Allen v. South Penn Coal Co.

52 S.E. 454, 58 W. Va. 197, 1905 W. Va. LEXIS 98
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 31, 1905
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 52 S.E. 454 (Allen v. South Penn Coal Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Allen v. South Penn Coal Co., 52 S.E. 454, 58 W. Va. 197, 1905 W. Va. LEXIS 98 (W. Va. 1905).

Opinion

McWhorter, Judge:

William H. Allen filed in the circuit court of Barbour county his bill of complaint against J. N. Wilkinson, Buy N. Wilkinson, D. M. Willis, W. W. Haines'- and J. Truman Nixon, partners trading under the firm name of the South Penn Coal Company, alleging that prior to the 19th of April, 1902, he was negotiating with the defendants through the defendant J. N. Wilkinson, attorney-in-fact for said partners, concerning the purchase of certain coal lands on which the defendants had or were about to secure options to purchase; that the lands so to be purchased are described in a general way in a paper filed with the bill marked exhibit “Option and Acceptance,” as follows:

“This agreement made this 19th day of April, 1902, between The South Penn Coal Company, by J. N. Wilkinson its Attorney in fact, party of the first part, and Wm. H. Allen, of Pittsburg, Pa., party of the second part. Witnessed, that the said party of the first part in consideration of one dollar in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, does hereby agree to grant and option unto •the said party of the second part the sole and exclusive option of purchasing all the coal under those certain tracts of land locally known as the Freeport and Kittanning or Ka-nawha River coals, located in the County of Barbour and the District of Philippi, State of West Virginia, and which coal lands contain about eight or ten thousand acres more or less, and to include all the farms on which the coal has been optioned and purchased in the name of the South Penn Coal [199]*199Company, which options are to be given to Vm. H. Allen, upon the depositing of the hereinafter mentioned Ten Thous- and Dollars, ($10,000.00) and which coal is optioned to said optionee on the following terms and at the following prices: For the surface of the front land containing about three hundred acres, and all the coal underlying the same in fee, except the M. A. Price twenty-five acres (under which the coal is owned by J. N. B. Crino,) at the sum and price of thirty-five dollars ($35.00) per acre, and for all the coal underlying other than the surface land mentioned, at the price of Eighteen dollars ($18.00) per acre. But this option is to be absolutely null and void and of no effect whatever unless the said coal is accepted by the optionee or his assignees on the date of this contract, and all rights and claims whatsoever in and under this agreement are voidable absolutely if the said coal and land are not accepted in writing on the date of this contract. It is further agreed that if the op-tionee in this agreement assigns his rights under this option, that the said optionee herein shall be responsible that the assignee shall carry out his contract and the said optionee covenants that the contract will be carried out by his assignee if he assigns over this option to some third party. It is further agreed that if the coal and lands are accepted under this contract at the prices named that the said ox>tionee or his assignee will upon the day the' coal is accepted, place to the credit of the «aid Attorney J. N. Wilkinson, the optionor in this contract, the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), in the Traders National Bank, of Clarksburg, W. Va., as a Ijartial payment on the coal and lands so purchased or optioned in and by this contract, or upon failure to do so, then this contract is absolutely null and void and is of no effect between the parties, but if said option is closed, and said coal accepted, then the parties making purchase of same, in addition to the _ prices herein named, shall pay the expenses of surveying the said coal and surface lands. It is furthermore stipulated and agreed to by the optionor that in event of the title to .said three hundred acres more or less of front lands, and at least twenty-five hundred acres of coal, not being good, that the optionor will return the Ten Thousand Dollars above mentioned, to the optionee, on demand by the optionee.

[200]*200“But only such part of the tract of coal and part of the surface owned by the Smokeless Coal Co., as was owned by W. W. Eainey and by him assigned to the South Penn Coal Company, is to be included in this option. Witness the following signature and seal. South Penn Coal Company, by J. N. Wilkinson, Atty. in fact. Witness JohnL. Johnson.”

“Clarksburg, W. Ya. April 19th, 1902. Mr. J. N Wilkinson, Atty. for South Penn Coal Co. Dear Sir: — I hereby accept the options on Ten Thousand (10,000) acres coal and three hundred and thirty-six (336) acres in fee in Barbour County, West Yirginia, at Lillian Station on the B. & O. R. R. Win. H. Allen.’'

That this agreement was the result of the negotiations between the plaintiff and the said Wilkinson acting for and on behalf of the partners known as the South Penn Coal Company; that the ten thousand dollars was paid by plaintiff to defendant under the agreement; that on the 23d of May, 1902, upon the false and fraudulent representations made by said Wilkinson that an additional payment made by the plaintiff on account of the said options would expedite the securing of the field plaintiff caused to be paid to him the further sum of ten thousand dollars on account of 0said purchase price of said property, making the entire sum of twenty thousand dollars paid On account of said lands; that on the 30th day of July, 1902, plaintiff having become convinced that the defendants had no title to and could not get title to and deliver to him at least, three hundred acres of surface and coal designated as front land and did not and could not secure title to at least twenty-five hundred acres of mineable and mai-ketable coal or Freeport and Kittanning or Kanawha River Coal in a compact and contiguous body lying-adjacent to said front lands and mineable therefrom, notified the defendants by letter to Wilkinson, attorney in fact, that he would decline to accept a tender of the field as then controlled by them, and demanded the return of his twenty thousand dollars, which they declined to refund and prayed that the defendants might be required to refund to him the twenty thousand dollars with interest from the dates of the two payments of ten thousand dollars each respectively, and that he have a personal decree against the defendants for the same with interest and that on .default of the payment thereof [201]*201he have a decree directing a sale of the options held by ■defendants, and also have sale of the abstracts to secure to him the payment of said sum of money, and that he have an order in default of the payment of said money, directed to the defendants to deliver to plaintiff the deeds to all of said several tracts of coal, the title of which was taken by •defendants in the name of plaintiff as alleged in the bill, and for general relief.

To which bill the defendants, the firm of South Penn Coal ■Company, filed their demurrer assigning the following .grounds:

“1st. There is no equity in the Bill, the same setting up merely an alleged contract existing between the plaintiff and the defendant J. N. Wilkinson, member of the defendant company, and the breach thereof by said defendant, and accruing damages to the plaintiff by reason thereof, to the. extent of $20,000.00. This is purely a legal demand for which there is a complete and adequate remedy at Law, as shown by plaintiff’s exhibit ‘Option and Acceptance, ’ dated April 19th, 1902, filed with the bill.

“2nd There is no averment in the bill that said defendant committed, or attempted to commit, any fraud upon the plaintiff, or that he acted within the scope of his authority as the Attorney in Pact of Defendant Company.

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Bluebook (online)
52 S.E. 454, 58 W. Va. 197, 1905 W. Va. LEXIS 98, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/allen-v-south-penn-coal-co-wva-1905.