52 Ga. App. 793 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1936
The note sued on in this case was an ordinary promissory note with the exception that it contained the following sentence: “This agent’s guaranty note given in conformity with requirements 'of consignment contract governing sale of fertilizer by undersigned as agent for Swift and Company.” To the suit on
In Forsyth Manufacturing Co. v. Castlen, 112 Ga. 199, 210 (37 S. E. 485, 81 Am. St. R. 28), it was said: “The Civil Code declares that parol evidence is inadmissible to add to, take from, or vary a written contract, or to contradict or vary the terms of a valid written instrument. Civil Code, §§ 3675, 5201. When parties have reduced the agreement between them to writing, they must abide by the terms of the writing, whatever they may be, and nothing in the writing can be contradicted or varied by parol evidence. If, however, ‘a part of a contract only is reduced to writing (such as anote given in pursuance of a contract), and it is manifest that the writing was not intended to speak the whole contract, then parol evidence is admissible.’ Civil Code, § 3675 (1). ‘To bring a case within the rule admitting parol evidence to complete an entire agreement of which a writing is only a part, two things are essential. First, the writing must appear on inspection to be an incomplete contract; and second, the parol evidence must be consistent with and not contradictory of the written instrument.’ Bradner, Evidence (2d ed.), 303. See also Underhill, Ev. .§ 209, 307; Smith, Ev. 214. And a party is at liberty to prove The existence of any separate oral agree
In the instant ease there was a collateral agreement which in no way contradicted the terms of the note, to pay a certain sum of money on a certain date, but this oral collateral agreement (to which the note itself referred without going into the details thereof) was a stipulation which assumed that the defendant was to pay the note precisely as indicated by the writing, but dealt with a possible contingency in the future as to which a separate or “suppletory” agreement was made.. Eighmie v. Taylor, 98 N. Y. 288, 298. The defendant does not deny that he made just such a contract as that on which the plaintiff seeks to recover but says that the plaintiff at the same time entered into an engagement on his part which has subsequently been broken. Batterman v. Pierce, 3 Hill, 171, 178. The plaintiff cites Johnson v. Nisbet, 137 Ga. 150 (72 S. E. 915). In that case the court treated the contract of employment as in parol and only the note was in writing. There was nothing on the face of the note to show, nor did the circumstances, show, that the contract was incomplete. Therefore it appeared from the pleading
Headnotes 2, 3, and 4 need no elaboration.
Judgment reversed.