Christensen

The plaintiff commenced an action against the defendant to recover moneys alleged to be due according to the terms of a written contract. Judgment went for the plaintiff and the defendant has appealed.

On May 21, 1921, the plaintiff and defendant entered into a written agreement as follows, to wit:

It was the theory of the plaintiff in the trial court, and is its theory in this court, that the above instrument by its terms, when properly construed, protected the purchaser against a fall in prices on railroad ties, both before and after November 1, 1921, and until the plaintiff had sold and turned over the railroad ties which it had already manufactured. On the other hand, it was and is the theory of the defendant that said instrument protected the purchaser against a decline in prices down to, but not subsequent to, November 1, 1921. As we view the instrument a proper interpretation of it requires a consideration of the circumstances under which it was executed. Although the written instrument does not so state, the writing was executed in Humboldt County, and the subject matter of the contract was railroad ties that had been manufactured and were then in the Humboldt redwood…