Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-12-30
BON AIR CASE
Submitted Upon Agreed
Oral Statement.
Kennebec Jury Gave Verdict for
Plaintiff Of Sl16,133.33
In Suit to Recover Option Contract
On Tennessee Coal Lands.


Wednesday forenoon. Hon. Herbert
NJ. Heath, counsel for the defence, by
agreemnt with Arson NJ Goddard,
counsel for the plaintiff, submitted
statement of the leading facts in the
case. Aside from this agreed state
ment the case was submitted on briefs
and this celebrated case in which
verdict for the plaintiff of $116,133.33,
the largest ever handed down by
kennebec county jury. was given at
the October term 1908 Of the Supreme
court, is now in the hands of the law
court for a final decision.
This is an action brought by Charles
w HotChkiss of Chicago TO recover the
sum of 100000 paid by him to the
Bon Air Coal & Iron Co. of Nash
vile, Tenn. on an option contract
made March l, 1906, on the company's
property. The suit is brought in
Maine court because the defendant
company is a corporation organized
under the laws Of the State of Maine.
The company owned at the time the
option contract was made $4,000 acres
of coal lands, containing three mines,
the Bon Air. Ravencroft and Eastern
mines, and $4,000 acres of iron ore
lands on which were two blast fur
naces. The option contract provided
for a sale of that coal and iron prop
erty and some other adjoining coal
land property. which the defendant
agreed to acquire, including the North
American Coal & Coke Co. lands of
80. 900 acres and the Steger lands, of
which Il. M. Steger of Nashville,
Heath in the defence of the case, was
one of the owners. 1t was agreed in
connection with the contract that the
defendant corporation should execute
a mortgage OF $1.500,000, not more than
81 100000 of the bonds of which was to
be used in the purchase of these adj
joining lands and the remaining $780,
900 of the bonds was to be sold at par
and the proceeds devoted to the de-
velopment of the North American &
Steger lands. The option contract was
to remain in force one year and the
full contract price to be paid for the
entire properties mentioned was to be
$5,000,000, the sale to be made subject
to both equities. the mortgage agreed
upon and a previous outstanding mort
gage Of $750.000.
The original plans of the plaintiff
and others associated with him in
volved the acquiring of these lands
and the expenditure in purchase price
and improvements Of more than $10.-
100000 for the purpose'of manufacture
ing a coke of d certain grade to sell in
the Chicago market. The plaintiff
paid under the option contract $780,,
900, which was to have been counted
on the purchase price and the plaintiff
also subscribed for $25O.00O of the half
million of improvement bonds and
agreed to take them on or before Aug.
1, 1906.
Meanwhile the plaintiff had a thor
ough examination of the properties
neer and Feb. 16. 1907. two weeks be-
fore the option contract expired the
plaintiff in writing rescinded the OPP
ton contract, alleging fraudulent mis-
representation, and Mar. T. 1907, six
days before the contract expired
brought action for money had and re-
ceived, alleging fraudulent misrepre-
Sentation
The case was tried at the October
term 1908 of the kennebec county su-
preme judicial court before Associate
Justice William P. Whitehouse and
consumed 10 days in its trial. A vast
smount of testimony was taken out at
this trial. a great deal of it being
expert testimony as to the nature and
continuity of the lands and the quality
and quantity of the coal and iron ore
on the lands The printed evidence
in the case fills 1890 quarto pages.
The court ruled that the alleged
fraudulent misrepresentation with
reference to the quantities OF iron ore
on the 10000 acres of iron land and the
quantities of coal on the North Ameri-
can & Steger lands, the latter count
being that in regard to which the
great bulk of testimony was taken,
were not actiOnablc. The alleged
Misrepresentation upon which the
case went to the jury were three IN
number, as follows:
l. That the defendant had made |
as to the continuity OF
the land. which if unproven were OF
such nature as to affect seriously the
value of the lands to be sold. "Preju-
dicial interferences" were alleged by |
the plaintiff in the shape of lands |
with the North American & Steger |
lands.
= Misrepresentation by the de-
PENDANT with reference to the cost Of
mining coal and its selling price, /
mining iron ore and the cost of manu-
facture and its selling price, and the |
present and past monthly profits.
3. misrepresentation with refer
cnce to the cooking qualities OF the
coal on the North American & Steger
lands. The plaintiff alleged that the
samples of coal Obtanable after the
signing of the option contract and the
pavment of the conditions thereon
were found upon analysis to contain an
excess of sulphur and ASH, which maze
the fuel useless for cooking" pur-
poses.
The defendant company at the trlal
made a denial of the plaintiffs aliega-
tons and maintained that the coal Cd
tanned from the North American &
Steger lands was of good quality for
the purposes for which it was desired
for the plaintiff and that the defects u
any existed were known by the !
,r;nr RI tho cipnino of the d |