaintiff and at his sug- gestion sought and undertook to verify the truth of such stateaents and representations during the pendency of the negotiations for the purchase of said land before any trans- action was closed for the purchase thereof, and that said pur- chaser had the opportunity of investigating, ascertaining and verifying the truthfulness of such statements and represents- tions, and took advantage of that opportunity by interviews,

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