Evan L. Reed Manufacturing Co. v. B. Heinemann Lumber Co.
Evan L. Reed Manufacturing Co. v. B. Heinemann Lumber Co.
Opinion of the Court
By the terms of the contract the defendant was entitled to cancel it in case there was a default in the
“That the condition on the reverse side of the sheet is made a part of the contract unless otherwise specified.”
Upon the face of the contract, in typewriting, appears: “Terms two per cent, fifteen days from date of invoice.” On the reverse side of the contract, in printing, appears the provision:
“The bill for material, not including freight, is payable in sixty days, and is subject to a discount of two per cent, if paid within fifteen days from the date of invoice. If paid after fifteen days and before thirty days, a discount of one per cent, will be allowed, but no discount shall be taken after thirty days from the date of the invoice.”
It is the contention of the plaintiff that the statement appearing upon the face of the contract, “terms two per cent, fifteen days from date of invoice,” is merely a repetition of a part of the statement contained upon the back, and that the conditions upon the back control because they are not otherwise specified. The plaintiff further contends that the contract is unambiguous, and that within the doctrine of Hart v. Hart, 117 Wis. 639, 94 N. W. 890, evidence cannot be received to explain the contract.
A solution of the question depends entirely upon the meaning of the phrase “two per cent, fifteen days from date of invoice.” If this phrase, standing by itself, means that the buyer shall be 'entitled to two per cent, discount if the bill be paid within fifteen days from date of invoice and that if not paid within fifteen days it shall be due without dis
“We had overlooked the fact that you had made this in the contract, two per cent, fifteen days. . . .
“We will, ^f course, pay you in cash if you insist on it, but inasmuch as we will not be able to use the lumber, until it is paid for and we ordinarily have sixty days’ time, we trust that this will be perfectly satisfactory to you.”
In the letter the plaintiff asks the defendant to accept a note for forty-five days.
March 3d the defendant sent the plaintiff a second statement upon' which was written, “Past due. Remit at once to comply with contract.”
On March 11th the plaintiff wrote the defendant as follows :
“We have yours of March 8th and note that you cannot accept the note that we sent you. We are therefore sending you check less two per cent.”
On March 16th the defendant wrote the plaintiff, retoiting the terms of the contract, claimed that the invoice was due February 29th, claimed that the plaintiff was in default, and canceled the contract. It was not until after the receipt of defendant’s letter canceling .the contract that plaintiff set up the claim that the conditions as to terms found upon the reverse side of the contract governed, and throughout the correspondence there is no claim on the part of the plaintiff that the phrase “two per. cent, fifteen days from date of invoice”
By the Court. — Judgment affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). It was expressly provided that the conditions on the back of the contract were a part of it. These provisions'were clear and explicit, without any ambiguity, and by their terms the payment became due in sixty days. Detailed provisions were made for discounts of different amounts depending on the dates of payment. We cannot agree that this definite and unambiguous language of the contract is changed by the words “two per cent, discount fifteen days from date of invoice.” This clause is not necessarily inconsistent with the others. We construe it as merely having the effect of emphasizing the privilege, fully stated in the other clause, of taking the discount if prompt payment should be made.
It was only by taking judicial notice of an alleged custom of trade that the short clause on the face of the contract meant that payment was due in fifteen days that'the trial court could reach the conclusion arrived at. Such a custom is asserted by respondent and as confidently denied by appellant. The contract was prepared by respondent, and if there was any ambiguity it should not be construed in its favor. This familiar rule applies with peculiar force when, as here, a construction is urged which operates as a hardship, almost a penalty, to the other party. In view of the definite and unambiguous language in the clause fully expressing the terms of the agreement, I am convinced that if respondent’s counsel relied on a custom nullifying such terms it was incumbent on them to prove it.
, I do not think that the. conclusion of the trial court referred to in the opinion can be treated as a finding of fact in any way controlling our action, for two reasons. In the first place it was not made as a finding of fact; in the second place there was no conflict in the evidence, and the conclusion reached'by the court was based wholly on documentary evidence and was properly called a conclusion of law.
I am authorized to state that Mr. Justice Eschweiler and Mr. Justice Owen concur in the foregoing dissenting opinion. •
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Evan L. Reed Manufacturing Company v. B. Heinemann Lumber Company
- Status
- Published