Lewis v. White
Lewis v. White
Opinion of the Court
Before proceeding to what we regard as the ruling question in this ease, it may be well to dispose of ,two minor points outside of that, made by the record and noticed by counsel in argument. They are :
1. In the contract between the parties it'was stipulated that the bond to be given by the vendee for the deferred payments of the ^purchase money, should provide that if the vendee were compelled to pay any lien on the premises, he was to be allowed to deduct the same from the amount secured by the bond. And it has been suggested that this provision in the contract would, to some extent, absolve the vendor from the letter of his obligation to furnish the vendee with “ a perfect title to the premises ’ ’ sold. We are clear in the opinion that this is not so. This stipulation was not intended for the benefit of the vendor, but for the benefit of the vendee ; and to shield him from the consequences of possible oversight, neglect, inability, or fraudulent concealment on the part of the vendor, and leaving his obligation to make “ a perfect title to the premises ” sold, intact and absolute.
We come now to the controlling question in the case, which is: Had the vendee a right to rescind the contract at the time when he assumed to rescind it ? The court below, in its charge to the jury, seems to have proceeded on the idea that the right of a party to rescind a contract, and the right of the same party to maintain an action on a contract, were necessarily co-existent; that the right of a party to rescind *could not exist except under circumstances and conditions in which, he would be entitled to maintain an action on, and enforce the contract, if he chose to do so. But this we think was a mistake; and it is important to bear in mind this distinction.
By the terms of the contract between the parties, the vendee was to pay to the vendor §1,000 in hand. This was done. The other stipulations in the contract between the parties were mutual and dependent. They were to be performed respectively at the same time. But a readiness on the part of the vendor to perform was, by the terms of the contract, to precede, and such readiness was a condition precedent to the arising of any obligation on the vendee to perform on his part.
By the terms of the contract, the vendor was to send to his agent at Cleveland a deed conveying “ a perfect title to the promises,” by the 21st of April, 1856. Then, on the payment by the vendee of §2,000 more, and the execution by him of a bond for
The distinction between the right of a party to sue upon a contract, and the right of the same party to rescind it, must not be ignored. Lot it be conceded that the vendee could not himself maintain an action on the contract until he had tendered performance, or offered, in good faith, to perform on his part. And let it be conceded, further, that the vendee’s offer of performance on the 8th of May was not made in good faith; that he had then determined to get rid of the contract if he could; and that the offer was made simply with a view to do something to justify him in rescinding it. It will follow from this, as I suppose no one will controvert, that the vendee was not in a position to enforce the contract by action
*Now, these parties were free, by mutual consent, to enter ' into this contract; and they were as free, by like mutual consent, to rescind it. On the 8th of May, and from thence forward, the vendee actually and in terms consented to its rescission. And the vendor, by a delinquency on his part unwaived by the vendee, and unreasonable in itself, is conclusively presumed to have given a like consent. And such is the doctrine of the books. Parsons on Contracts, 677, et seq., says: “ Generally, as a contract can be made only by the consent of all the contracting parties, it can be rescinded only by the consent of all. But this consent need not he expressed as an agreement. If either party, without right, claims to rescind the contract, the other .party need not object, and if he permit it to be rescinded, it will be done by mutual consent. Nor need this purpose of rescinding be expressly declared by the one party, in order to give to the other the right of consenting, and so rescinding. There may be many acts from which the opposite party has a right to infer that the party doing them would rescind; and generally where one fails to perform his part of the contract, or disables himself from performing it, the other party may treat the contract as rescinded.”
"We are of opinion, therefore, that the court below erred in charging that “if the jury should find that Lewis did not make the offer in good faith, or was not able and willing to perform on his part, and did not, in good faith, intend to perform, and went there merely to make a show of performing, and demanded the deed
And we can see no reason why, on the facts assumed, the vendee has not a right, under his cross-petition, to recover *baek the money paid in hand by him on the making of the contract of sale.
Judgment accordingly.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.