Honesdale Ice Co. v. Lake Lodore Improvement Co.

Citations

• 232 Pa. 293
• 81 A. 306
• 1911 Pa. LEXIS 716

Syllabus

<p>Contracts — Sales—Continuing sales — Waiver of terms — Payments— Estoppel.</p> <p>1. Where the terms of a contract of continuing sales as to payments have not been observed by either party notice of the seller’s intention to require strict compliance with the terms of the contract as to future bills should precede rescission.</p> <p>2. In an action for breach of a contract to furnish ice for a specified period it appeared that the contract contained a provision giving the defendant vendor the right to cancel the contract if the other party made default for a period of five days after any payment fell due. Payments were to be made not later than the tenth day of each month following shipments and in no event were they to be delayed longer than October 10, in each year. It was admitted that every monthly payment made during the year 1908 was more than five days overdue, yet such payments seemed to have been received by the defendant without protest or objection, and without any intimation that the time or method of payment was unsatisfactory. The last payment for ice delivered in the year 1908 was made by the plaintiff on January 31,1909. The defendant wrote a letter on February 10, 1909, stating that, exercising the option contained in the contract, it had terminated the agreement by reason of the delayed payments. The court submitted to the jury for determination as a matter of fact, whether or not the defendant, by repeatedly accepting, without objection, overdue payments, had waived its right to terminate the contract on account of delay. Held, no error.</p> <p>Contracts — Sales—Waiver of breaches — Estoppel.</p> <p>3. A party who proposes to insist upon a technical forfeiture of a contract upon certain grounds specified, is usually held to the case he has made. If he assumes to claim a forfeiture upon grounds specifically stated, he is deemed to have waived other breaches.</p> <p>4. Where the vendor under a contract of continuing sales refuses to complete his