Winslow v. . Stokes

Supreme Court of North Carolina
Winslow v. . Stokes, 48 N.C. 285 (N.C. 1856)
Battle

Winslow v. . Stokes

Opinion of the Court

Battle, J.

The recovery in the former suit upon the same covenant in which the same breaches were assigned was, we think, a bar to the present action, and his Honor properly ruled out the testimony which was offered to show that full damages were not then given. The covenant was, in the particulars mentioned, one and indivisible, and upon a breach of *286 it, tlie plaintiffs were entitled to the whole amount of damages, present and prospective, caused by such breach. If the damages were restricted in consequence of instructions from the Court, it was an error which the plaintiffs, by taking the proper steps, might have had corrected in that action. Their omission to do so cannot give them the right to harrass the defendant with the expense and trouble of another suit. Eor the distinction between the cases where prospective damages, that is, such as have accrued since the commencement of the suit, may, and where they cannot, be given, see the case of Moore v. Love, decided at the last term, and reported ante 215, in which the subject is fully discussed.

Per Curiam.

Judgment affirmed.

Reference

Full Case Name
Winslow Cannon v. . Exum Stokes.
Cited By
4 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
Where in an action for breaches of a covenant, the plaintiff was entitled to prospective damages, that is, damages accruing subsequently to the bringing of the suit, and under the erroneous instruction of the Court, only damages to the time of the trial were given, this affords no ground for bringing another action for the same breaches.