Brady v. Black Mountain Investment Co.

459 P.2d 712, 105 Ariz. 87, 41 A.L.R. 3d 1, 1969 Ariz. LEXIS 368
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 15, 1969
Docket9671
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 459 P.2d 712 (Brady v. Black Mountain Investment Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brady v. Black Mountain Investment Co., 459 P.2d 712, 105 Ariz. 87, 41 A.L.R. 3d 1, 1969 Ariz. LEXIS 368 (Ark. 1969).

Opinion

STRUCKMEYER, Justice.

This lawsuit was brought by Black Mountain Investment Co., an Arizona corporation, against Dorothy Agnes Brady personally and as executrix of her husband’s estate and against Transamerica Title Insurance Company to compel the delivery of a deed to a 10 acre'parcel of real property. Summary judgment in favor of Black Mountain was granted in the court below. Mrs. Brady has appealed and Black Mountain has cross-appealed. Transamerica Title Insurance Company although named by Black Mountain as a cross-appellee has not made an appearance in this court.

In April of 1959, Charles Anderson Brady and Dorothy A. Brady, his wife, as sellers, entered into a written contract with John J. Schwartz for the sale of 160 acres of land for $91,200.00. A total of $24,000.00 was paid on or prior to the close of escrow. Thereafter, the Bradys and Black Mountain Investment Co., an Arizona corporation, together with the Phoenix Title and Trust Company, an Arizona corporation, now the Transamerica Title Insurance Company of Arizona, an Arizona corporation, as trustee, entered into a trust agreement by which Black Mountain purchased from the. Bradys the same. 160 acres for the same purchase price. The title to the property was to be held in trust by Phoenix Title and Trust Company until performance by Black Mountain. Receipt of “$24,000.00 cash paid” was acknowledged - by the Bradys, leaving the principal sum of $67,-200.00 remaining to be paid in fifteen annual installments of- $4,480.00» Black Mountain- made six annual-.payments and, defaulted- On The ■ seventh-.installment due May 7, 1966.

The trust agreement provided for the release of title to 10 acre parcels to Black Mountain when not in default. On April 30, 1966, one week before default, Black Mountain demanded of Transamerica Title Insurance Company that it release 80 acres of the 160 acres and Transamerica did release 80 acres on May 2. On May 5 Black Mountain made a further written demand that Transamerica release an additional 10 acres of land and tendered a check for $445.20. This demand was refused and Black Mountain brought suit to compel the conveyance, obtaining the judgment which is here under attack.

The parts of the trust agreement material to this action read:

“* * * the Second Beneficiaries (Black Mountain) when not in default hereunder, may obtain the release of parcels of the above described property upon the payment to the Trustee for the account of First Beneficiaries (Bradys) of the sum of $5,700.00 per gross 10 acres. * * * All release price payments shall be cumulative and shall apply towards succeeding payments to become due under the agreement to purchase and all principal payments shall apply toward the release of parcels. It is further understood and agreed that the Second Beneficiaries shall be entitled to the release of 40 acres in consideration of the cash payment made at the inception of the trust. * * * ”

It is the Bradys’ contention that the trust agreement by the language “It is understood and agreed that (Black Mountain) shall be entitled to the release of 40 acres in consideration of the cash payment made at the inception of the trust” is clear .and positive as to the effect to be given to the $24,000.00 “cash payment” and no more than 40. acres can be released thereby. If the Bradys’ contention is correct, only 80 acres can be released, calculated in this manner: $24,-000.00 releases 40 acres — the equivalent of four 10 acre parcels. 'Six aftnual payments at $4,480.00 totals $26,880.00 which, when *89 divided bj $5,700.00, the amount necessary to release each 10 acre parcel, is sufficient to release four 10 acre parcels with a credit balance of $4,080.00 towards the release of the ninth parcel; that the tender of $445.20 on May 5th, 1966, could at the most bring Black Mountain’s credit balance toward the release of the ninth parcel to $4,525.20, a sum which is not sufficient to release the ninth parcel.

The trial court adopted Black Mountain’s theory as expressed in its complaint, thereby impliedly construing the language, “all principal payments shall apply towards the release of parcels” as meaning that the $24,000.00 paid by Schwartz prior to the execution of the trust agreement was a “principal payment” which could be applied to parcel releases at the rate of $5,700.00 per parcel. As so construed, its calculation was: 40 acres is the equivalent of four 10 acre parcels which at the release price of $5,700.00 is $22,800.00; therefore, Black Mountain had a credit of $1,200.00 left over from the cash payment of $24,000.00. This $1,200.00 as part of a “principal payment” can be applied toward the release of another parcel. The $1,200.00 when added to the $445.20 tendered and to the six annual payments totaling $26,800.00 is $28,525.20, an amount sufficient to release the ninth parcel on the basis of $5,700.00 a parcel.

We note at this point that both parties moved for judgment in the court below and did not then nor do they here claim that there are any disputed facts. Consequently, the issues can be concluded simply by the application of the appropriate rules of law governing the interpretation of contracts.

We think the court below erred in its construction of the trust agreement. Assuming, as Black Mountain contends, that the words “all principal payments in the clause “all principal payments shall apply towards the release of parcels” include the $24,000.00 cash payment by Schwartz, there is thereby created an incompatibility with the next succeeding sentence providing that Black Mountain “shall be entitled to the release of 40 acres in consideration of the cash payment.” An incompatibility arises because “40 acres” is explicit, entitling Black Mountain by the cash payment to the release of that amount of land, neither more nor less; whereas, the $24,000.00 as a payment on the principal indebtedness if applied towards the release of parcels, will effect the release of four parcels with a carry over credit of $1,200.00 to be applied towards the release of an additional parcel.

The rule of law has been repeatedly enunciated by this court that where there are inconsistent provisions in a contract, one general and the other specific, the specific provision qualifies the meaning of the general provision and controls over the general. Marshall v. Patzman, 81 Ariz. 367, 306 P.2d 287; Central Housing Investment Corp. v. Federal National Mortgage Assoc., 74 Ariz. 308, 248 P.2d 866; Tyson v. Tyson, 61 Ariz. 329, 149 P.2d 674; DeMund v. Oro Grande Consolidated Mines, 56 Ariz. 458, 108 P.2d 770. Here, under Black Mountain’s construction, the clause “all principal payments shall apply towards the release of parcels” is general in its application, being directed to the entire $91,200.00 purchase price. The clause which permits the release of “40 acres in consideration of the cash payment” deals with a specific portion of the payment on the principal indebtedness, declaring with particularity what effect is to be given to the cash payment of $24,000.00. Thus, the latter being specific controls over the former.

However, we do not think that there is, in fact, any inconsistency in the language of the trust agreement.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
459 P.2d 712, 105 Ariz. 87, 41 A.L.R. 3d 1, 1969 Ariz. LEXIS 368, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brady-v-black-mountain-investment-co-ariz-1969.