Harvey v. Parsons

Citations

• 36 Ill. 147

Syllabus

<p>Contbacts— construction thereof—when a debt becomes dm—and when a demand, is necessary. Parsons sold to Harvey a sawing machine for a given sum, to be paid as follows: “One hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and balance in Lake Superior pig iron, delivered in Chicago during the season, at. §26 per ton, or, if not paid in this season, at the option of seller, the purchase-money to be on interest from December 1st until the iron is delivered next spring.” The contract was dated July 15, 1861, and Parsons brought suit to recover the price on the 3rd of January, 1862. Held, the iron was to be delivered in Chicago during the season, which means the season of navigation on the lakes, or, if not paid in the season, at the option of Parsons, the purchase-money was to be on interest from the 1st of December until the next spring, when the iron was to be delivered. Parsons, by not declaring Ms option in the fall, elected to have his pay in iron the next spring, with interest; and Harvey then having until the spring of 1862 within which to make payment, was not liable to an action so early as January, 1862. It was therefore prematurely brought. To have made it obligatory on Harvey to deliver the iron in the fall, Parsons should have made a demand for it.</p>