Hammer v. McEldowney
Decision Date | 01 January 1863 |
Citation | 46 Pa. 334 |
Parties | Hammer & Dauler versus McEldowney. |
Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
APPEAL from the Common Pleas of Allegheny county.
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David Reed and John H. Hampton, for appellant.
Hamilton & Acheson, for appellees.
This is a bill in equity praying for the specific execution of an alleged contract for "the sale of the houses on Smithfield street," without any designation of the houses where situate on the street mentioned, of what size, dimensions, or material, or the area of ground to be embraced, and without in fact disclosing to whom they belonged at the date of the alleged contract, excepting as it might be inferred by the receipt of the respondent for $20, in part payment of the purchase-money.
It is a settled rule in equity, that the specific performance of a contract will not be decreed unless its terms are clear and capable of ascertainment from the instrument itself: Story's Eq. Juris. § 767. So courts of equity will not ordinarily entertain bills for the specific execution of contracts with variations or additions, or new terms to be made and introduced into them by parol: Id. 770. It requires no argument or illustration to bring this imperfect or indefinite contract within these rules. It is open and apparent upon its face that it requires much aid from parol evidence to perfect it, besides, nothing whatever was done towards its completion but the payment of $20, when the contract, if contract it be, was made.
There was no hardship in the case upon which a chancellor might pause, excepting only the handing over the trifle of money mentioned, and this would not necessarily be lost by a failure of the remedy invoked. The complainant will have his remedy at law to recover whatever damages he may be entitled to; an item of which will probably be the money paid. We think the plaintiff's bill presented no ground for the relief sought in equity.
We are also of opinion that the general demurrer of the respondent should not have been overruled. It is a rule of pleading in equity, that a demurrer lies, where the objection to the bill is apparent on the face of it, or from the defects of its frame, or in the case made by it: Mitf. Eq. Pl., by Jeremy, 218; Story's Eq. Pl. §§ 448, 449, 647. As already stated, the case made by the bill was for the specific execution of a contract for the sale of real estate resting partly in writing and partly in parol. The...
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Cumberland Valley Railroad Co. v. Gettysburg & Harrisburg Railway Co.
...of Law, 1012; Wistar's App., 80 Pa. 484; Fry on Spec. Perf. part III. ch. XVI; Merchants' Tradg. Co. v. Bonner, L.R. 12 Eq. 23; Hammer v. McEldowney, 46 Pa. 334; Ballou March, 133 Pa. 64; Van Horn v. Munnell, 145 Pa. 497. As a rule, whenever the equity of the party under the contract is not......
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Ballou v. Sherwood
...Motteau v. L. A. Co., 1 Atk. [Eng.] 545. As to the second formal point discussed in opinion: Hamilton v. Harvey, 121 Ill. 469; Hammer v. McEldowney, 46 Pa. 334; Eggleston Wagner, 10 N.W. 37 [Mich.]; Ryan v. Davis, 6 P. [Mont.] 341; Nippolt v. Kammon, 40 N.W. 267 [Minn.]; Holthouse Appeal, 1......
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Noland v. Haywood, 1803
... ... A ... vendor signed a memorandum reading: ... "Received ... from Messrs. Hammer & Dauler, $ 20, on account of property ... sold to them, the houses on Smithfield street; the price to ... be $ 7800." It was pleaded, in a bill ... Holding the ... description insufficient under the statute, and denying the ... relief sought, in Hammer et al. v. McEldowney, 46 ... Pa. 334, the court said: ... "This ... is a bill in equity praying for the specific execution of an ... alleged contract for ... ...
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Fritz v. Menges
...contract for the sale of the land; Rowan's App., 25 Pa. 292; Dalzell v. Crawford, 1 Parsons, 37; Davidson v. Little, 22 Pa. 245; Hammer v. McEldowney, 46 Pa. 334; Freetly Barnhart, 51 Pa. 279; O.C.R.R. v. A. & G.W.R.R., 57 Pa. 65; Backus' App., 58 Pa. 186; Weise's App., 72 Pa. 351; Wistar's......