Southern Building & Loan Ass'n v. Price

Citations

• 88 Md. 155
• 42 L.R.A. 206
• 41 A. 53
• 1898 Md. LEXIS 187

Syllabus

<p>Building Associations— Withdrawal of Stock — Foreign Receivers — Attachment—Impossibility of Performance —Bill of Particulars — Common Counts in Assumpsit.</p> <p>Plaintiff was a stockholder in a Tennessee building association and gave notice of the withdrawal of his stock. A by-law provided that “ withdrawn stock will be paid for in the order in which notice is given, but the Association shall not be required to use in the payment thereof, in any one month, without the consent of the Board of Directors, more than one-half of the receipts of the loan fund for that month.” After plaintiff’s notice of withdrawal was given, the association was placed in the hands of receivers, by a decree of a Tennessee Court, and ceased to do business. Plaintiff then laid an attachment on the property of the association in this State to recover the amount of his withdrawn stock. Held, that after notice of withdrawal, plaintiff became a creditor of the association for a fixed sum and that the decree of the Tennessee Court, appointing receivers, terminated and rendered impossible of performance the contract contained in the by-laws regarding the fund from which withdrawn stock was to be paid, and entitled plaintiff to proceed by attachment, in this State, as a creditor.</p> <p>The fact that a contract made by a foreign corporation becomes impossible of performance on account of a decree of the Court of its domicil, is no excuse in the Courts of this State for its failure to perform.</p> <p>If at the time of making a contract, the thing promised be possible in itself, it is no excuse for non-performance that its performance became subsequently impossible from causes beyond the control of the promisor.</p> <p>When the declaration is on the common counts and a bill of particulars, filed after demand, shows that there was a special contract between the parties, the plaintiff is entitled to recover on the common counts if the special contract was fully performed by him.</p> <p>No objectio