Connell v. Mulligan
Connell v. Mulligan
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The appellee, Mulligan, filed his bill on the equity side of the circuit court of Hinds, to compel Patrick Connell to convey to him the one half of lot No. 56, south, in the city of Jackson. A decree was pronounced, in conformity with the prayer of the bill, in May, 1846; and the cause comes before us by an appeal granted on petition in 1847.
It appears by the bill that Mulligan, having contracted with John S. Gooch for the purchase of the lot in the city of Jackson,
It appears to be well settled, that a writing, not specifying the terms of the agreement, will not take the case out of the statute against frauds and perjuries. Parkhurst v. Van Cortland, 1 J. Ch. R. 279. In the case of Ellis v. Deadman’s Heirs, 4 Bibb, 466, the writing or memorandum relied on was in these words, to wit: “4th January, 1808. Received of Jesse Ellis $ — , in part pay of a lot he bought of me in the town of Merides, it being the cash' part of the payment of said lot.” The court say there would have been- no doubt of the propriety of decreeing a specific performance of the agreement, if the terms of the agreement had been specified, although the receipt apparently was only intended to be evidence of the payment which had been made. The agreement under consideration is not objectionable on that ground. The terms are sufficiently distinct. The writing sets out that Mulligan agrees to take Connell into partnership in a certain lot of land in the city of Jackson, in consideration of Connell’s paying $165; that said lot was to be held by them in partnership, and that Mulligan was to repay to Connell one half of the $165 -by a stipulated time. No
It is further objected, that the agreement does not designate the lot of land which was the subject-matter of the contract, and that it is consequently void for uncertainty. The agreement must be understood to refer to the lot, for the purchase of which the money was advanced by Connell. The answer to the bill in the court below shows that it was lot No. 56, south, in reference to which the parties contracted. No injury or injustice could possibly result to Connell. He knew at the time of entering into the agreement what lot was intended, and if, upon the face of the agreement, there was any uncertainty, his answer has removed it.
The agreement specifies that Mulligan was to repay, at the time stipulated, to Connell, $82.50. There was no agreement that he should pay interest on the money advanced by Connell. A tender, therefore, of that amount was a literal compliance with the terms of his contract. The answer admits that Mulligan tendered more than that sum; indeed, no objection was made on the ground of the insufficiency of the tender. Connell objected to convey one half of the lot, because Mulligan refused to defray one half of the expense of inclosing it. This, Mulligan was clearly not bound to do.' It was no part of the written agreement, and the appellant produced no evidence of a subsequent contract for that purpose.
The remaining objection is predicated on a misconstruction of the decree, which we deem it unnecessary to notice.
Let the decree be affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Patrick Connell v. William Mulligan
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- 1 case
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- C. & M. made the following agreement, viz.: “ M. agrees to take into partnership said C. in a certain lot in the city of Jackson, for and in consideration of one hundred and sixty-five dollars, and that both parties are to hold the land in company ; M. promises C. to pay his half of the above sum, being eighty-two dollars and a half, on or before the first day of May next; and failing in doing so, shall forfeit his claim thereto if not paid within at least three months after said first day of May next.” C. paid the money, and took the title in his own name; M. in due time tendered his half of the purchase-money without interest to C., who refused it: Held, that the written agreement was not void under the statute of frauds; it specified the terms sufficiently to enable the court to decree its specific performance. Nor was it void for uncertainty, because the lot was not described ; the lot for which the money was paid was the one intended, and that being disclosed ' in the pleadings was sufficiently identified. Nor was M. under the contract bound to tender more than one half the purchase-money without interest; yet if he were, as no objection was made to the amount of the sum tendered at the time, but it was rejected on another ground, it would not avail as an objection afterwards. Nor was it any objection to a specific performance being compelled, that M. refused to pay C. one half the expense of inclosing the lot; under the agreement M. was not bound to do so.