Davy Executors v. Faw
| Decision Date | 03 March 1812 |
| Citation | 11 U.S. 171,3 L.Ed. 305,7 Cranch 171 |
| Parties | DAVY'S EXECUTORS v. FAW |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
THIS case seems to be sufficiently stated in the following opinion, delivered by MARSHALL, Ch. J. on the 9th of March . . .. All the Judges being present.
This is an appeal from a decree of the Circuit Court for the county of Alexandria, sitting in Chancery, by which that Court set aside an award made between the parties, and directed an account.
The bill impeaches the award, because,
1. The arbiters exceeded their power.
2. They made no award with respect to a part of the matter submitted to them.
3. They were partial, and proceeded to make their award without hearing the party against whom it was made.
The arbitration bond binds the parties to submit to the award, order a arbitrament of Francis Peyton, Theophilus Harris and Thomas Herbert, or any two of them, respecting a controversy of several accounts and contracts existing between them.
A judgment at law has been obtained for the amount of the award; for relief against which and against the award itself this suit was instituted.
By the Plaintiffs in error it is contended, that excess of power in arbiters is a defence at law, and is therefore not examinable in this Court.
That the injured party may avail himself of this defence in a Court of law, where the excess of power is apparent on the face of the award, is not controverted. But, in this case, it is not shown by the award itself, and the Defendant insists that he was not at liberty, in a Court of law, to avail himself of evidence dehors the award; and in support of this opinion the case of Wills v. Maccarmick, 2 Wilson, 149, has been much relied upon. Without deciding that question, the Court will proceed to inquire whether the Defendant in error has succeeded in proving that, in this case, the arbiters have, in fact, exceeded their power.
It appears that Abraham Faw sold to David Davy a lot of ground, the purchase money for which was payable in four years, in four equal annual payments. Davy conveyed to Faw, about the same time, a lot which he had purchased from Elisha C. Dick, and which he held on the condition of making certain improvements. Davy becoming insolvent, it was agreed that his contract with Faw should be annulled, that the bonds he had given Faw for the purchase of the lot should be returned to him, and that he should surrender the bond for a title which Faw had executed. It had been stipulated that, in the event of his failing to pay the purchase money, and of the contract being avoided, the money actually paid by Davy to Faw should be considered as rent so far as rent was allowed. There had been some other dealings between the parties, and there had been a small piece of ground rented to Davy, on which he had put some inconsiderable improvements.
In this state of things they agreed to submit their affairs to arbitration, and the bond was executed which has been stated. The arbiters awarded that Faw should pay Davy l 314 4 11, and it is proved that, in making up the account between the parties, they debited Faw with l 300 for the lot which had been conveyed to him by Davy. Faw contends that this was not a contract subsisting between the parties, and consequently is not included within the terms of the submission.
Faw alleges in his bill that this whole transaction was closed: that the lot conveyed to him by Davy formed no part of the consideration given for the lot he had sold, but was conveyed to him, because Davy considered the rent reserved on that lot and the conditions of improvement, which were inserted in the deed, as equivalent to its full value. These allegations are denied in the answer; and the Defendant avers that the price of the lot purchased by him was l 500; that he conveyed the lot he had purchased from Dick at l 100, and gave his bonds for l 400, the residue of the purchase money; that, when this contract was annulled, he became entitled to his lot or to its value, and that this was one of the subjects submitted to the referees.
In addition to this testimony furnished by the answer, the Defendant has produced the testimony of a witness who was present when the arbitration was agreed upon and the bond executed. He says that the lot purchased by the Defendant from the Plaintiff, and that which had been conveyed by the Defendant to the Plaintiff as well as other accounts between the parties formed the subjects of conversation.
Francis Peyton, one of the...
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