Goss Printing Press Co. v. Daily States Pub. Co.

Citations

• 109 La. 759
• 33 So. 760
• 1903 La. LEXIS 438

Syllabus

<p>NOTE — INTEREST—DEFERRED PAYMENTS.</p> <p>1. The note, which has been paid, except interest, leaving for decision a question of interest only, bore interest at the rate of 6 per cent. It is silent as to when the interest began to run. It reads, “With interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum from - until paid-.”</p> <p>•2. The contract with which it was identified, and which is evidence of its consideration, stated, “All deferred payments to bear interest at 6 per cent, per annum.” Another part of the contract contains the following stipulation, “Bearing interest at 6 per cent, per annum.”</p> <p>3. “Deferred” is used in the sense of “put off” credit, and unavoidably gives rise to inference of interest on credit portions of purchase price from date that time was given for payment of the price.</p> <p>4. The contracts were made part of the petition, and admitted in evidence. The matter of interest must be determined after consulting the note and contracts, and they together evidence interest from date, and not from maturity.</p> <p>5. The decision distinguished from Hughes v. Mattes, 104 La. 231, 28 South. 1009, in which it was held that interest dated from maturity. In the latter case no rate and no date of interest were fixed. The court held that it was due from maturity of the note, not its date. The written contract antedated the note some 10 years, and no longer had any bearing on the question of interest.</p> <p>(Syllabus by the Court.)</p>