Stowell v. . Greenwich Ins. Co.
New York Court of Appeals
Appeal from a judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the fourth judicial department, entered August 9, 1897, affirming a judgment in favor of plaintiff entered upon a verdict, and an order, denying a motion for a new trial.
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Appeal from a judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the fourth judicial department, entered August 9, 1897, affirming a judgment in favor of plaintiff entered upon a verdict, and an order, denying a motion for a new trial. In the closing days of the year 1887 the plaintiff and Mason A. Stone, then the secretary but now the president of the defendant, entered into negotiations looking to the appointment of the plaintiff as general agent for the defendant to effect insurance in the states of Hew York and Pennsylvania, or parts thereof, and as a result an agreement was…
1Opinion of the Court
Pabkbr, Ch. J.
The general rule is that when an agreement is reduced to writing it, as between the parties, merges and overcomes all prior or contemporaneous negotiations and declarations upon the subject and that oral evidence is not admissible to vary, explain or contradict its terms, for the writing is conclusively presumed to contain the whole engagement of the parties. There are certain exceptions to the rule, which have grown out of efforts of the courts to prevent fraud and injustice in particular cases and which are sometimes so loosely applied, as this court said in Thomas v. Scutt…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Seitz v. Brewers' Refrigerating MacHine Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1891
- Thomas v. . ScuttNew York Court of Appeals · 1891
3Cited by22 opinions
- Mitchill v. LathNew York Court of Appeals · 1928
- Jamestown Business College Assn. v. . AllenNew York Court of Appeals · 1902
- Smith v. . DotterweichNew York Court of Appeals · 1911
- Lese v. . LamprechtNew York Court of Appeals · 1909
- Ruppert v. SinghiNew York Court of Appeals · 1926
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