Willard v. Tayloe

Willard v. Tayloe
Supreme Court of the United States
Full case name	Willard v. Tayloe
Citations	75 U.S. 557 (more)
Prior history	On appeal from the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia
Court membership
Case opinions
Majority	Field, joined by Grier, Clifford, Swayne, Miller, Davis
Concurrence	Chase, Nelson

Willard v. Tayloe, 75 U.S. 557 (1869), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that courts of equity deciding issues of contract have discretion to determine the form of relief based on the circumstances of each individual case. The Court established a new rule to determine the form of relief: Relief should serve the ends of justice, and should be withheld if it appears likely to produce hardship or injustice to either party.

In the instant case, the Court held that plaintiff Henry Willard had not acted in bad faith by tendering United States Notes as down payment for the sale of property, even though the contract in question specified payment in gold or silver coin. Nonetheless, the contract specified payment in coin, and payment in coin must be made. The Court also held that fluctuations in the price of the property between the date on which the contract was agreed and the date the down payment was made do not create issues of equity.

Colonel John Tayloe III built six two-story row houses facing Pennsylvania Avenue at 14th Street NW in the city of Washington, D.C., in 1816. Col. Tayloe leased them in 1817 to John Tennison, who turned them into a hotel under the name "Tennison's Hotel". The structures served as a hotel for the next three decades, the leaseholder and name changing several times: Williamson's Mansion Hotel, Fullers American House, and the City Hotel.

Col. Tayloe died on March 23, 1828, and his son, Benjamin Ogle Tayloe, inherited the property. Mr. Tayloe renovated the properties in 1843 and 1844. But by 1847 the structures were in disrepair and he was eager to find a tenant who would maintain them and run the enterprise profitably.

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