Stipulation

“ An obligation is contracted by question and answer, that is to say, by a form of words, when we stipulate that property shall be conveyed to us, or some other act be performed in our favour. Such verbal contracts ground two different action, namely condiction, when the stipulation is certain, and the action on stipulation, when it is uncertain ”

“ If, now, we apply the ordinary and settled doctrine, which controls the liabilities of sureties, it must follow that the sureties on the recognizance in suit are discharged. The stipulation, made without their consent or knowledge, between the principal and the government, has changed the character of his obligation ”

“ Both parties concede that the prior stipulation was a stipulation for value, and that it was all the security the libellants had for compensation in case they prevailed in the suit. Power to change one stipulation for another, where the parties consent, is clearly vested in the District Court in such a case; and, inasmuch as the substitution was made in this case on motion of the proctor of the claimants, it surely does not lie with them to interpose any such objection, certainly not at this stage of the litigation. ”

“ From the Nexum we pass to the Stipulation, which is a simplified form of the older ceremonial. The Literal Contract comes next, and here all formalities are waived, if proof of the agreement can be supplied from the rigid observances of a Roman household. In the Real Contract a moral duty is for the first time recognised, and persons who have joined or acquiesced in the partial performance of an engagement are forbidden to repudiate it on account of defects in form. ”

“ But the general language of Roman law takes a different turn; it always regards the contract, if we may so speak, from the point of view of the promisee; in speaking of a party to a contract, it is always the Stipulator, the person who asks the question, who is primarily alluded to. But the serviceableness of the stipulation is most vividly illustrated by referring to the actual examples in the pages of the Latin comic dramatists. ”

“ The law necessarily steps in to explain, and construe the stipulations of parties, but never to supersede, or vary them. A great mass of human transactions depends upon implied contracts, upon contracts, not written, which grow out of the acts of the parties. In such cases the parties are supposed to have made those stipulations, which, as honest, fair, and just men, they ought to have made. When the law assumes, that the parties have made these stipulations, it does not vary their contract, or introduce new terms into it ”

“ Mr. Justice Wilde, in delivering judgment, after quoting Peter v. Compton, Fenton v. Emblers, and Boydell v. Drummond, above cited, said: 'From these authorities it appears to be settled that, in order to bring a parol agreement within the clause of the statute in question, it must either have been expressly stipulated by the parties, or it must appear to have been so understood by them, that the agreement was not to be performed within a year. And this stipulation or understanding is to be absolute and certain, and not to depend upon any contingency. ”

“ So where stipulations in the contract refer to matters outside of the instrument, parol proof of extraneous facts may be necessary to interpret their meaning. As a general rule, there must be ambiguity or uncertainty upon the face of the written instrument, arising out of the terms used by the parties, in order to justify the extraneous evidence, and, when admissible, it must be limited in its effect to the clearing up of the obscurity. It is not admissible to add to or engraft upon the contract new stipulations, nor to contradict those which are plain. ”

“ Time may be made of the essence of the contract 'by the express stipulations of the parties, or it may arise by implication from the very nature of the property, or the avowed objects of the seller or the purchaser.' Taylor v. ”

“ To carry out the stipulation contained in the third article of said treaty, forty-three thousand four hundred and fifty-four dollars and sixteen cents. To carry out the stipulation contained in the fourth article of said treaty, ten hundred and forty-two dollars and ninety cents, or so much thereof as may be necessary to pay the interest provided for in said article. ”

“ He has it in his power in such cases to guard in advance against any consequences of a subsequent change of intention and conduct by the person with whom he is dealing. For compliance with arrangements respecting future transactions, parties must provide by stipulations in their agreements when reduced to writing. ”

“ indeed the actor himself would be a representation.↑ A judgment, for me is not the mere grasping of a thought, but the admission of its truth.↑ In 'A lied in saying he had seen B', the subordinate clause designates a thought which is said (1) to have been asserted by A (2) while A was convinced of its falsity.↑ In accordance with what was said above, an expression of the kind in question must actually always be assured of meaning, by means of a special stipulation, e.g. ”

“ Article VII The Contracting Powers agree that, whenever a situation arises which in the opinion of any one of them involves the application of the stipulations of the present Treaty, and renders desirable discussion of such application, there shall be full and frank communication between the Contracting Powers concerned. ”

“ Since the making of that order, a written stipulation has been filed in this court signed by all the parties to the record, including the city, agreeing that in the event the decree below is affirmed, the city of St. ”

“ Justice Miller, speaking for the court, that, 'where a specified thing is to be done by one party as the consideration of the thing to be done by the other, it is undeniably the general rule that the covenants are mutual, and are dependent, if they are to be performed at the same time; and if, by the terms or the nature of the contract, one is first to be performed as the condition of the obligation of the other, that which is first to be performed must be done or tendered before that party can sustain a suit against the other. ”

“ In one sense, all conditions are subsequent; in another, all are precedent. All are subsequent to the first stage of the obligation. /4/ Take, for instance, the case of a promise to pay for work if done to the satisfaction of an architect. The condition is a clear case of what is called a condition precedent. There can be no duty to pay until the architect is satisfied. But there can be a [317] contract before that moment, because the determination whether the promisor shall pay or not is no longer within his control. Hence the condition is subsequent to the existence of the obligation. ”

