Williamson v. Dawson
Williamson v. Dawson
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This proceeding in equity was begun for the purpose of compelling defendant to account to plaintiff for a share of the profit derived from the sale of coal property, located near Millsbpro, Fayette County, which plaintiff and defendant bought together, each supplying one-half the consideration, plaintiff, previous to the sale, having conveyed to defendant his undivided half interest in the property. Plaintiff claimed a share in the profits of the sale, alleging in support of his claim that defendant concealed from him the fact that negotiations for the sale were pending previous to and at the time of the conveyance of plaintiff’s interest to defendant. The bill asked that defendant be declared trustee of a mortgage, forming part of the consideration for the property, and that the court fix the exact amount of plaintiff’s interest in the security. The court below dismissed the bill on the ground that plaintiff failed to prove facts necessary to create a constructive trust, or make defendant a trustee ex maleficio of the one-half interest in the land. Plaintiff appealed.
It appears from the findings of the court below, which are amply supported by the testimony, that plaintiff and defendant had for some time conducted negotiations with various persons for the sale of the property, among them Bobert L. James, of the City of Pittsburgh, who
The testimony shows that James subsequently decided to carry out his original desire to purchase the property at the price named. There is no evidence that an agreement to that effect existed at the time plaintiff sold his interest to defendant. Although negotiations had been pending with James for some time, plaintiff knew of
Under all the circumstances, the court below properly concluded that plaintiff failed to prove the facts necessary to entitle him to an accounting of the proceeds of sale of the property.
The decree of the court below is affirmed at plaintiff’s costs.
Reference
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- Syllabus
- Equity — Accounting for profits — Purchase of coal lands — Joint owners — One party buying out the other — Signature to paper— Modification 1. Where two persons join together in the purchase of coal lands, and the first sells out his interest to the second, and thereafter the latter sells the whole estate in the lands at a profit to a person who had been previously negotiating for them at a price named, but had postponed acceptance, the second cannot compel his associate to account for half the profits, if it appears that he knew of the pending negotiations, and there is no evidence that, at the time he sold out, an agreement of sale had been made with the final purchaser. 2. Where, in an equity suit, it appears that plaintiff and defendant were about to enter into an agreement, and that defendant refused to sign a paper unless a change of a word was made therein, and thereupon caused the word to be changed in plaintiff’s presence, and plaintiff subsequently caused the paper to be written in its original form, and plaintiff then signed it without being aware that a change had been made, plaintiff was bound to call the attention of defendant to the fact that he had presented a redrawn copy of the agreement in its original form, and, failing to do so, he could not ask a court of equity to assist him in taking advantage of defendant’s mistake.