Jones v. Harris

Arbitration and Award. Submission. Revocation. A written agreement to submit to arbitration is, before award, revocable by a party who, for a valuable consideration, signs it with a surety.

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Tate County. Hon. Sam Powel, Judge. Partners, the appellant and J. A. Harris, differing about their final settlement, agreed, Feb. 24, 1878, in writing, signed by themselves and one Graham as Harris’s surety, to submit their controversy to certain arbitrators and to abide by their decision. The arbitrators on Sept. 15, 1880, awarded in writing to the appellant the sum of eighteen hundred and eighty dollars. To a declaration in debt on the award, which alleged that the submission was based on a consideration of five hundred dollars paid to Harris, he and his surety pleaded that, after long delay and refusal to act by the arbitrators, Harris served on them, before they met, a written notice declining to be bound by their proposed arbitration and revoking any right or power which they supposed that they possessed under the submission. A demurrer to this plea was overruled, the appellant replied denying that the arbitrators’ authority was revoked before the award, and there was a verdict for the appellees. The submission, if on valuable consideration, could not be revoked, because it has the same force as any other contract; and to permit the defendants to retain the money and avoid their agreement for which it was paid is to sanction a fraud. McGheehen v. Duffield, 5 Penn. St. 497; Bank of Monroe v. Widner, 11 Paige, 529 ; Morse on Arbitration and Award, 231. A power of attorney is irrevocable when based on valuable consideration. Hunt v. Rousmanier, 8 Wheat. 174. No injury resulted from lapse of time, and delay was not prohibited by the submission. Morse on Arbitration and Award, 599. Refusal to act is no ground of revocation, for the arbitrators acted, and the submission was not revoked. Jones v. Harris, 58 Miss. 293. Revocation of the submission was the exercise of a common law right. Morse on Arbitration and Award, 236, 237. In the absence of statutory restrictions which exist in some States, and upon which the decisions cited by opposing counsel are based, a submission to arbitrators may be revoked before award, although it contains a stipulation to the contrary, and is on valuable consideration. Marsh v. Packer, 20 Yt. 198; Davis v. Maxwell, 27 Ga. 368; Johnson v. Andress, 5 Phila. 8 ; 6 Wait’s Actions and Defences, 516 ; Morse on Arbitration and Award, 230. It is also revocable on the ground of the arbitrator’s unreasonable delay and refusal to act. Small v. Thurloiv, 37 Maine, 504 ; White v. Puryear, 10 Yerger, 441; Ourtis v. Potts, 3 Maulé & S. 145 ; Morse on Arbitration and Award, 107, 533, 534; 6 Wait’s Actions and Defences, 518.