Meriden Britannia Co. v. Rogers
Meriden Britannia Co. v. Rogers
Opinion of the Court
On March 16th, 1868, a written contract was
“ This agreement, made and concluded this 16th dajr of March, 1868, by and between the Meriden Britannia Company, a joint stock corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state of Connecticut relating to joint stock corporations, and located in Meriden, party of the first part, and William Rogers and William Rogers, Jr., both of Hartford, Connecticut, parties of the second part, witnesseth:— That the party of the first part, in consideration of the promises, covenants and agreements of the parties of the second part, herein contained, hereby promises, covenants and agrees, to and with said parties of the second part, to pay the said parties of the second part, jointly or to the survivor of them in the case of the death of either of them, the sum of five hundred dollars per month, payable in advance each month, for the period of one hundred-and twenty months, commencing on the 20th day of March, 1868. In consideration of said promise and agreement of said party of the first part, said parties of the second part do for themselves, both jointly and severally, covenant, promise and agree with said party of the first part as follows, to wit:—
“1st. That they will, and each of them will, during the period aforesaid, use the influence they have in the market to secure trade for said party of the first part in the articles of silver-plated forks and spoons and other silver-plated ware.
“ 2d. That said party of the first part shall have and enjoy the sole and exclusive right to the use of certain trade marks heretofore used by the parties of the second part, to wit :o ‘(Anchor) Wm. Rogers & Son, A A,’ also, ‘1847, Rogers Bros., A 1,’ upon all silver-plated -forks and spoons made or sold by said parties of the first part after the 20th of March, 1868. And said party of the first part may authorize the use of said trade marks, or either of them, upon spoons and forks manufactured or sold by other parties, where said party of*503 the first part is to be benefited by the manufacture or sale thereof.
“ That they, the said parties of the second part, will not, and neither of them shall, use either of said trade marks during all the period aforesaid, or any other trade mark or stamp in which the name of Rogers shall be used or form a part thereof, or engage in the business of making spoons or forks, either directly or indirectly.
“ That they will not allow, suffer or permit any other person or persons, party or parties, to use, infringe upon or imitate either of the trade marks aforesaid, to wit: 6 (Anchor) Wm. Rogers & Son, A A,’ and ‘1847, Rogers Bros., A 1.’
“That they will not permit, suffer or allow any other person or party, persons or parties, to use the name of said William Rogers, or of the said William Rogers, Jr., upon any stamp or trade mark upon silver-plated forks and spoons or other plated ware during the period aforesaid; but that the right of the said party of the first part to the use of the said trade marks, and each of them, and to the use of the names of the said William Rogers and of said William Rogers, Jr., upon forks and spoons, shall be sole and exclusive to the said party of the first part.
“ And whereas certain parties in Hartford, to wit: Thomas Birch and William J. Pierce, are now using the trade mark 6 (Anchor) Wm. Rogers & Son, A A,’ it is understood that the aforesaid payment is not to commence until said parties of the second part, at their own expense, shall have enjoined said Birch & Pierce, and prevented the use of said trade mark by them.
“ And it is further understood and agreed that the payment of said sum shall at all times be dependent upon said party of the first part being fully secured and protected in the exclusive use of said trade marks, and that if any other person or party shall establish their right to use either of the aforesaid trade marks, said payments shall thereupon cease. But all suits that may be necessary to defend them in the use of said trade marks, shall be maintained at the expense of said parties of the first part, except only in the*504 case of said Birch & Pierce; and if necessary to use the names of said William Rogers and William Rogers, Jr., or either of them, in any suit for the protection of said parties of the first part, the same is hereby authorized.”
On this contract the plaintiff indorsed the following:—
“ West Meriden, Jan. 1st, 1872.—The Meriden Britannia Company agree ■ to pay the full amount called for by this contract from January 1st, 1872, and to waive the performance by the parties of the second part of all conditions in this contract in relation to the use of the name Rogers by the concern in Hartford, and consider and admit the claims of Wm. Rogers and Wm. Rogers, Jr., to the full amount of five hundred dollars per month, as specified in this contract, to be in full force from January 1st, 1872, and thereafter until the expiration of this contract.
