Weir Plow Co. v. Walmsley

11 N.E. 232, 110 Ind. 242
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedApril 1, 1887
DocketNo. 11,832
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 11 N.E. 232 (Weir Plow Co. v. Walmsley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Weir Plow Co. v. Walmsley, 11 N.E. 232, 110 Ind. 242 (Ind. 1887).

Opinion

ZoiiLARS, J.

Appellant bases its action upon a written contract.

Although signed by appellant and the appellees, Walmsley and Carithers, the contract upon its face shows that the real contracting parties were appellant and Walmsley.

The terms of the contract, so far as they need to be here set out, are, that appellant agreed to “ manufacture and furnish” farming implements to Walmsley, to be sold by him on commission, the kind of implements, the price of the same, and the commission to be allowed to Walmsley being stated. Said goods to be delivered on board cars at Indianapolis, [244]*244■on or about, when ordered, 1881.” The undertakings on the part of Walmsley were, that he would receive, pay freight, store in good order, sell as far as possible for cash at the price-list, and when sales could not be made for cash, in no case to extend the time of payment of notes beyond the 1st day of October, 1881, and to deliver no goods until settled for; that he would take, and turn over to appellant, interest-bearing notes, payable to it, upon blanks furnished by it, and require a property statement on the back of the notes by the purchasers, that they were worth $2,000 above debts; that he would remit to appellant the full proceeds of cash sales, and notes, on Monday of each week, first endorsing each and every note, using the following form: “For value received we hereby guarantee the payment of this note at maturity, or any time thereafter, waiving protest, demand, and notice of non-payment thereof;” that final settlement should be made with appellant on the 1st day of July, 1881, or at such other time as it might require; that if any notes should remain unpaid for ninety days after maturity, they should be taken up and paid by Walmsley; that the contract itself should be a full guarantee on his part of the payment of the notes turned over to appellant, and that a failure to endorse the notes •should not affect such guarantee; that Walmsley would use all proper diligence to sell the implements ordered, and that in case of failure or neglect to sell all of said implements by the 1st day of July, 1881, he would settle for those remaining unsold, by giving “ their ” notes, payable to appellant or order on the 1st day of October, 1881.

By other stipulations in the contract, appellant granted to Walmsley th.e right to sell said implements in "Vigo county, .Indiana, during the spring trade, and he agreed to sell those implements in preference to others of similar kind.

After stating the terms of the contract, it is alleged in the complaint, that prior to making the contract, Walmsley had been acting as agent of appellant, and as such had on hand a large amount of agricultural implements, which by agreement [245]*245were turned over to him by appellant, and were included in the-contract; that appellant has complied with all the terms of the contract; that appellees have not complied with the terms of the contract on their part, in that they have received from time to time from aj)pellant, since the execution of the contract, until the latter part of the year 1881, large amounts of agricultural implements, and sold a large part of such implements to divers persons, partly for cash and partly on time, and taken and turned over notes payable to appellant; that appellees failed to endorse said notes or take them up and pay them, and that they have been due for more than ninety days; that Walmsley failed to remit to appellant the cash received on sales of the implements in accordance with the terms of the contract, but, on the contrary, converted to his own-use $1,500 of the money so received on cash sales. Judgment is asked for the amount of the money so converted, and for. the amount of the unpaid notes, a list of which is given-in the complaint.

Walmsley made default. Carithers filed an answer in three-paragraphs, and a cross complaint. A demurrer by appellant to the cross complaint and to the third paragraph of the-answer was overruled by the court below. Those rulings are-assigned as error.

So far as material here, it is averred in the third paragraph, of the answer, that Carithers, with the knowledge of appellant, executed the contract filed with the complaint, as. surety for Walmsley and in no other capacity; that prior to. the execution of the contract, Walmsley had purchased from appellant a thousand dollars’ worth of farming implements,, of the kind and quality mentioned in the contract, which were in his possession at the time the contract was made, of which fact Carithers was ignorant at the time he executed the contract; that subsequent to the execution of the contract, and without the knowledge or consent of Carithers, appellant and Walmsley agreed that the said implements, so-in his possession, should be taken and received by him under [246]*246the contract, as the implements to be manufactured and furnished on board the cars at Indianapolis, as stated in the contract, and that they were so taken and sold by Walmsley; that for the purpose of making the contract cover and include such implements, so had on hand by Walmsley, they wrongfully inserted in said contract the following: “All goods specified in this contract and in price-list attached, have been delivered to the party of the second part (Walmsley), and ai’e hereby acknowledged as being in the possession of said party of the second part; ” that in pursuance of said arrangement, Walmsley received said implements and sold them under the contract without the knowledge of Carithers.

“Nothing,” says Judge Story, “can be clearer, both upon principle and authority, than the doctrine, that the liability of a surety is not to be extended, by implication, beyond the terms of his contract. To the extent, and in the manner, and under the circumstances, pointed out in his obligation, he is bound, and no further. It is not sufficient, that he may sustain no injury by a change in the contract, or that it may even be for his benefit. He has a right to stand upon the very terms of his contract; and if he does not assent to any variation of it, and a variation is made, it is fatal.” Miller v. Stewart, 9 Wheat. 680. Such has always been the doctrine of this court. Judah v. Zimmerman, 22 Ind. 388; Markland, etc., Co. v. Kimmel, 87 Ind. 560; City of Lafayette v. James, 92 Ind. 240 (47 Am. R. 140); Weed S. M. Co. v. Winchel, 107 Ind. 260.

It is also a rule, well settled, that the contract of the surety must be given a reasonable interpretation, in accordance with the established rules of construction. Irwin v. Kilburn, 104 Ind. 113.

As will be noticed from the abstract of the complaint above given, appellant seeks to recover a judgment against appellees for an amount of money which it is alleged Walmsley collected upon cash sales of implements, and failed to remit, and for the amount of notes which he had taken upon [247]*247the sales of such implements, and turned over to appellant, and which were not paid by the makers.

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Bluebook (online)
11 N.E. 232, 110 Ind. 242, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weir-plow-co-v-walmsley-ind-1887.