George Sutherland

“ The contract with respondent, as well as the contract of charter and sale, was made and was to be performed within the state of New York, and being valid under the law of that state, the respondent is not to be deprived of his compensation simply because petitioner found itself unable to consummate the latter contract by reason of its inability to perform a condition made necessary by the provisions of the law of another country. ”

“ Petitioner was a foreign corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the Dominion of Canada. The steamship referred to was a Britsh steamship of St. Johns, Newfoundland, owned by the petitioner. It was agreed that the respondent should receive 2 1/2 per cent. commission for securing a purchaser for the ship. Respondent undertook the employment and subsequently introduced to petitioner two prospective purchasers, with whom petitioner entered into a written contract for the charter and sale of the ship for the sum mentioned. ”

“ The petitioner thereupon refused to consummate the sale and returned to the purchasers the $5,000 which they had paid.
The respondent brought an action against petitioner in the District Court of the United States, Southern District of New York, to recover the balance of his commission, which resulted in a judgment in his favor. On error to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that court affirmed the judgment of the lower court, and the petitioner brings the case here on writ of certiorari. ”