Dennis v. Slyman
Dennis v. Slyman
Opinion of the Court
In the year 1918, defendant Mohammed E. Slyman was a farmer, living upon a farm of 120 acres in the township of Shelby, Macomb county.' He did not have title to the farm. He had a contract with defendants Lungerhausen and Hosner to purchase it. There was due upon the contract $6,900. Defendant Slyman had personal property by way of live stock, tools, team and crops on the farm, variously estimated up to $6,000 in value, upon which defendants Lungerhausen and Hosner held a chattel mortgage for $3,300. He also had an arrangement with Lungerhausen and Hosner that when he paid the $3,300 they would release the chattel mortgage and would assign to him
At this same time plaintiff, Dennis, was the owner of a house and lot in the city of Pontiac. He and his son-in-law wanted to go farming. He listed his house for sale or trade with Mr. Houck, another Pontiac real estate dealer. These two brokers brought plaintiff, Dennis, and defendant Slyman together. Slyman and Dennis examined each other’s property, talked the matter over and agreed, as they thought, upon a basis for a trade. They then went to the law office of Peter B. Bromley, of Pontiac, and stated to him the terms of their agreement. Mr. Bromley reduced it to writing. With the omission of some of the immaterial parts, it reads as follows:
“The first party agrees to convey to the said second parties the following property in exchange for the property of the second parties hereinafter mentioned, towit: A farm of 120 acres in Shelby township, Macomb county, Michigan, known as the Slyman farm, subject to a mortgage' of $6,900, but he is to pay all interest on the same to the date of the consummation of deal; also the following personal property, towit (Then follows a recital of the personal property) : also all my one-fourth interest in all crops now growing on the 130-acre farm of one Disk in said town, except the crop of oats, the said personal property is subject to a chattel mortgage of $3,300, which the second parties assume, but the first party agrees to pay all unpaid interest on said amount up to the time this deal is closed. * * *
“The said parties of the second part, in exchange for the said property of the party of the first part,*205 agree to sell and convey to said first party the following property, towit: A house and lot owned by them, being No. 186 Perry street, in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, free and clear, but said first party may place a mortgage on said property of $3,000, but first party agrees to give back to second party a second mortgage of $1,000 on the said property now owned by parties of the second part in ■jjhe city of Pontiac, Michigan, due on or before one year, with interest at the rate of six per cent
“It is further agreed that each party shall make good and sufficient conveyance of his or her property, and furnish an abstract' of title showing a good merchantable title thereto, and subject only to the incumbrances herein mentioned, said conveyances to be made within five days.” * * *
Following this a deed of the Pontiac house and lot was drawn to Slyman. He, in turn, gave back a mortgage to Dennis for $1,000, in accordance with the agreement. Other papers were then drawn and signed by Lungerhausen and Hosner and Slyman and Dennis, by which Lungerhausen and Hosner agreed to relieve Slyman of his personal obligations and substitute Dennis in his place, and Dennis agreed to pay the same. Soon after the papers were made Dennis moved onto the farm and Slyman moved to Pontiac. Dennis had not lived on the farm long before he learned of a chattel mortgage on the personal property owned by one McCaiferty. Being pressed for payment he paid $164 thereon. Later the mortgage was foreclosed and the property sold to satisfy Mc-Cafferty’s claim for $876. Defendants insist, and it does not appear to be disputed, that the McCaiferty mortgage was included in the Lungerhausen and Hosner mortgage for $3,300, and that Lungerhausen and Hosner agreed with Dennis to give him one year in which to make payment of said mortgage. Plaintiff claims he left after learning from a neighbor that the farm was subject to a claim of $6,900. He claims
“We talked about what claims were against the*207 personal property and against the real estate. I went to the safe and got my contract and the other papers and read them to the parties; I told them there was $6,900 against the farm and approximately $3,300 against the personal property which would be $10,200 which would have to be paid before the property was clear.”
The first time plaintiff and Slyman called upon Mr. Lungerhausen he was not at home and hisl son, John, who is an attorney, talked with them. He explained to them that there was $6,900 due on the real estate and $3,300 on the personal property.
■Homer H. Colvin, an attorney, who drew some of the papers, testified that he heard plaintiff and Sly-man talking about the incumbrances on the farm and personal property. Daniel Houck, the real estate broker who figured in the deal, testified he heard Slyman tell plaintiff that there was an indebtedness on the farm of $6,900.
When one makes an agreement and puts it in writing and it is afterwards read over to him and he signs it, some attention ought to be paid to it, and its provisions ought not to be frittered away or set aside unless some very good reason exists for so doing. It is said Mr. Dennis could not read or write English, and the same claim is made for Mr. Slyman. We fail to see how this can alter the situation. Plaintiff and Slyman agreed upon something before they went to Mr. Bromley's office. They told Mr. Bromley what they had agreed upon. The only information he had when he drew the agreement was the information which he had gotten from them. They were both present and after the agreement was made Mr. Bromley read it over to them and they announced themselves satisfied and signed it.
The respective values of the properties were gone into at some length at the hearing. These tend to show that plaintiff understood that he was buying the
The decree is reversed and plaintiff’s bill is dismissed, with costs to defendant Slyman.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- DENNIS v. SLYMAN
- Status
- Published