McCluskey v. Ware

I dissent. The majority opinion holds that this court is bound by the implied interpretation of the agreement of September 23, 1942, by the trial court because “ [conflicting] inferences may be drawn from the contract and the surrounding circumstances.” The very possibility of what the majority opinion calls conflicting inferences, actually conflicting interpretations, far from relieving the appellate court of the responsibility of interpretation, signalizes the necessity of its assuming that responsibility. It is established that in the absence of conflicting extrinsic evidence the appellate…