24 N.J. Eq. 556 | N.J. | 1873
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Tins is not the first occasion that tills controversy has called for the. attention of this court.
The bill was filed for the specific performance of a written contract, whereby Elisha Ruckman agreed to sell and convey certain lauds to Benjamin W. King, the complainant. The vendor refusing to make the stipulated conveyance, the suit in chancery was begun. The judgment in the first instance was uniiivorable to the complainant, but that result being disapproved of was reversed in this court, and the defendant was, accordingly, directed, among other tilings, to make a conveyance in conformity to his contract. The proceedings having been remitted to the Court of Chancery, a reference was made to a master, to ascertain certain particulars. On the coining in of the report of this master, his
Of the questions thus arising, by far the most important one, considered with respect to these litigants, is that relating to the claim made by Mr. Ruckman, the defendant, to an allowance of interest on the purchase money. The articles of agreement bear date the 12th day of May, 1868, and stipulate for the following payments, viz.: $100 on the execution of the contract; $19,900 in cash on the first day of June then next; $80,000 in cash on the first day of July then next, on the delivery of the deed, and the residue to be secured by a bond and mortgage, payable in five equal annual payments, from the date of said agreement, with interest at six per cent, per annum, payable semi-annually. The agreement on the part of the vendor was, that on receiving such payment and such securities, he would execute and deliver to the vendee a deed of general warranty, -conveying the premises in fee, free from encumbrances.
The number of acres of land which, by the decree of this court, the defendant was directed to convey, has been ascertained to amount to one thousand three hundred and fifty-three acres and seventy-seven hundredths, so that the total' contract price is $372,286.75. The contention of the defendant is, that interest on this sum should be awarded to him in the same manner as though he had complied with his contract, and had executed a deed and put the complainant in possession of the property, as he agreed, on the 1st day of' July, 1868. The lands during this interim have been, comparatively, unproductive, the master reporting that the rents- and profits have been equalled by the taxes.
The Vice-Chancellor rejected this claim of the defendant, and I think such rejection is clearly justifiable, on grounds-both of natural and legal equity. The proposition that when
This general theme, as to .when a vendee will be required to pay interest on the purchase money, is discussed at large in the text books, and the rules which are applicable in general or in particular conjunctures, are there defined and elucidated. Among the principles there stated will be found the one at present applicable, and with which alono I shall attempt to deal.
The rule which I deem apt in this instance is thus expressed by Lord St. Leonards, viz. : “ Where interest is more in amount than rents and profits, and it is clearly made out that the delay was occasioned by the vendor, to give effect to the general rule would be to enable the vendor to profit by his own wrong; and the court, therefore, gives the vendor no interest, but leaves him in the possession of the interim rents and profits.” 2 Sug. V. & P., (8th Amer. ed.) p. 322, § 24.
The Vice-Chancellor has applied this rule to the present case, and the questions are, as to the existence of the rule, and the propriety of its application.
As to the first question, with regard to the existence of the rule, as I have already said, I do not know that its prevalence, whenever applicable, has, on any occasion, either in a
I consider, then, the rale to be indisputable; why, then, is it not applicable to this ease ?
This rule, as I conceive this subject, is put in force in every ease in which these three qualities enter; first, the rents and profits must fall below the interest; second, the delay must be the fault of the vendor; and, third, the vendee must be out of possession. I do not find, that in any case in which these three elements exist, interest has been exacted. That these elements are present in the ease now before us is, of course, beyond denial.
But in ease of the pressure of this settled practice, it has been intimated, in the course of the present discussion, that in order to put the rule in force, it was necessary that the vendor should not only be in fault, but that such fault should be willful. I think there is not the least foundation for such a contention. Indeed, the rule has been, almost universally, applied in those instances when there was no sugggostion of anything intentionally wrong in the conduct of the seller of the property. It has received its most frequent exemplifications iii eases in which the delay in completing the contract has arisen from the discovery of latent defects in the title. On such occasions, the vendor was no further in fault than every one is in fault who undertakes to do what he afterwards discovers he is not prepared to do. In such cases, a vendor is blamable simply for having perhaps omitted to have his title looked into with sufficient care. These illustrations make it demonstrably
And indeed, so completely was it the established course to refuse interest to a vendor who failed to convey, from whatever cause, that when the parties desired a different result it
Being satisfied that the rule in question is entirely established as a part of our system of laws, and that it is applicable in this present instance, my conclusion is that the result reached on this head in the Court of Chancery is correct.
The next exception made by the defendant to the decree appealed from, relates to its provision directing a portion of the price to be secured by a mortgage. By the terms of the article of agreement, the residue of the pm’chase money, after the payment of the first three installments, was to be secured
This disposes of the grounds of appeal which were urged in behalf of the defendant.
TVitli respect to the exceptions taken to the decree on the other side, 1 do not think any one of them is well taken. I shall dispose of them in a few words.
With respect to the lands not conveyed. I think these lands are embraced in the contract. Parol contracts are not void, they are merely, by force of the statute of frauds, unenforceable by suit; but they can exist, and it is admitted both in the bill and in the answer, that they are embraced in this agreement. But it seems to me, that an equitable compensation has been made to the complainant for these lands. He has been exempted from the payment of ¡§275 per acre for them, which was more than their average value when they should have been conveyed to him. Without attempting to lay down any general rule upon the subject, I will say, that I am not satisfied that this docs not fully satisfy the •equities of this case. The last objection related to charging the annual taxes for the land against the complainant. These taxes are so large that they absorb the whole of the annual profits of the property, so that it seems to me that they •ought not, as between these parties, to be regarded as a render paid to the public for the mere enjoyment of the possession. They have been obviously imposed in view of the value of the fee in the land, rather than with any reference to the mere usufruct. They have, therefore, been properly charged to the complainant. If the sum estimated on this score comprises, in part, taxes for lands not embraced in this controversy, that matter, it seems to me, should be corrected on an application to the court below. From the case as it is now developed before this court, it would seem that this point has been started, in a specific form, for the first time, on this appeal. The petition of appeal objects to the •entire allowance for taxes rather than to any particular part of it. A matter which is thus wrapped up in the proceed
In my opinion, the decree in this case should be affirmed, each party paying his own costs in this court.
The whole court concurred.