Jenkins v. Yeates
Jenkins v. Yeates
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
This is an action of covenant, instituted by the defendants against the plaintiff in error, upon a contract, in writing, by which the plaintiff rented to the defendants, two farms, for one year, and agreed to make certain repairs, and in case he failed, then to pay the defendants $50, for his omission to do so, and in which the plaintiff stipulated to secure peaceable enjoyment, during the term.
The declaration assigned breaches, by averring the failure to do the repairs stipulated for, in the non-payment of the $50, and in the failure to keep the defendants in full and peaceable possession of the premises, during the term. The plaintiff made default, and the court, without the intervention of a jury, rendered a judgment against him, for $50 and interest on it, until paid, from the time he should have completed the repairs.
The proceedings are irregular, andhaVe been loosely conducted, but we believe justice has been done; that the record and judgment may be plead in bar of another action, and that the plaintiff in error, can sustain no injury, from any irregularity, apparent upon the record. The sum of $50 is not a penalty, but a liquidated, certain sum, agreed to be paid, as an equivalent, for failing to repair the fences. The defendants in error, and plaintiffs below, failing to
Thus, against first impressions, we can find no cause for reversing the judgment. It is affirmed, with costs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.