Opinion ID: 1564562
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Claim for Loss on Timber.

Text: The contract involved in this case clearly provided for the sale of all the timber on the land. The evidence shows a balance of approximately 3,000,000 feet. The defendant notified the plaintiffs in September, 1931, that it would not receive more timber at the contract price. One of the plaintiffs testified that they were able, ready, and willing to proceed with the operations, and that defendant's manager suggested a lower price. The defendant offers two reasons for its refusal to receive the balance of the timber: First, the levee board suit; and, second, the failure of the plaintiffs to deliver in quantities provided by the contract. Counsel for defendant state that the levee board suit gave the defendant a perfect right to continue to demand delivery and receive logs thereunder so long as it desired, or abandon so doing at pleasure; and, further, that the defendant had the right to continue or terminate the contract at will. This is equivalent to saying that the defendant was not bound by the contract, but the plaintiffs were. The authorities do not sustain this position. A right to rescind, abrogate, or cancel a contract must be exercised promptly on discovery of the facts from which it arises. Harwood v. United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation (C. C. A.) 32 F.(2d) 680; Ripley v. Jackson Zinc & Lead Co. (C. C. A.) 221 F. 209. The right to cancel or rescind a contract because of a breach may be waived by continuing to treat it as a subsisting obligation. McLean v. Clapp, 141 U. S. 429, 12 S. Ct. 29, 35 L. Ed. 804; Merchants' Bank v. Hanna (C. C. A.) 73 F.(2d) 818; Ford Motor Company v. Pearson (C. C. A.) 40 F.(2d) 858. A party to a contract cannot avail himself of the benefits of it and at the same time deny the responsibilities imposed by it. The defendant in this case elected to recognize the continued existence of the contract and not to cancel it for any reason. Whether there had been a breach by the plaintiffs that justified its refusal to receive more timber was a question that should have been submitted to the jury.