Wall v. Wason

Decision Date16 December 1958
Citation146 Conn. 32,147 A.2d 200
CourtConnecticut Supreme Court
PartiesRichard WALL v. Ray WASON. Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut

T. Holmes Bracken, New Haven, for appellant (defendant).

Dennis N. Garvey, New Haven, with whom were John W. Colleran, New Haven, Conn., and, on the brief, Lewis E. Caplan and Richard A. Dice, New Haven, for appellee (plaintiff).

Before DALY, C. J., and BALDWIN, KING, MURPHY and MELLITZ, JJ.

MELLITZ, Associate Justice.

The plaintiff brought this action to recover a balance alleged to be due him for the construction of two dwelling houses on land owned by the defendant in Hamden. From a judgment for the plaintiff the defendant has appealed.

With such corrections as are warranted, the facts found are as follows: The defendant owned real estate in Hamden on which he desired to construct houses for sale to the public. In September, 1952, he entered into an oral agreement with the plaintiff for the construction of a house known as the Carlson house. Under the agreement, the plaintiff was to handle the construction details and the defendant was to supervise the work and furnish the financing. In the spring of 1953 they commenced another house, referred to as the Cuthbertson house. Shortly after its construction was begun, the defendant suggested that he and the plaintiff reduce their agreement to writing, and he drafted an agreement which they signed. In it, the plaintiff was referred to as the contractor and the defendant as the seller. It provided that the defendant should furnish the financing and supervision and the plaintiff should (1) handle all details of construction, (2) furnish reports on costs and payments, (3) obtain release of lien rights from subcontractors, and (4) 'save the seller from any responsibility whatsoever except financing and supervision.' The defendant, as seller, was to be paid (1) $2000 for the lot, (2) 'all costs incident to the construction and the sale of the premises,' (3) a commission of $366, and (4) 5 per cent on any money advanced. The plaintiff, as contractor, was to receive any balance from the sale of the premises on completion of payment by the buyer. During the construction of the houses, the plaintiff furnished the defendant with periodic accountings, and, upon completion, with final accountings. The defendant was credited and paid in accordance with the agreement. From the balance, he retained $2000 pending settlement of claims on the contracts with the purchasers of the houses and the outcome of the Carlson suit hereinafter mentioned. He signed the contracts of sale with the purchaser, collected the proceeds of the sales, retained the sums due him from the proceeds, and had complete charge of the disbursement of all moneys. Just prior to the conveyance of the Cuthbertson house, a suit was brought against the defendant by the purchasers of the Carlson property on a claim that there was a misrepresentation as to the front boundary. The Cuthbertsons made complaints to both the plaintiff and the defendant concerning defects in their house, particularly with reference to the plumbing. The plaintiff refused to make repairs, but the defendant made them at a cost of $387. On March 24, 1955, after a conference between the parties and their attorneys, the defendant, without prejudice, paid the plaintiff $500 out of the $2000 he had retained. In June, 1955, judgment was rendered against the defendant in the Carlson suit for $3500 damages, which the defendant paid, together with an attorney's fee of $1000 for defense of the suit.

The trial court overruled the claim of the defendant that he was entitled to reimbursement from the plaintiff for the moneys paid out by him on both houses, and rendered judgment for the plaintiff to recover the $1500 balance retained by the defendant.

The claim of the defendant, set up in a special defense, is that he is entitled to reimbursement under the contract provisions that he was to be paid 'all costs incident to the construction and the sale of the premises' and that the plaintiff would save him 'from any responsibility whatsoever except financing and supervision.' The defendant seeks to interpret the latter clause as an undertaking on the part of the plaintiff to...

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9 cases
  • Governors Grove Condominium Ass'n, Inc. v. Hill Development Corp., 27614
    • United States
    • Connecticut Superior Court
    • 28 Enero 1980
    ...undertaking, with sharing of profits and losses, necessary to spell out a claim of joint adventure or enterprise. See Wall v. Wason, 146 Conn. 32, 36, 147 A.2d 200; Lesser v. Smith, 115 Conn. 86, 89, 160 A. 302. And, in any event, in order for this theory to avail the plaintiffs, sufficient......
  • Southern New England Contracting Co. v. State
    • United States
    • Connecticut Supreme Court
    • 2 Enero 1974
    ...the party who drew it; Greenwich Contracting Co. v. Bonwit Construction Co., 156 Conn. 123, 129-130, 239 A.2d 519; Wall v. Wason, 146 Conn. 32, 36, 147 A.2d 200; 17A C.J.S. 217 Contracts § 324; and (2) that a contractor will not be responsible for loss or damage resulting from defective pla......
  • Sonnichsen v. Streeter
    • United States
    • Connecticut Circuit Court
    • 11 Diciembre 1967
    ...established principle that when two meanings are possible, an agreement is to be construed against the party who drew it. Wall v. Wason, 146 Conn. 32, 36, 147 A.2d 200. Furthermore, there was no consideration which can be claimed for the purported note. 'An agreement without consideration i......
  • Greenwich Contracting Co. v. Bonwit Const. Co.
    • United States
    • Connecticut Supreme Court
    • 6 Febrero 1968
    ...by the application of the principle that a contract in such a case is to be construed against the party who drew it. Wall v. Wason, 146 Conn. 32, 36, 147 A.2d 200; Dorne v. Williams, 140 Conn. 193, 201, 98 A.2d 796; 17A C.J.S. Contracts § 324, p. 217. Relief by way of reformation in the cas......
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