Sockolov

This is an appeal from a judgment in plaintiff’s favor and from an order denying the defendant’s motion for a new trial.

The action was brought to recover the sum of $1,563 alleged to have been paid by the plaintiff upon the purchase price of a lot upon which there was at the time a building in course of construction, the defendant agreeing to complete the construction of said building in a workmanlike manner, and to deliver the same to the plaintiff free and clear of encumbrances with the exception of an existing mortgage for fifteen thousand dollars, the plaintiff agreeing to take the premises when so completed and to pay the sum of twenty-nine thousand dollars as the whole purchase price thereof. The plaintiff avers that the defendant violated this agreement by his failure to construct and complete the building in a workmanlike manner or in accordance with the contract, and he therefore prays to recover the sum paid on account of the purchase price. There is also a second count in the complaint wherein the plaintiff seeks to recover the sum of $407 alleged to have been laid out and expended for the defendant’s use and benefit.

The first contention of the appellant is that the…