1. In all cases where a party, having it in his power, cancels a contract or declares it void, he should restore the other party to his former right, by repayment of money, or return of property, received on such con- tract; and failing to do so, he is lia- ble to an action for its recovery. Utter v. Stuart, 20
2. A complaint alleged that the plain- tiff, being the owner of a farm, sold and conveyed it to the defendant, who, in consideration thereof, prom- ised and agreed to pay the plaintiff $2700 therefor. That the defendant paid $200, and gave the plaintiff a mortgage on the premises to secure the payment of $2500, the remain- der of the purchase money; that no bond was given as collateral to the mortgage, but the defendant agreed not to commit waste on the premises, by cutting timber or otherwise, and that the farm should be kept and preserved in as good condition as it was at the time of sale; that to in- duce the plaintiff to waive the giv- ing of a bond by the defendant, the latter falsely and fraudulently rep- resented that he purchased the farm for a homestead for his son; where- as, in truth and in fact, he purchased the same for the purpose of selling it at an advance, to one D. who was without means and unable to pur- chase such a farm. That the de- fendant, two days after he had so purchased the farm, sold and con- veyed it to D. without any covenant
or agreement from him restraining the commission of waste, or obliging D. to keep the premises in good con- dition and preserved from waste and depreciation in value. That the de- fendant suffered and permitted D. to cut and destroy the timber on said farm, and the fences, farm and build- ings to become ruined, dilapidated and greatly depreciated in value, to the amount of $800. That the mort- gage had been foreclosed, and the farm was sold for a sum insufficient to pay the same; the deficiency be- ing over $800. The complaint then prayed that the defendant might be adjudged to pay to the plaintiff the amount of such deficiency, with in- terest, &c. Held that the complaint did not state facts sufficient to con- stitute a cause of action; and that it was properly dismissed for that 202 Vrooman v. Dunlap,
3. A right of action for the conversion of promissory notes will pass to the assignees of the owner, under a gen- eral assignment executed by him, of all his property, for the benefit of creditors. Whittaker v. Merrill,
4. But where the assignees count only upon a conversion subsequent to the assignment, as shown by the refusal of the defendants to deliver the notes, on a demand made in their behalf, and they give evidence tend- ing to sustain that claim, it is not competent for them afterwards to avail themselves of the original right of action, so assigned to them, for a conversion previous to the as- signment. ib
2. Prior to June 23, 1855, the plaintiff and defendants were partners, in the business of manufacturing machines, at Corning, in this state. On that day they agreed to dissolve the part- nership; the defendants to give up to the plaintiff certain notes held by the former against him, for $3000, and to give him a shingle machine, and also to construct for him an en- gine and bill of machinery, which the plaintiff was to set up and run until, from one half the net earnings thereof, to be received by the de- fendants, they were fully paid for such machinery, less the sum of $300, which was to be deducted from the price. The defendants manu- factured the engine and machinery, but on demand by the plaintiff, re- fused to deliver the same, on the ground that the plaintiff had pur- chased a lot of land in Pennsylva- nia, on which he proposed to erect the said machinery; that for the purchase money thereof, $1541, he had confessed judgments which had been duly docketed, so as to become liens upon the land; that by the law of Pennsylvania the erection of this machinery upon the premises would make such machinery a part of the realty, so that the judgments would attach to the same as liens, and a
sale of the land would pass the title to such machinery to the purchaser. Held, 1. That the plaintiff could not recover of the defendants for the price of the shingle machine, in the absence of any proof of a previous demand and refusal of delivery. 2. That in respect to the engine and machinery, if the law of Pennsyl- vania were as claimed by the de- fendants, the plaintiff had no right to require the delivery of that prop- erty in order that he might turn it over to pay, or secure, a precedent debt, in fraud of the defendants' claim for the purchase money. 3. That the defendants being, by the express terms of the contract, au- thorized to retain the title to the machinery until the purchase money was paid, they were not bound to relinquish their title to the property, or to allow the property to be sent out of the state, whereby they would be deprived of the same, or their lien upon it. 4. That evidence to show that the law of Pennsylvania was as claimed by the defendants, was admissible, and ought to have been received. JOHNSON, J. dis- sented. Hawkins v. Brown,
3. The law will not allow a party, in an action for the breach of a con- tract, to recover, as damages, losses which he has sustained in the per- formance of his contracts with oth- ers, even where such contracts are founded, in some measure, upon the contract alleged to have been bro- ken. Lowenstein v. Chappell, 241
4. On the 20th of February, 1857, the defendant agreed to rent to the plaintiff a store, for the term of one year from the 1st of April then next. Relying upon this agreement, the plaintiff sold to M. the lease of a store he then occupied, agreeing to give possession on the 2d or 3d of April; and M. suffered the plaintiff to occupy a room in the store, for his goods, in the mean time. For the purpose of protecting his goods from damage while the store was undergoing repairs, the plaintiff packed them up and they sustained some damage in consequence of the packing. In an action to recover damages of the defendant, for a breach of his agreement; Held that the packing of the goods not having been done for the purpose of remov-