“Meriden Britannia Company,
“ H. C. Wilcox, President.'1'’
William Rogers died in 1873. The William Rogers, Jr., above named, is the defendant; and the discussion will proceed upon the assumption that he alone was the party of the second part.
It is quite certain that the plaintiff intended to buy and the defendant intended to sell the exclusive use of his time, skill, reputation and trade marks, during the period of ten years next -following the date of the agreement; quite certain that tlie exclusive use of the name and trade marks was in the consideration of the plaintiff of the greatest worth to it. At the signing of the agreement both parties knew that Birch & Pierce of Hartford claimed and were exercising the right to use the trade mark “ (Anchor) Wm. Rogers & Son, A. A.” Therefore the plaintiff reserved to itself the right to withhold all payments under the contract until the defendant should secure it in the exclusive use stipulated for, although it expected him to go at once into its service and give his time, skill, and such partial use of his name and trade mark as was then possible. Accordingly on the succeeding day he began and thereafter continued to give Lis time, skill, and such use of the trade mark as he could
In February, 1873, A. C. Goodman brought an action of assumpsit against the defendant, and on February 21st, 1873, garnisheed the plaintiff as having in its hands money belonging to the defendant. He obtained judgment against the defendant in December, 1873, for $2,749.57 damages and $32.28 costs. The latter not paying, Goodman took the necessary legal steps to enforce payment against the plaintiff as being indebted to the defendant. In Goodman v. Meriden Britannia Company, 50 Conn., 139, this court, upon the assumption that the state of facts existing in February, 1873, was the same as at the beginning, so far as performance by the defendant is concerned, determined that at the beginning the plaintiff came under an obligation to pay, and the defendant acquired the right to receive, the gross sum of $60,000, payable in one hundred and twenty equal monthly instalments in advance, and that on any day in said term the plaintiff owed the defendant the unpaid balance of said sum payable in instalments in the future, and therefore the debt was open to appropriation by his creditors by process of foreign attachment. For the purposes of that decision, the waiver indorsed by the plaintiff upon the contract on January 1st, 1872, placed the parties in the position which they would have occupied if no right to withhold payments had been reserved to the plaintiff. Therefore on February 21st, 1873, the plaintiff was indebted to the defendant to the extent of the unpaid balance of $60,000, in manner and form as above expressed, and came under legal compulsion to pay Goodman’s claim against him. It did pay the amount thereof; namely, $4,183.39 damages and $138.83 costs. In February, 1873, two courses were open to it, either to detain from money
Upon the service of garnishee process upon the plaintiff by Goodman in 1872 it became its right to protect itself against possibility of loss by withholding payment from the defendant ; it became his duty to refrain from demanding payment until he had placed the plaintiff beyond such possibility. Having knowledge of its legal right and his legal duty, if thereafter he received regular and full payments from it upon the contract, in advance monthly, he did so under a promise implied by the law that he would save it harmless from Goodman’s suit, either by himself paying such judgment as the latter might recover, or if not thus, by repaying the amount. The defendant’s act of receiving full payment, not having protected the plaintiff, was the legal equivalent of a request by him for a loan for his own use and benefit, the granting of such request, and the conse
The plaintiff permitted all of the money of the defendant to go out of its hands into his own after service of process of garnishment by Goodman. By so doing, as between the latter and itself, it by force of law became liable to pay the defendant’s debt to Goodman from its own funds; subjected its own property to the levy of an execution; and did iu fact upon legal compulsion satisfy his judgment from its own money. But as between it and the defendant, the debt was in no sense that of the former; in every sense that of the latter; and he is not to be heard to contend that, inasmuch as the former stepped into his place at bis request and for his benefit and became primarily liable to pay his debt and permitted him to fall into the position of surety, he can now insist that as between them it simply' discharged its own obligation.
There is error in the judgment complained of.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The Meriden Britannia Company v. William Rogers
- Cited By
- 2 cases
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- Published