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61 Mich. 28

James v. Schroeder

Michigan Supreme Court

Decided April 15, 1886

Michigan Supreme Court · decided 1886-04-15

<p>Arbitration agreement — Suit on bond, for payment of award — Agreement and bond, not being executed simultaneously, need not be construed together — ’ Agreement for appraisal on inspection by arbitrators — No occasion for the presence of any one else — Judgment of conclusively presumed correct if honestly exercised — In absence of proof to the contra/ry such exercise presumed — Mistake in compulation of interest — If means of correction are furnished by the record, no ground for reversal of judgment — Falls under statute of amendments.</p> <p>1. The parties to a suit entered into a written agreement for the settlement of the matters of difference, specifying fully the terms and conditions, and providing for an appraisal, by a third party and two other persons to be selected by him, of the value of a pier, the ownership of which was involved in the suit; the report of such appraisers was to be ready for the parties in thirty days from the date of the agreement, which was undated.</p> <p>Provision was also made for the execution of a bond by the plaintiff in the suit within ten days, conditioned for the payment of the award within ninety days after the report of the referees was ready for the parties, which bond was executed June 1, and the award made June 25, as found by the jury.</p> <p>Held, in a suit on the bond, in which the defendant claimed that the appraisal was not made within thirty days from the execution of the agreement, that the papers, not beiDg executed simultaneously, were not required to be construed together.</p> <p>Held, further, that the bond being only given to secure the payment of the award and containing nothing upon its face to show that it referred to the «agreement, and the surety — who was also a party defendant — not being shown to have known of the existence of any such paper or to have supposed that he was stipulating in reference to it, the limitation as to the time for making the award formed no part of the condition of the bond, and the same, having been made strictly within the terms of the bond, was sufficient to fix the liability of the obligors.</p> <p>Meld, further, that the so-called reference was nothing but an agreement for an appraisal by the appraisers on their own inspection ; that there was no occasion for the presence of any one else ; and that it must be conclusively presumed that their judgment, if honest,was correct, and that it was honest if not shown to be otherwise.</p> <p>2. Where in making an award otherwise held legal a mistake of $6.13 was made in computing interest, but the award was for a fixed sum, held, that such error may be corrected from the record itself, and is no ground for reversal, under the statute of amendments.</p>

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““This so-cailed reference was nothing more or less than an appraisal by appraisers on their own inspection, and, in our opinion, there was no occasion for the presence of any one else.””

quoted by 1 later decision, including Toledo S. S. Co. v. Zenith Transp. Co.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Affirmed · Decided 1886-04-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 10 later decisions — most recently October 1927

5 federal appellate · 5 state decisions

4018861890190019101920decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Campbell, C. J.

¶1Defendants were sued on a bond, dated June 1, 1883, whereby they bound themselves to pay, within ninety days after referees reporting, as follows:

“Whereas, the said Emilie Sehroeder and the said Hiram W. James have been engaged in litigation in regard to a certain pier built by said James upon the land claimed by said Sehroeder; and whereas, the said parties have agreed to leave the value of said pier out to Otto Bauman, sheriff of Manistee county, and two other persons to be selected by him, which sum so found, as to the value of said pier, the said Emilie Sehroeder has agreed to pay in ninety days from the date when said referees shall make their report,” — then if she should so pay, the condition should be void.

¶2The referees reported June 25, 1883. This action is defended on the grounds that the award was for various causes invalid, the chief one being delay.

¶3Evidence was given of an undated agreement, in a suit between Emilie Sehroeder and Hiram W. James and David James, containing twelve separate divisions, which were in substance as follows: One article fixed a dividing line between Emilie Sehroeder and Hiram James, leaving a certain pier on her land. The parties were to execute deeds of release of the various parcels to each other, according to this division, and were to occupy each one-half of the pier during the season of 18S3. A certain mortgage was also to be released. They agreed to leave to Otto Bauman and two other men whom he should select “ the valuation of said pier, and the sum so found as the value of said pier shall be paid by the said Sehroeder to the said James within ninety days after the *32report of tlie referees shall be ready for the parties hereto, which shall be within thirty days from the date hereof. Said report shall be in writing, signed by at least two of said referees, and shall be furnished on request to either party requesting the same. Said referees may determine the value of said pier from their own examination.” Provision was also made for giving a bond within ten days to pay the appraised value.

¶4This so-called reference was nothing more nor less than an appraisal by appraisers on their own inspection, and, in our opinion, there was no occasion for the presence of any one else. It must be conclusively presumed that their judgment, if honest, was correct, and that it was honest if not shown to be otherwise. This record shows nothing having a legal tendency to impeach it.

¶5The only question which seems to us legitimately open on this writ of error is whether the appraisal made June 25,1883, was lawfully made so as to hold defendants on their bond. We find nothing to change that date but a subsequent date set up, which the jury have discarded. It is claimed that the bond is confined to the period fixed by the written agreement, and that the appraisal was not made within thirty days from its execution. The testimony of John C. Schroeder, which is contradicted by all the witnesses knowing the facts, has a tendency to show .that it was made thirty-one days after the agreement was signed by Mrs. Schroeder. The court held that the bond was not limited by the precise terms of the written agreement, and that if the appraisal was made by consent on June 25th it was sufficient.

¶6The bond and reference were not papers executed simultaneously, and are not, therefore, within the rule that such papers must be construed together. The bond is not given to secure the performance of all of the conditions of the agreement, but only to pay the valuation, which was a separate item from the rest. It contains nothing on its face, to show that it referred to any such document, and there was no testimony introduced to show that Zozel knew there was *33any such paper, or supposed he was stipulating in reference to it.

¶7Under these circumstances we do not think that any such limitation could be imported into the bond which should confine the obligation within the limits proposed. If the agreement had been dated, and had been shown to Zozel, he could no doubt have been entitled to rely upon it. But even if he had seen the undated agreement, and learned nothing further, he could not have presumed that it related back for any particular time earlier than his bond, and could have had no reason for requiring performance on any other basis. The appraisal as made was strictly within the terms of the bond, and he was in no way misled.

¶8If this is so, all the other questions are unimportant.

¶9The judgment must be affirmed, with costs, except as to the sum of $6.13, which plaintiff remits. As the award was for a fixed sum, and interestis purely a matter of calculation, the error in computation may be corrected from the record itself, and is therefore no ground for reversal, under the statute of amendments.

The other Justices concurred.
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