Strause v. Berger

Citations

• 220 Pa. 367
• 69 A. 818
• 1908 Pa. LEXIS 786

Syllabus

<p>Equity — Equity practice — Findings of fact — Specific performance.</p> <p>Findings of fact in an equity proceeding based upon sufficient evidence will not be set aside, except for manifest error.</p> <p>A decree for the specific performance of an oral contract for the sale of standing timber will be sustained on findings of fact based on sufficient evidence that a sale of timber had been made; that the parties contemplated the immediate severance and removal of the timber from the land; that the timber was purchased by the plaintiff for use in carrying on his business, and that it had a special value to him because of its character, and because of the scarcity of timber of the kind in the section where-his business was conducted.</p> <p>Timber — Contract—Severance—Specific performance — Equity.</p> <p>Where an oral contract for the sale of standing timber provides that the cutting of the timber should commence at once, and be completed within a reasonable time, the timber is to be regarded as personal property, and not as an interest in land.</p> <p>Specific performance of such a contract will be enforced where it appears that the timber has a special value to the purchaser for the use for which he bought it, because of its quality, and because of the difficulty of procuring such timber in the locality in which his business is conducted.</p>