McCaskill v. Union Naval Stores Co.

Citations

• 59 Fla. 571

Syllabus

<p>1. Courts oí equity always mitigate forfeitures or relieve against them, when this can be done without doing violence to the contracts of the parties.</p> <p>2. Forfeitures not being favored in equity will not be enforced if couched in ambiguous language.</p> <p>3. The covenant to pay taxes is in the nature of a covenant to pay money, and a forfeiture incurred by a breach thereof may be relieved against on the same principle.</p> <p>4. All provisions of a contract should be considered and construed with reference to controlling provisions and principles of law.</p> <p>5. Provisions of law applicable to the subject matter of contracts are parts of the contracts, whether so expressed or referred to in the contract or not.</p> <p>fi. Forfeitures, not being favored in the law, the provisions upon which they are based must be strictly construed.</p> <p>7. Statutes are construed strictly against a forfeiture.</p> <p>8. Where the statute provides, “all taxes shall be due and payable on or after the first Monday of November of each and every year,” and unpaid taxes are not collectible by levy and sale until after the first Monday in April thereafter, and a contract obligating the U. N. S. Oo. to pay all taxes on land for certain years, contains the provision that if.the U. N. S. Oo. shall, for three months after taxes become due and payable on the land, fail to pay such taxes, all rights shall immediately cease forever as to all tracts of land on which the U. N. S. Co. has failed to pay said taxes, a forfeiture will not be incurred by a delay to pay the taxes until the month of March succeeding the first Monday of November.</p>