Johnson v. Tisdale

4 Haw. 605, 1883 Haw. LEXIS 35
CourtHawaii Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 26, 1883
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 4 Haw. 605 (Johnson v. Tisdale) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. Tisdale, 4 Haw. 605, 1883 Haw. LEXIS 35 (haw 1883).

Opinion

Opinion of the Court by

AustiN, J.

This is an action on a guaranty. The defendant by.contract of guaranty dated December 81, 1880, agreed that C. L. Tis-dale would “ faithfully carry out and perform a contract made by him with Smith and Johnson to carry for them to the lialawa Mill when ready for grinding, two crops of cane which will be the erops of 1881 and 1882, now standing on the premises held by Smith and Johnson under agreement with Tisdale and Thompson.” And further undertook to guarantee and indemnify said Smith and Johnson from all loss or damage by reason ©f the non-performance ©f said contract by fault of said C. L. Tisdale.

By that carting contract, said C. L. Tisdale agreed that each team employed in doing said carting should do a fair and honest day’s work, and each team should be reckoned at $7.50 per day. The verdict of the jury at the October term was against the defendant for $1,800 damages, and the defendant appeals .to this Court.

By the verdict of the jury, it was conclusively decided that C. L. Tisdale failed to do a fair and honest day’s work under -said carting contract, and that the direct damages thereby arising to the plaintiff was $742.08. The rest of the damages were given because of the injury claimed to arise to the plaintiff from a wrongful sale by C. L. Tisdale through the defendant, his agent, of the plaintiff’s sugars manufactured from his cane, carted to said mill by said C. L. Tisdale under the said contract.

The plaintiff admitted at the trial, that at the time the sugar was sold he owed C. L. Tisdale for balance of carting [607]*607over and above all damages for unfaithful work the sum of $1,214.70. The plaintiff never made tender of this sum to the- said C. L. Tisdale.

C. L. Tisdale claimed that the balance due him for carting was $1,956.73. ' On this point the verdict of the jury is in favor of the plaintiff. The sugars sold were worth when’ sold at their then market value the sum of $3,015.81. The sale made of sugars was at much less than their market value, and they were mainly bought by the defendant.

The sale was made to collect said balance of $1,956.73 claimed due under a chattel mortgage given by said plaintiff Johnson, on said sugars, to said O. L. Tisdale.

Prior to the sale the said bill for teaming as claimed by O’. L. Tisdale had been presented to the plaintiff and payment demanded, and on August 11, 1882, O. L. Tisdale, through defendant as hi's attorney in fact notified plaintiff in writing, that as he had failed to settle said bill he should take possession of said sngars to pay the same, and expenses as empowered by said mortgage, and that unless the account was settled in two weeks he should sell the sugars at public auction.

To this notice the plaintiff, on the same’ day, replied in writing, as follows :

“ Kohala, August 11, 1882.
“T. P. Tisdale, Halawa Mill: I received a notification from you this morning that, in case I did not settle your bills presented in two weeks, you would sell enough of my sugar to satisfy the same.
“ As your bills are not according to agreement, I refuse to pay the same until satisfactory.
“ I hereby notify you that any sale you may make of any of my sugar will be illegal and void, and that I shall hold you and all parties concerned in such sale liable to me for damages.
“ (Signed) HeNRY JOHNSON.”

The said chattel mortgage provides that if default be made in payment of any balance due for teaming to said C. L, [608]*608Tisdale be may take possession of said sugar, and sell tbe same at public or private sale, and apply tbe proceeds to tbe payment of said amount due and expenses, and return tbe balance to tbe plaintiff'. The mortgage recites that payment for tbe teaming is to be made when it is done.

This last clause is to be construed reasonably.

Tbe plaintiff was not in default in this case till after tbe bill therefor was presented. When presented as appears above, tbe plaintiff* disputed it.

Tbe amount due was in controversy between tbe parties. It was an unliquidated sum.

The defendant claims it was liquidated as each load was to be reckoned at $7.50 a day. Tbe contract says such loads were to be “ fair and honest ” loads. Tbe verdict of tbe jury finds they were not so. Tbe value of tbe loads actually drawn was unliquidated and required for tbe determination thereof the decision of a legal tribunal. It was uncertain because of tbe wrongful act of the defendant.

Tbe defendant says tbe mortgage is to be distinguished from one securing unliquidated damages. Had there been no dispute as to tbe kind of loads this might have been true. But the dispute rendered tbe mortgage clearly security for an unliquidated sum.

In such a case no seizure and sale under a mortgage would be valid till after the amount due became fixed by legal investigation. See De Mott vs. Benson, 4 Ed., Ch. R. P., 307, 316-17; Ferguson vs. Kimball, 3 Barb. Ch. R., 616-16; Ferguson vs. Ferguson, 2 Com. 360-4.

Until default was made, tbe plaintiff' bad possession of tbe sugar.

The defendant’s counsel asked the Court to instruct tbe jury.

1. That Charles L. Tisdale, uuder the authority given to him by tbe mortgage from Johnson, had power to take possession of Johnson’s sugar to pay tbe balance due on teaming;

2. “That Johnson, having admitted a balance of $1,200 to be due from him to Charles L. Tisdale for teaming, tbe latter-[609]*609bad full authority to take possession of plaintiff’s sugar, it not being pretended that a tender was made of this amount.”

The Court refused so to charge, and we think the Court was right.

The mortgage provides, as quoted above, that in case default be made in payment of any balance due, the said C. L. Tisdale may take possession of the sugar.

Had a legal tender been made of the amount due it would have been equivalent in effect to payment, and C. L. Tisdale could not have taken or retained possession, and his lien would have been lost. See Jackson vs. Crafts, 18 John., 110; Farmers’ Fire Insurance Co. vs. Edwards, 26 Wend., 541, 556. If no tender was required to be made in the case, the effect would be the same as that of a tender leaving plaintiff liable for the balance he admitted to be due.

In the case of the United States vs. Lee, decided in the Supreme Court of the United States, December 4, 1882, Miller, J., who delivered the prevailing opinion says, quoting the language of the same Court in the case of Hills vs. Albany Exchange Bank: “ It is- a general rule that when the tender or performance of an act is necessary to the establishment of any right against another party, this tender or offer is waived or becomes unnecessary when it is reasonably certain that the offer will be refused.” See Albany Law J., Yol. 27, n. 1, p„ 12.

In this case as shown by his letter of August 11, the plaintiff was ready and willing and offered to pay the balance of the teaming due C. L. Tisdale which he refused to receive, and demanded much more than he was entitled to as found by the jury.

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Bluebook (online)
4 Haw. 605, 1883 Haw. LEXIS 35, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-tisdale-haw-1883.