Nowell v. O'Hara
Nowell v. O'Hara
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The plaintiff’s declaration contains two counts in assumpsit. The first, charges, that in consideration, that the plaintiff would sell to the defendant a certain slave, called William, of the value of $800 at the low price of $400, the defendant would take and carry, or cause to be taken and carried, the said slave beyond the limits of this State, so that he, said slave should not be brought back or permitted to return to the said State, or be suffered thereafter to remain or dwell within the said State. Then f0]]0Wg an averment, that confiding in the promise and
This contract, although very inartificially expressed, imports, I think, pretty clearly, not only that the defendant had agreed to carry the negro out of the State, but when construed with reference to the usage of the country, implies a further undertaking, that he should be domiciliated out of the State. That'' he would, in good faith, carry or send him out of the State, and sell or employ him there, as the means of preventing his return. But it would be straining construction too far, to imply an undertaking that he should never be brought back, or return. The difficulty of performing such a condition, is, of itself, a sufficient consideration for not raising it by implication. But the very object of such a stipulation as this, would be defeated, if it could be satisfied by merely carrying him beyond the boundary of the State, with the intention of bringing him back, or with the knowledge that he would return. If that would have sufficed, the defendant would have easily satisfied the undertaking, by sending him to sea for a few houi's, and bringing him back immediately.— Such an interpretation of this agreement, would be an obvious violation of the understanding and intention of both the parties.
The motions for nonsuit and new trial, depend, therefore, upon the question, whether, in point of fact, the defendant has broken his contract, and to ■what extent the plaintiff has been damnified.
The defendant did not, himself, carry William out of the State, and he relies on his sale to St. John, as proof of his having performed his agreement, because he (St. John) lived out of the State, and because the negro was carried to Augusta.
Having confided the carrying of the negro out of the State, to St. John, or rather to his agent Yineent, the defendant made him his agent, for that purpose, and is responsible for the manner in which he executed the contract. And with respect to St. John, the evidence is clear that he acted upon the principle, that the contract was satisfied by his being carried beyond the boundary of the State. He sent him immediately back, and the circumstances would have well warranted the jury in concluding that the whole was a mere contrivance on the part of Vincent, to get the negro and keep him here at a low priee, in the very teeth of defendant’s contract with the plaintiff, and fully sustains their verdict. The damages are precisely what the plaintiff sacrificed on account of annexing the condition to the sale, and cannot be considered as excessive, even if that was regarded as a sufficient gimind of appeal.
Motion dismissed,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.