Hunt v. Detroit Sulphite Pulp & Paper Co.

15 F. Supp. 698, 1936 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2100
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedJuly 27, 1936
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 15 F. Supp. 698 (Hunt v. Detroit Sulphite Pulp & Paper Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hunt v. Detroit Sulphite Pulp & Paper Co., 15 F. Supp. 698, 1936 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2100 (W.D.N.Y. 1936).

Opinion

THOMAS, District Judge.

This is a suit brought by plaintiff to recover damages for the alleged breach of a certain contract. The principal facts are not seriously disputed.

The suit was first brought in the Supreme Court for Niagara county and later transferred to this court by defendant because of diversity of citizenship. The defendant is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state of Michigan, and the negotiations leading up to the execution of the contract in suit, as well as all work in connection with the execution of the same, was conducted by its president, William P. Holliday, who died in 1932.

For some years the Crittsinger Company, a corporation organized under the kiws of the state of New York, was in the real estate business in Niagara Falls, and its business was conducted by its president, Burt C. Crittsinger, since the time of its organization. On.March 27, 1925, William L. Hunt was appointed its receiver by the Supreme Court of the state of New York, and was by proper order of that court authorized and directed to bring this suit, which is the only substantial asset in the hands of the receiver.

Although the contract was dated April 2, 1923, and signed by the defendant on May 25, 1923, it did not become effective until June 6, 1923. The contract was between Burt C. Crittsinger, Inc., of Niagara Falls, N. Y., hereinafter called the ven[699]*699dor, and the Detroit Sulphite Pulp & Paper Company of Detroit, Mich., hereinafter called the purchaser, whereby the vendor covenanted to convey to the purchaser the capital stock of two Canadiati companies owned by it, together with title, held by these two companies, to 14,500 acres of land in certain townships in the province of Ontario, Canada, as shown by a compilation called Schedule A and annexed to the contract. The vendor further agreed that it would take immediate steps to acquire and cause to be conveyed to the purchaser, or its nominee, 32,000 acres of additional lands in the townships of Lennox and Nesbitt as described .in Schedule B annexed to the contract, with the right of substituting for a portion thereof 5,000 acres from an area designated in the contract. The agreement also provided for the completion of title to 1,600 acres of lands in the township of Calder, Ontario. These lands were known as “Settler” lots, and differed from the 32.000 acres to be acquired, in that title to them could be acquired only by residence and a specified amount of improvement over a certain number of years, while those in the other townships were known a.s “Veteran” lots, having been awarded by the British government to veterans of the South African War and the Fenian Raid.

The total consideration to be paid by the defendant purchaser to the vendor was $537,500, installments of which were to be made against deliveries of various portions of the subject-matter: $75,000 upon delivery to the Montreal Trust Company of the shares of stock of the two Canadian companies and evidence of title to the property described in Schedule A; $20,000 upon acceptance and approval by the purchaser of title to 4,000 acres of land set forth in Schedule B; $220,000 upon acceptance and approval by the purchaser of title to an additional 4,000 acres described in Schedule B and the delivery to the purchaser by the Montreal Trust Company of the shares of stock of the two Canadian companies, and all evidence of title theretofore delivered to the Montreal Trust Company by Lhe vendor; the balance of $222,500 to be paid in five equal consecutive installments of $20,000 each, upon the acceptance by the purchaser of title to successive blocks of 4.000 acres each, set forth in Schedule B, and the final payment of $122,500 to he made on the completion of the agreement and its full performance by the vendor, which, without dispute, was to include a final conveyance of 4,000 acres.

This schedule of payments, especially, the stipulation for the final payment of | $122,500, is of some importance in considering the present controversy, in that the i plaintiff insists that the $102,500, not definitely allocated by the language of the contract to any particular portion of the subject-matter, was a suspended payment for the equity of the vendor in the two Cana-' dian companies and the property owned by them described in Schedule A, retained for < the payment of possible damages to the defendant through the default of the ven- , dor, while the defendant, contending in a lengthy argument that the conveyances made were fully paid for and that the vendor profited amply thereby, asserts that the $102,500 was merely to assure the purchaser an objective of a solid block of lots.

Another feature of the contract is the provision, found in paragraph 15, that time is not of the essence but could be made so by written notice, to the vendor addressed and mailed by registered mail to it at the city of Niagara Falls, N. Y., giving it six months in which to fully complete the agreement.

The most controversial and provocative portion of the contract, however, is paragraph 10, which provides in full as follows: “10. — Provided that in case of default by the Vendor of any term or provision of this Agreement, the Purchaser may at its option rescind this agreement and re-transfer to the present owners thereof the shares of capital stock in the said Companies and convey to the Vendor any and all lands or interests in lands conveyed to lhe Purchaser or its nominee upon repayment to the Purchaser of all sums of money paid on account of this agreement together with interest thereon at the rate of six per cent. (6%) per annum from the date of payment, together with all expenses o C every kind, nature and description whatsoever which the Purchaser shall or may have suffered, been at or been put to in connection with or by reason of this agreement or of the searching of titles, registration fees or other transfer fees or of the operations of the said Companies, or either of them, or of the lands, or any of them, referred to or covered by this agreement, and that at the time of sitch retransfer of said shares the Companies shall own the interests in lands owned by them or either of them at the time of the transfer to tlxc Purchaser, and the Purchaser will convey or cause to be conveyed to the Vendor [700]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
15 F. Supp. 698, 1936 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hunt-v-detroit-sulphite-pulp-paper-co-nywd-1936.