Glaze

Action to recover commissions for sale of real estate. Judgment for defendant, and plaintiffs appeal from judgment and order denying their motion for a new trial.

Defendant, who resided at San Jose, was the owner of an orange orchard in Tulare county. Plaintiffs, who were real estate agents doing business at Visalia in that county, having in mind a prospective purchaser for the orchard, procured from defendant the following writing:

On June 3d (June 2d being a holiday) C. H. Brampton, the purchaser mentioned, gave one of the plaintiffs a check for $50 as a deposit to bind the sale and to apply on the first payment on the property. On June 4th defendant was notified by telegraph: “Deal closed; but buyer prefers Jan. 1st, 1909, instead of Jan. 1st, 1908, as per your contract, as date of 1-ast payment. If satisfactory, deliver abstract of title to me at once.” (Signed) “R A. Van Loan.” Some further correspondence ensued; the change of time of payment was not agreed to by defendant, but the abstract was forwarded and the transaction was assumed by all parties to be in progress toward a transfer of the property, but no agreement to purchase was ever reduced to- writing or signed by…