Day v. Central Trust & Savings Co.
Day v. Central Trust & Savings Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Day, the plaintiff, painted some houses for Rogers and was to be paid partly in cash and the remainder by the conveyance of one of the houses to him. The defendant, in consideration of a certain sum paid by the plaintiff, guaranteed both payments. The contract upon which suit is brought reads as follows: — “In consideration of the sum mentioned in cash guaranty of even date, the Central Trust & Savings Co., hereby guarantees to Chas. J. Day conveyance to property known as No. 4918 Walnut street, subject to a first mortgage of $6,000.00 at 5.4 per cent., payable within five years from its date and also subject further to a second mortgage of $1,200.00 at 6 per cent, payable within three years. Title to said premises to be such as will be insured by the Real Estate Title Insurance & Trust Company and being subject only as to above mortgages and building restrictions. Central Trust & Savings Company further guarantees to issue its policy in the sum of $2,800.00 to Chas. J. Day, insuring completion of said dwelling free of mechanics’ liens and municipal claims.” In the agreement between Rogers and Day, above referred to, the price of the house which was to be part of the consideration'was fixed at $2,800. The trust company who had control of the property never passed title to Day for the premises in accord
The question then remains as to what plaintiff’s damages are. Between the original parties to the contract, that is Day and Rogers, the valuation of the house was fixed, and on default of Rogers passing the title to the house, the sum which he had to account for was the amount fixed as the value of the house. The contract sued upon here is one that guarantees a conveyance. If there be a failure to convey, no alternative value is fixed. We cannot read into the guarantee, the terms of the contract made between Day and Rogers. Had the trust company guaranteed, generally, that contract, then there would be a state of facts such as. was present in Singerly v. Armstrong, 5 W. N. C. 139. There Singerly became surety for the performance of the entire contract. The material furnished at a certain figure was to be paid partly by the delivery of a house, which was never given to the materialman. His debt for the material was not affected thereby. The principal having failed to deliver, the surety was required to pay the amount due for the material, the object of the parties, being not the sale of a house, but to secure the payment of the price of the materials. Failing to convey the property, the debt still remained unpaid.
In our case, the money paid to the trust company was specifically for a guarantee of delivery of the deed for the house. Having failed to do' this, it is liable for the loss the plaintiff sustained by the non-delivery of the house, which is not its value as fixed by the parties in a contract to which the trust company was not a party, but what the house was worth at the time it should have been delivered and what its possession would have been worth to the plaintiff, less the burdens incident to owner
Judgment reversed, and a venire facias de novo is awarded.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.