Hurd v. Dunsmore
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Debt, on a bond for tbe payment of $2,500 on the following con■ditions: “ Whereas the said obligor has agreed to buy of the said obligee :a certain parcel of real estate situated in said Westford [describing it], the same to be conveyed by a good and sufficient warranty ■deed of the said obligee conveying a good and clear title to the .same, subject to a mortgage of eighty-five hundred dollars, and interest thereon from the first day of January, 1882, which mortgage .•and…
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Debt, on a bond for tbe payment of $2,500 on the following con■ditions: “ Whereas the said obligor has agreed to buy of the said obligee :a certain parcel of real estate situated in said Westford [describing it], the same to be conveyed by a good and sufficient warranty ■deed of the said obligee conveying a good and clear title to the .same, subject to a mortgage of eighty-five hundred dollars, and interest thereon from the first day of January, 1882, which mortgage .•and interest the said obligor agrees to assume, and said obligors :agree to make the payment of four hundred dollars due on…
1Opinion of the CourtSmith, J.
Whether the sum mentioned in the bond is to be ■treated as a penalty or as liquidated damages, is a question to be •decided upon a consideration of the whole instrument. It is a •question of intent, to be ascertained from the language of the instrument, the nature of the agreement, and from the circum.stances of the parties, and not by technical rules of law (Houghton v. Pattee, 58 N. H. 326) : and looking at the bond in this light, we are of opinion that the parties intended the sum mentioned as a penalty. The penal sum, $2,500, is so disproportioned to the actual damages sustained by the…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Griffin v. . ColverNew York Court of Appeals · 1858
3Cited by17 opinions
- Opinion of the JusticesSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1891
- State v. CorronSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1905
- Atlas Truck Leasing, Inc. v. First Nh Banks, Inc. (Formerly First Bancorp of New Hampshire, Inc.)Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · 1987
- Zareas v. SmithSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1979
- Martin v. PhillipsSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1982
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