Wolfsen v. Hathaway

Plaintiffs brought this action to recover damages for the destruction of grass and grain growing on land leased by them for pasturage. The damages occurred as the result of some farming operations undertaken by defendants W. L. Hathaway and Seth Cole, claiming to have acted in reliance upon an oral agreement for the written lease of the land for farm cultivation. Upon the completion of the trial testimony and in response to plaintiffs’ motion premised on the theory that there was no evidence validating the existence of said defendants’ alleged oral agreement, the court “directed ... a verdict…