Iwai & Co. v. Hercules Powder Co.
Iwai & Co. v. Hercules Powder Co.
Opinion of the Court
A controlling question is presented in the first assignment of error upon the judgment of the Court of Appeals. That is, did the Court of Appeals err in holding that the plaintiff was bound to provide a vessel at New Orleans not later than June 30 to receive the rosin? This question depends upon a proper construction of the contracts in their entirety, in the light of the subsequent conduct of the parties with reference thereto, as shown by the correspondence attached as exhibits to the petition. After careful consideration this court has reached the conclusion that the Court of Appeals did not err in holding that the plaintiff was bound to provide a vessel as indicated, and that, having failed to do so, plaintiff could not recover against the defendant on the basis of refusal to deliver the rosin after expiration of the time. The Court of Appeals ruled as above indicated, and also that the petition showed another breach of the contract by the plaintiff’s failure to furnish the defendant with “freight bookings.” The second assignment of error in the petition for certiorari relates to this last ruling; but no decision will be made on this question, because it is unnecessary in view of the affirmance of the judgment of the Court of Appeals as to the duty of the plaintiff to furnish the ship. The following presents the view expressed by the Court of Appeals: “As this court sees this case it presents for consideration two main propositions: (1) What is the proper construction of the four contracts on which suit was brought? (2) Were these contracts modified by the correspondence attached to the petition as. exhibits ? As to the first of these let us see what were the obligations of the parties under the contracts, in so far as questions relative thereto are raised in the case. Iwai’s obligations were to secure letters of credit, provide the steamers to transport the rosin, pay for the rosin at so much fgross for net, FAS steamer New Orleans, and furnish freight bookings.’ Under the contract, when should the steamer be pro
“From the foregoing it appears that the contract provided that Iwai was to provide a steamer from New Orleans during June; and as he did not do that, he failed in this part of his obligation. Did Iwai furnish ‘freight bookings’ as contemplated in the contract? Under the marginal heading ‘Freight booking’ there was a promise to Yaryan, in the first contract, that it would be advised ‘in a day or two,’ and in the other contracts that it would be advised ‘separately.’ These promises have never been complied with. In its letter of June 6, Iwai, after saying, ‘We believe shipping instructions should be furnished you sometime between the 1st of June and the 15th,’ continued: ‘We took this matter up with Caldwell & Company, New York shipping agents of O. S. EL, and they assured us that they would communicate direct with J. H. W. Steele Company and ask them to issue accurate information as to shipment to be made against our above contracts.’ Caldwell & Company wrote to Yaryan on June 6, regarding shipment of rosin under contracts 1345, 1346, and 1347, in part as follows: ‘We wish to advise that we have requested the J. EL W. Steele Company, of New Orleans, to advise you when to forward this material to New Orleans, as sailing of steamer is still indefinite. When you receive this advice please forward this material,’ etc. (Italics ours.) The J. H. W. Steele Company did not write to Yaryan until July 7, after the contracts had been cancelled. Yaryan had, on June 5, positively told Iwai that it could not carry the rosin longer than June, and made Iwai two propositions, neither of which was accepted, but Iwai contented itself with the suggestion that it had taken the matter up with Caldwell & Company and they had assured it that they would communicate with J. EL W. Steele Company, and ‘ask them to issue accurate information as to shipment to be made against our above contracts.’ During the life of the contracts this ‘accurate information’ was never furnished Yaryan. ‘Freight booking’ is ‘making specific arrangements for the transportation of goods by a particular vessel in advance of its sailing day.’ Ocean Steam
While no decision. will be made as to failure-or the effect of failure to make “freight bookings” the fact that the contracts contained provisions for furnishing the defendant with “freight bookings" supports the construction that the contracts contemplated delivery to a vessel to be furnished by the purchaser. If that were not so, the matter of “freight bookings” would be of no concern to the vendor, and would have no place in the contract. Employment of the term FAS (stated in the petition for certiorari to mean “Free Alongside Steamer”) has a like significance. This term does not, as contended, relate merely to price of the goods, though in the form it is written opposite the word “price," but it essentially relates both to price and delivery. It must be construed in connection with its context. It can not be written out of the contracts, but must be given effect. It was for many reasons a matter of practical advantage to the purchaser to have the goods delivered alongside the ship, and an inference arises that such advantage was contemplated when the provision was made. It requires more than mere placing the goods on a dock, at any time within the periods “May-June” or “June.” It requires placing them within such periods on a dock where the purchaser should place a ship to receive them, and that they be placed alongside the ship, which implies presence of the ship. If it would make a difference that -the contract specified a particular dock and a particular .time at which the goods should be placed, there’was no such provision in the contracts under consideration. The provision was, “Freight booking to be advised you separately." The fact that three of the contracts provided for payment against “dock receipts and invoices" does not alter the ease. Nor does
Judgment affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. But one ship per month sailed from the port of New Orleans to the port in Japan to which the buyer intended to ship this rosin. This ship was not owned or controlled by the buyer, and this was known to the seller. Fairly construed, the contracts of purchase contemplated that the buyer would notify the seller of the booking made by it with this ship for the transportation of this merchandise from New Orleans to Japan, _ and ordinarily this was a condition precedent with which the buyer had to comply before the seller would be required to deliver the goods. Ordinarily, failure to comply with this condition precedent on the part of the buyer wopld excuse the seller from delivering these goods. But it became known to both parties that this ship would not dock at the port of' New Orleans during the month of June, and that for this reason compliance with this condition became impossible. In these circumstances the seller was not relieved from its obligation to deliver the rosin when', without fault of the purchaser, no vessel was at New Orleans to receive it, where no additional burden was imposed upon the seller. Douglas Fir &c. Co. v. Comyn, 279 Fed. 203; Meyer v. Sullivan, 40 Cal. App. 723 (181 Pae. 847). Where
Furthermore, on June'6 Iwai notified Yaryan that “all this rosin had been booked for SS. ‘Sumatra-Maru of O.S.K. Line.’ ” So there could not have been any breach of this contract for failure of the buyer to notify the seller of the booking of the rosin. Failure of the ship to arrive or depart during June would not, as stated above, relieve the seller from making delivery. Furthermore, under the correspondence in this ease, I am of the opinion that the seller was estopped from setting up the defense which it presented.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.