City of Columbia v. Foxworth
| Decision Date | 16 February 1931 |
| Docket Number | 29220 |
| Citation | 132 So. 451,159 Miss. 728 |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
| Parties | CITY OF COLUMBIA v. FOXWORTH |
COMPROMISE AND SETTLEMENT. Vendor's acceptance of warrant for balance of purchase price precluded further claim for amount paid for option but applied on purchase price.
City in consideration of one hundred dollars paid, secured option to purchase certain property for the price, of three thousand dollars. Subsequently, and within time limited, city exercised option and issued warrant to vendor for two thousand wine hundred dollars, which recited on its face that it was "for balance of the purchase price" of land covered by option. More than five years after consummation of sale and acceptance of warrant, vendor filed suit to recover an additional one hundred dollars alleged to be due on purchase price. No attempt was made to show fraud in connection with negotiations for and consummation of sale of land.
APPEAL from circuit court of Marion county, HON. J. Q. LANGSTON Judge.
Suit by Mrs. C. R. Foxworth against the City of Columbia. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Reversed, and judgment entered for the defendant.
Reversed, and judgment for appellant.
Rawls & Hathorn, of Columbia, for appellant.
The acceptance by appellee of the warrant for two thousand nine hundred dollars, and her endorsement of the same and collecting and using the proceeds, constitutes an estoppel and she cannot be now heard to say that warrant did not speak the truth.
The acceptance of the warrant and its endorsement by appellee and her silence for so long a time, was a ratification of that clause in the deed which stated that she had been paid the full purchase price.
C. R. Foxworth and T. B. Davis, both of Columbia, for appellee.
As a rule mere silence will not work an estoppel but it may operate as such against a party where the circumstances are such as to make it his duty to speak and there is an opportunity to speak and where he has knowledge of the facts including the fact that the adverse party is ignorant of the truth and will be misled into doing that which he would not do, but for such silence. Estoppel may arise from silence as well as from words and actions.
Stross Bros. v. Denton, 140 Miss. 751; 21 C. J., pages 1150-1; Watson v. Peebles, 102 Miss. 725, 734.
This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of the appellee, Mrs. C. R. Foxworth, against the appellant, city of Columbia, for the sum of one hundred dollars, with interest at six per cent. per annum from the 12th day of July, 1923.
In 1923 the city of Columbia desiring to purchase for fairground and park purposes certain land owned by Mrs. Foxworth, the mayor and board of aldermen of the city passed an order directing the mayor to appoint a committee to secure from Mrs. Foxworth a thirty days' option to purchase said land. Thereafter Mrs. Foxworth executed to W. H. Austin an option reciting that:
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