ing them to the store of the defend- ant, nor being necessary, for that purpose, the plaintiff could not re- cover for any injury to the goods occasioned by the packing thereof; such injury not flowing directly, or necessarily, from the breach by the defendant, but from the plaintiff's agreement with M. to give up to him the store in which the goods were situated, and that they should in the mean time occupy a particular space therein. ib
5. Held also, that the plaintiff was not entitled to recover interest on the value of his entire stock of goods which he intended to put into the defendant's store, during the time he was by the defendant's breach of contract prevented from exposing them for sale. ib
6. The plaintiff, and S., his assignor, being in possession of a bill of ex- 1 change, valid in their hands, for $913.50, drawn by one T., their debtor, to the order of, and indorsed by, two other persons, on the de- fendant, payable in three months, delivered the same to the defendant on his promise to pay them therefor the sum of $850, the next morning. Held that there was a good consid- eration to uphold the promise; the parting with the bill, under the cir- cumstances, being a detriment to the holders, whether it was then accept- ed or not, and the receipt of it by the defendant being a legal benefit and advantage to him. Forward v. Harris, 338
7. S., the maker of a note, and the plaintiff and W. his sureties, being sued thereon, the plaintiff, before judgment, paid to the holder one half of the amount due on the note, and costs. The holder thereupon, by a written agreement acknowl- edging that he had received from the plaintiff $45 in full for his share of the note, as one of the sureties, discharged him from all further lia- bility thereon, and agreed to use due care and diligence in the collec- tion of the note and costs out of S.; and when collected to pay the plain- tiff one half of all he should be able to collect on the note. Held, that the payment, by the plaintiff, of a part of the costs of the action on the note, being a payment of what he VOL. XXX.
9. And in an action against him, upon his agreement, it will not be a valid defense for the holder, that the prin- cipal might, by reason of the pay- ment to such holder, by the plaintiff, of one half of the note and costs, and by the other surety, subsequent to the agreement, of the other half of the debt, have successfully de- fended an action against him on the note. For non constat that the principal would, if sued, have avail- ed himself of the payments by the sureties, or have been able to es- tablish that his liability on the note was discharged. ib
10. There is no such impossibility of performance, in such a case, on the ground of the principal having been discharged by the payment of the note, as will relieve the holder from the obligation of his contract. ib
11. Costs do not become a debt against a party to an action, until judgment; unless he agrees to pay them. ib
12. The plaintiff, by a written agree- ment executed on the 9th of Octo- ber, 1849, agreed to do the mason work, and furnish the materials for erecting a building for the defend- ant, which was to be completed, except a portion of the plastering, on or before the 20th of November then next; which time was subse- quently extended ten days. The building was to be three stories in height; the defendant reserving the right to put on a fourth story, by paying a specified sum per thousand for the brick laid in the walls. Held that the defendant's right of elec- tion, in regard to the fourth story, could only be exercised while a rea- sonable time remained for adding another story and finishing the work, with the addition, by the time
specified in the contract, or as ex- tended; and that unless the defend- ant exercised his right of election within that time, he lost it. Lauer v. Brown, 416
13. Held also, that if, within that time. the defendant elected to have a 4th story, the plaintiff was bound to construct it, and perform all the work (except the plastering) by the 30th of November. That the time for completing the job was fixed in reference to all the work, including the fourth story, if that should be determined on. ib
See FRAUDS, STATUTE OF.
by King, for the accommodation of C. On the 22d of August, 1857, C. made another note for $2000, at six- ty days, payable to the order of S., which was indorsed by Kelsey, and afterwards by King, for the accom- modation of C. Judgment was re- covered upon both these notes, and collected of King. On the 10th of August, 1857, King made his own note, for $2000, procured it to be discounted, and loaned the money to C., and on the 10th of August C. gave his note, indorsed by Kelsey, to King, for this $2000, payable in two months. On this note Kelsey was not charged as indorser. On the 24th of September, 1857, a judg- ment by confession, in favor of King, against C., for $6000, to secure the payment of the said three notes of July 25th, and August 10th and 22d, was docketed and filed. An execu- tion was issued upon this judgment, on which $2847.52 was collected, which was paid over to King, on ac- count of the $2000 which he had raised by the discounting of his own note, and loaned to C. on the 10th of August, 1857. This money was so applied in pursuance of parol direc- tions given to the attorney, by C., at the time of issuing the execution. Held, 1. That the directions given by C. in respect to the application of the moneys collected upon the execution, were in strict accordance with the rules, both of law and equi- ty. And that, independent of any direction or agreement, the law would apply that money first to the payment and satisfaction of C.'s debt to King, for the money loaned; that being a fixed liability, at the date of the judgment, while the lia- bility created by the indorsements was only contingent; and the latter claims being secured by the mort- gage, while the former was not. 2. That the referee erred, in first applying the $2847.52, collected on the execution, to the satisfaction of King's liability on the indorsed notes. That he should have first satisfied the debt for money loaned to C. on the 10th of August, 1857, and applied the balance to the lia- bility of King on the indorsements. 3. That the mortgage in question had priority, as a lien and claim, over the judgments entered by confes- sion, in favor of King. Thomas v. Kelsey, 268
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