Rieder

This is an action for the recovery of the purchase price paid by plaintiff for five automobile leases or sales contracts. Plaintiff had judgment for the amount from defendant The Hogan Company and that defendant appeals.

The contracts were purchased for respondent by the firm of Porter & Brown, who were his agents in the deal, the negotiations leading up to the sale having been conducted by Porter, a member of the firm. Porter made the purchase from defendant Sears. In fastening liability upon appellant the trial court found that Sears, in making the sale, acted as the ostensible agent of appellant. The result of the appeal depends on the question whether this finding is supported by the evidence, for appellant contends that it is not. At the time of the sale of the contracts Sears had been for some time the manager of an insurance department which was operated by appellant, and Porter knew that he was employed by appellant in that capacity. We must assume, from the very designation given to this position, that' Sears occupied a somewhat important place with appellant, and Porter was justified in so regarding him. Laying aside, for the moment, the question of his authority to…