Berkley v. Maxwell Motor Sales Corp.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Berkley v. Maxwell Motor Sales Corp., 70 Pa. Super. 418 (1918)
1918 Pa. Super. LEXIS 266
Head, Henderson, Kephart, Orlady, Porter, Trexler, Williams

Berkley v. Maxwell Motor Sales Corp.

Opinion of the Court

Opinion by

Porter, J.,

The court below held the affidavit of defense to be insufficient and entered judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, from which judgment the defendant appeals. The opinion of Judge Ruppel of the court below so fully vindicates the conclusion at which he arrived that little can with profit be added. The contract between the parties and the order for automobiles given by the plaintiffs to the defendant, which by its very terms became a part of the general contract, clearly indicate that it was the intention of the parties that there was to' be a settlement of the business done under the contract at the end of each season and that the plaintiffs were to be paid a bonus on the cars that they sold within sixty days after the end of the season. The contract was dated July 7, 1916, and required that the plaintiffs upon the execution of the contract should give a written order, upon a form provided by the defendant company, *425for, “his requirements between the date of the agreement and June 30,1917, and annually thereafter at least thirty days before the thirtieth day of June in each year during the continuance of this agreement, the distributor shall give the company a similar order, covering the distributor’s requirements for the ensuing twelve months, specifying a number of cars satisfactory to the company......all of which orders are and shall be part thereof.” The order which the plaintiffs gave, at the execution of the contract and upon the blank provided by the defendant company, specified the number of cars which the plaintiffs would require for each month down to the 30th of June, 1917, and provided that the defendant company should pay a bonus of ten dollars “per car for each car taken under this agreement......said bonus to be paid within sixty days after June 30, 1917, after deducting any amount due from us.” This was equivalent to saying that the bonus should be paid within sixty days after the close of “the season.” The defendant, on September 27, 1916, cancelled the contract, which it had a right to do under the covenants thereof, and thereupon it became the duty of the plaintiffs to return to the. defendant any cars which they then had in their hands. The contract primarily contemplated doing business for the entire season, the end of which it fixed for tlie 30th day of June in each year, and the order provided that the bonus should be paid within sixty days after the same date. We are of opinion that when the defendant company exercised its right to terminate the contract on the 27th day of September, 1916, the effect was to make that date the end of “the season,” and the bonus upon the cars which had been sold became payable within sixty days after that date. This action was, therefore, not prematurely brought.

The judgment is affirmed.

Reference

Full Case Name
Berkley v. Maxwell Motor Sales Corporation
Cited By
2 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
Contract — Sale of automobiles — Principal and agent — Bonus on sales. Where a contract between a manufacturer of automobiles and a seller of automobiles provided that the seller should give a written order for automobiles which he would require upon a form provided by the manufacturer between the date of the agreement and a subsequent date mentioned, and annually thereafter, at least thirty days before tbe date mentioned in eacb year during tbe continuance of the agreement, and the contract further provided that the manufacturer in addition to the commissions should pay a bonus of ten dollars per car for each car taken payable within sixty days after the date mentioned, with privilege to each party to cancel the agreement at any time upon notice, and the manufacturer cancels the agreement before the expiration of a year, the seller has a right to recover the bonus upon the cars which he had sold, and receive payment of such bonus within sixty days after the date of the cancellation of the contract.