Joseph Mann Library Ass'n v. City of Two Rivers
| Decision Date | 03 April 1956 |
| Citation | 272 Wis. 441,76 N.W.2d 388 |
| Parties | JOSEPH MANN LIBRARY ASS'N, a Wisconsin Corporation, Respondent. v. CITY OF TWO RIVERS, a Wisconsin municipal corporation, Appellant. |
| Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
F.W. Dicke, City Atty., Fred G. Dicke, Asst. City Atty., Two Rivers, for appellant.
Clark, Rankin & Nash, Manitowoc, Don A. Olson, Two Rivers, of counsel, for respondent.
This case involves the construction of the deed given by the plaintiff to the city in 1913. The defendant contends that the deed is ambiguous and argues for a certain construction thereof.
It first contends that conditions subsequent which work a forfeiture are to be strongly construed against the grantor. There seems to be no quarrel about this rule. However, the plaintiff states that this is not an action for forfeiture and that said rule need not be considered. The trial court, in construing the deed, followed the rule laid down in Giese v. Giese, 242 Wis. 581, 584, 9 N.W.2d 67, 68, as follows:
* * * Our court has held that deeds, like other instruments, should be construed so as to arrive at the intention of the parties. If there is no ambiguity, this must be arrived at from the language used, and effect should be given to all of the provisions, if that is possible without doing violence to the language used. * * "
The trial court determined that the library located upon the real estate described in the 1913 deed is the Joseph Mann library; that the board of directors of that library is the board of directors appointed by the defendant from nominees of the plaintiff; that any city library board or other board of directors appointed by the defendant otherwise than from nominees of the plaintiff is not the board of directors of said library; that only said board of directors appointed as provided in the deed can expend the defendant's appropriation for the Joseph Mann library. Contrary to the contention of the defendant, the trial court held that there were sufficient allegations of violations of the conditions of the deed and that, under the liberal rules of pleading for determining the sufficiency of allegations in a complaint when attacked by demurrer, the complaint states a cause of action. We agree that the complaint does so constitute a cause of action. The deed provides for appropriations to be made by the city and that said appropriation is to be expended by the board of directors as they may deem necessary for such purposes.
The defendant calls attention to the language that the Joseph Mann Library Association is to be considered an auxiliary in the management of the library, and to the further provision that save as aforesaid the city is to have complete control and management of the library pursuant to the law relating thereto.
Although the deed is not drafted in the most precise language, taken as a whole we have no difficulty in construing it as did the trial court. Deeds are...
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