“ Surely not this only, for marriage is but a partnership—a contract of mutual fidelity—and in all contracts the violation of the terms of the agreement by one of the contracting persons absolves the other. ”

“ The law we are in search of, which is to decide upon the nature, interpretation, and validity of the engagement in question, is that which the parties have, either expressly or presumptively, incorporated into their contract as constituting its obligation. ”

“ This general rule of interpretation often makes it manifest that that which is called a condition is really but a covenant or agreement, to be performed independently of the counter obligation with which it is associated. ”

“ A consideration in its widest sense is the reason, motive, or 314inducement, by which a man is moved to bind himself by an agreement. It is not for nothing that he consents to impose an obligation upon himself, or to abandon or transfer a right. It is in consideration of such and such a fact that he agrees to bear new burdens or to forego the benefits which the law already allows him. If he sells his house, the consideration of his agreement is the receipt or promise of the purchase money. ”

“ Acts in the law are of two kinds, which may be distinguished as unilateral and bilateral. A unilateral act is one in which there is only one party whose will is operative; as in the case of testamentary disposition, the exercise of a power of appointment, the revocation of a settlement, the avoidance of a voidable contract, or the forfeiture of a lease for breach 303of covenant. A bilateral act, on the other hand, is one which involves the consenting wills of two or more distinct parties; as, for example, a contract, a conveyance, a mortgage, or a lease. ”

“ The meaning of the fourfold distribution is readily understood as soon as we apprehend the theory which severed the Obligation from the Convention. Each class of contracts was in fact named from certain formalities which were required over and above the mere agreement of the contracting parties. In the Verbal Contract, as soon as the Convention was effected, a form of words had to be gone through before the vinculum juris was attached to it. ”

“ An agreement or contract must have a reasonable construction, according to the intent of the parties, as if a man agree with B. for twenty barrels of ale, he shall not have the barrels after the ale is spent. ”

“ A contract is defined to be 'an agreement between two or more persons, upon a sufficient consideration, to do or not to do a particular thing.' There was no agreement on the part of the present plaintiffs to serve for a year, nor was there any law compelling them to serve longer than it was their pleasure, and no penalty was incurred if they refused to accept. ”

“ A institutes a suit against B for the specific performance of a contract, and also prays that the contract may be reformed as to one of its provisions, as that provision was inserted in it by mistake. ”

“ If a particular form of proceeding is prohibited, and another is left or is provided which affords an effective and reasonable mode of enforcing the right, the obligation of the contract is not impaired. ”

“ Whether the limitation should be accepted is thus the pivotal inquiry. The power is ours, when the impairment of an obligation is urged against a law, to determine for ourselves the effect and meaning of the contract as well as its existence. ”

“ Clipsham, 1 Saund. 154, says, 'Though a man covenant with two or more jointly, yet if the interest and cause of action of the covenants be several and not joint, the covenant shall be taken to be several, and each of the covenantees may bring an action for his particular damage, notwithstanding the words of the covenant are joint.' In the present case, the cause of action was the service performed under the contract; and each performed his own distinct service, and was entitled to distinct and separate compensation therefor. ”

“ The law ought to express the great principle, that either party owns what is his or hers, while those, on the other hand, who desire to introduce another arrangement, must decide by contract how much of the property is to be held jointly. ”

“ When the obligation is mutual, the party asking a specific performance must show that he has been in no default in not having performed the agreement on his part, and that he has taken all proper steps towards the performance. He must show himself desirous, prompt and eager to perform the contract. ”

“ The judgments, promises, and instruments therein specified being void and of no effect, 'it is not,' said the court, 'in the power of the party to whom made, granted, given, or executed, or in whose interest they are drawn or entered into, to give the contract validity. ”

“ The rules laid down in a contract, for the determination of the rights, duties, and liabilities of the parties, may rightly be regarded as rules of law which these parties have agreed to substitute for, or add to the rules of the general law. Agreement is a law for those who make it, which supersedes, supplements, or derogates from the ordinary law of the land. ”

“ Instead of a repugnancy between offer and assent which prevents an agreement, or between the terms of an agreement which makes it insensible on its fact, there may be a like repugnancy between a term of the contract and a previous representation of fact which is not expressly made a part of the contract. ”

“ An agreement or mutual assent is of course essential to a valid contract but the law imputes to a person an intention corresponding to the reasonable meaning of his words and acts. If his words and acts, judged by a reasonable standard, manifest an intention to agree, it is immaterial what may be the real but unexpressed state of his mind. ”

“ Whether they are reasonable or not, is for the Court, not the jury, to say. A contract made with an assistant, or with a partner, that upon separating from the principal, or partner, he will not practise within a certain section of country, or for a certain time, is valid when made in consideration of instruction to be given, or pecuniary or other benefits to be enjoyed in consequence of the partnership. ”

“ When we speak of a compact in a legal sense, we naturally include in it the notion of distinct contracting parties, having mutual rights, and remedies to enforce the obligations arising therefrom. We suppose, that each party has an equal and independent capacity to enter into the contract, and has an equal right to judge of its terms, to enforce its obligations, and to insist upon redress for any violation of them. ”