United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Arkansas Valley Smelting Co. v. Belden Mining Co., 127 U.S. 379 (1888)

Arkansas Valley Smelting Company v. Belden Mining Company

No. 197

Submitted April 2, 1888

Decided May 14, 1888

127 U.S. 379

ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED

STATES FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Syllabus

A contract in writing, by which a mining company agrees to sell and deliver lead ore from time to time at the smelting works of a partnership, to become its property upon delivery and to be paid for after a subsequent assay of the ore and ascertainment of the price, cannot be assigned by the partnership without the assent of the mining company so far as regards future deliveries of ore. Nor is the mining company, by continuing to deliver ore to one of the partners after the partnership has been dissolved and has sold and assigned to him the contract, with its business and smelting works, estopped to deny the validity of a subsequent assignment by him to a stranger.

This was an action brought by a smelting company, incorporated by the laws of Missouri, against a mining company, incorporated by the laws of Maine, and both doing business in Colorado by virtue of a compliance with its laws, to recover damages for the breach of a contract to deliver ore made by the defendant with Billing and Eilers and assigned to the plaintiff. The material allegations of the complaint were as follows: