O'Brien

Plaintiff alleges in the complaint that it sold and delivered certain building materials to defendants O’Brien and Ersery at their instance and request and seeks to recover the sum of $530.32, the balance due on the purchase price. O’Brien was the owner of a house on which certain alterations were being made and Essery was engaged to make the alterations under an agreement by which his compensation was to be calculated on the basis of ten per cent of the cost of labor and materials used in the work. The defendants answered separately, O’Brien claiming that Essery was an independent contractor and therefore solely liable, and Essery claiming that he was merely the agent of O ’Brien. The trial court found in favor of the contentions of Essery and rendered judgment against O’Brien, who prosecutes this appeal.

Determination of the appeal depends upon the question whether the findings are supported by the evidence. Since the findings are in favor of plaintiff, the evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to its contentions. (Hoppin v. Munsey, 185 Cal. 678 [ 198 Pac. 398 ].) Nearly all of the evidence on the subject is found in the testimony of Essery and certain…