Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Werner

Appellant’s first contention is that the tax clause in the deed is plain and unambiguous, and that -the court erred in admitting parol evidence of the agreement between the parties to prorate the taxes. It is of course elementary that a prior or contemporaneous oral agreement cannot be admitted to contradict or vary the terms of a written instrument. It is equally well established that where a term of the contract is ambiguous, it is proper to receive evidence to ascertain the sense in which the parties intended to use the term. There has never been any question in this state as to the right…