Memphis & Charleston R. R. v. Scruggs

Citations

• 50 Miss. 284

Syllabus

<p>1. Arbitration and Award — Equity — Jurisdiction to Enforce it.— Where parties submit a matter of controversy to the award of arbitrators, a court of equity has no peculiar jurisdiction to enforce the award, if it be for the payment of money only, but the court will interfere in the exercise of its ordinary jurisdiction as applied to the specific performance of agreements; and if the arbitrators, in the proper exercise of the power conferred upon them by the terms of the submission, award a specific performance, a court of equity will enforce such performance, though not made a special rule or order of the court.</p> <p>2. Same — Same—Jurisdiction to Enforce Specific Performance.— A court of equity has jurisdiction to enforce specific execution of an award concerning real estate, or of agreement for the purchase or sale of real estate, notwithstanding it involves the enforcement of an award to pay money. The jurisdiction of the court of equity will not be ousted and the ends of justice defeated, because of an obligation in the award to pay money.</p> <p>3. Same — Terms of Submission. — Where, by the terms of the submission, the amount fixed by the award was to be a Hen on the property, which could be enforced only in a court of equity, by sale under a decree of the chancery court, the lien attached upon the making of the award, and furnished an element of equity jurisdiction.</p> <p>4. Same — Same—Power to Decide Questions of Law and Fact.— Where the terms of the submission confer upon the arbitrators the power and duty of construing a contract and ascertaining the value of the property to be surrendered by the terms of the said contract, thus involving questions of both law and fact, the arbitrators have the power and the right to decide both. Generally, arbitrators have full power to decide upon questions of law and fact, which arise directly or indirectly, ■ in considering and deciding questions embraced in the submission. When not limited by the terms of the