279 A.D. 1078 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1952
The two agreements are required to be read together. (Nau v. Vulcan Rail & Constr. Co., 286 N. Y. 188, 197; Palmer v. Palmer, 150 N. Y. 139; Newburger V. American Surety Co., 242 N. Y. 134; Hicks v. British Amer. Assur. Co., 162 N. Y. 284.) As so read, it cannot be said that the appealing defendant was in default as a matter of law when the action was begun. The agreement does not expressly state that time is of the essence of the contract, and the complaint does not allege that plaintiff, prior to the action, had served a notice upon said defendant fixing a reasonable time within which to perform. (Ballen v. Potter, 251 N. Y. 224, 228; Restatement, Contracts, § 276, subd. [a]; 3 Corbin on Contracts, § 720; Taylor v. Goelet, 142 App. Div. 467, 469, affd. 208 N. Y. 253.) The contract must be viewed as a whole, and that interpretation is favored which will make every part thereof effective. (Atwater & Co. v. Panama R. R. Co., 246 N. Y. 519, 524;