Chamberlain v. Bagley
Superior Court of New Hampshire
Covenant broken, founded on an obligation as follows : “ The condition of this agreement is, that Winthrop Bagley, of Thornton, in the county of Grafton and state of New-Hampshire, agrees to sell, and George W. Chamberlain, of Gilmanton, in the county of Strafford, in said state, agrees to buy, the lot of land and all the buildings thereon, situated at Meredith Bridge Village, now occupied by Nathan Bagley, for twelve hundred dollars ; and said Winthrop Bagley agrees to give…
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Covenant broken, founded on an obligation as follows : “ The condition of this agreement is, that Winthrop Bagley, of Thornton, in the county of Grafton and state of New-Hampshire, agrees to sell, and George W. Chamberlain, of Gilmanton, in the county of Strafford, in said state, agrees to buy, the lot of land and all the buildings thereon, situated at Meredith Bridge Village, now occupied by Nathan Bagley, for twelve hundred dollars ; and said Winthrop Bagley agrees to give a warrantee deed of said property, signed by his wife, to the said Chamberlain, within thirty days from the date of…
1Opinion of the CourtUpham, J.
In this case motion is made to set aside the verdict, on the ground that the sum named in the obligation in suit constituted a mere penalty, and cannot be regarded as liquidated damages, or as forming any criterion for the amount of the verdict for the plaintiff.
If this be so, the verdict should be set aside, and a hearing be had in chancery, to determine the actual damage sustained ; for which, merely, judgment should be rendered.
The question thus raised is one difficult to be determined, owing to the contradictory decisions upon this subject. Courts, from a desire to avoid cases of seeming…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Knapp v. MaltbyNew York Supreme Court · 1835
3Cited by2 opinions
- Shallow Brook Associates v. DubeSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1991
- Mead v. WheelerSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1843