John Roehm v. Paul Horst
Decision Date | 14 May 1900 |
Docket Number | No. 188,188 |
Citation | 44 L.Ed. 953,20 S.Ct. 780,178 U.S. 1 |
Parties | JOHN ROEHM, Petitioner , v. PAUL R. G. HORST, E. Clemens Horst, and Louis A. Horst, Late Trading under the Firm of Horst Bros., to the Use of E. Clemens Horst and Louis A. Horst |
Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
This was an action for breach of four certain contracts, brought 2 by Paul R. G. Horst and others against John Roehm in the circuit court of the United States for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, in January, 1897, and was tried under a stipulation, waiving a jury, before Dallas, circuit judge, who made a special finding of facts, and, on the facts so found, gave judgment for plaintiffs. 84 Fed. Rep. 565. The case was carried by defendant to the circuit court of appeals for the third circuit, and the judgment of the circuit court was affirmed. 62 U. S. App. 520, 91 Fed. Rep. 345, 33 C. C. A. 550. Thereupon Roehm applied to this court for a writ of certiorari, which was granted, and the cause subsequently heard here.
The circuit court found that——
'On August 25th, 1893, the firm of Horst Brothers, composed of Paul R. G. Horst, E. Clemens Horst, and Louis A. Horst, the legal plaintiffs, entered into four written contracts with John Roehm, the defendant, of which the following are copies:
Horst Bros.
John Roehm."
[Here followed a second, third, and fourth contract, of same tenor and under same date, the second for 100 bales of the crop of 1896, to be shipped 20 bales each month, in the months of March, April, May, June, and July; the third for 100 bales of the crop of 1897, to be shipped 20 bales each month, in the months of October, November, December, January, and February; and the fourth for 100 bales of the crop of 1897, to be shipped 20 bales each month, in the months of March, April, May, June, and July.]
'The months named in each of these contracts respectively, as 'time of shipment,' must, under the custom of the trade, be understood as meaning the months so named, which would follow next after the summer months of the year of the crop referred to in the particular contract.
'On June 23d, 1896, the firm of Horst Brothers was dissolved, and Paul R. G. Horst assigned to his copartners, E. Clemens Horst and Louis A. Horst, the use plaintiffs, all the interest of him, the said Paul R. G. Horst, in the said contracts.
'Upon June 23d, 1896, a notice, of which the following is a copy, was addressed to and received by the defendant:
Horst Brothers.'
'To this, under date of June 27th, 1896, the defendant replied, saying: . . . In answer to this, Horst Brothers in liquidation addressed a letter to the defendant, which he duly received, in which it was said that he had misconstrued the notice of dissolution sent out to the trade; that its meaning was that no new contracts would be made and no new business undertaken by the firm of Horst Brothers; and in which it was further stated that, This communication was not replied to.
'In October, 1896, the first shipment of 20 bales of hops under the contracts was made, and the invoice and bill of lading covering that shipment were sent to the defendant, who, on October 24th, 1896, by telegram and letter, acknowledged receipt of the bill of lading and bill of particulars, but, upon the ground set up in his letter of June 27, 1896, declined to receive the hops.
'At the time of the defendant's refusal to receive the shipment above mentioned, the plaintiffs could have made subcontracts for forward delivery according to the contracts in suit, at the price of 9 cents per pound for 'prime Pacific coast hops of the crop of 1896,' and of 11 cents per pound for like hops of the crop of 1897; and the differences between the prices fixed by the contracts sued on and those above stated, together with interest on the sum of such differences, from October 24, 1896, to this date, are as follows:'
[Here followed the computation resulting in the amount for which judgment was rendered.]
The opinion of the circuit court of appeals stated the case thus:
'In August, 1893, Paul R. G. Horst, E. Clemens Horst, and Louis A. Horst, trading as Horst Brothers, entered into a contract with John Roehm, the defendant below, for the sale of 1,000 bales of prime Pacific coast hops, to be delivered at various dates in the future, at an uniform price of 22 cents per pound. Of the whole quantity 600 bales had been delivered, accepted, and paid for at the contract price, so that in July, 1896, there remained undelivered 400 bales. These were deliverable at the rate of 20 bales per month during each month from October, 1896, to July, 1898, both inclusive, excepting, however, from said period the months of August and September, 1897, when no deliveries were called for. The record shows that this contract was the result of one negotiation, and provided for a supply of hops for five years. Ten separate papers were drawn, each covering a period of five months or one season. They all bear the same date and are similar as regards the quantity of hops to be delivered and the price to be paid. They differ only in the time of delivery and the year's crop from which delivery was to be made. In June, 1896, the firm of Horst Brothers was dissolved by the retirement of Paul R. G. Horst. He assigned his interest in the Roehm contract to the remaining partners, who continued the business under the same firm name. Roehm, the defendant below, was notified of this dissolution of the firm and of the transfer of Paul R. G. Horst's interest in the contract to its successors. He thereupon gave notice to the firm that he considered his contract canceled thereby. Subsequently the firm of Horst Brothers advised the defendant of their ability and willingness to perform the contract, and under date of September 4, 1896, wrote Roehm, as follows:
Horst Brothers.'
'To this letter Roehm replied, under date of September 14, 1896:
John Roehm.'
'On October 9, 1896, Horst Brothers advised Roehm of the shipment of 20 bales of hops for the October delivery, as called for by the contract, which Roehm, by telegraph, refused to receive, and as supplementary thereto sent the following letter, dated October 24, 1896:
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