Ball v. Thornton

• Decision Date: 15 February 1935
• Docket Number: 30129.
• Citation: 258 N.W. 831,193 Minn. 469
• Parties: BALL v. THORNTON.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

258 N.W. 831

193 Minn. 469

BALL v. THORNTON.

No. 30129.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

February 15, 1935

Appeal from District Court, St. Louis County; C. R. Magney, Judge.

Action by Leo A. Ball against Charles H. Thornton. From an order denying his motion for new trial, plaintiff appeals.

Affirmed.

Syllabus by the Court .

Where plaintiff's claim against the defendant was not liquidated and he accepted and cashed a check which provided on its face, ‘ this check is on [sic] payment of items as per statement following. Endorsement of payee will constitute a receipt in full,’ his acceptance and cashing of the check amounted to an accord and satisfaction and he could not, by striking out the words ‘ in full,’ change the offer or make the payment one upon account.

Fryberger, Fulton & Boyle and Leo A. Ball, all of Duluth, for appellant.

Mitchell, Gillette, Nye & Harries, of Duluth, for respondent.

LORING, Justice.

In a suit to recover the reasonable value of attorney's fees rendered over a period of about fourteen years, the trial court found that there had been an accord and satisfaction by the acceptance by the plaintiff of a check for $2,000, and the case comes here upon the plaintiff's appeal from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

It appears from the record that the plaintiff had been consulted many times by the defendant with regard to an expected inheritance of an interest in very valuable mining property owned by the defendant's aunt and uncle. It would be useless to go into detail about the character of the services alleged to have been rendered by the plaintiff to the defendant. They were considered by the plaintiff to be legal services, but their extent and value are not of controlling importance on the question presented here. After the defendant had received an inheritance which was valued at considerably over $1,000,000, he was evidently residing at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where the plaintiff went to see him in regard to payment for his services. There had been a long delay in that payment. The parties hereto were old friends, and they spent the day together at Fond du Lac. At the conclusion of the day, when plaintiff was about to take the train for his home in Duluth, he was given a check for $2,000, across the face of which the following statement was printed: ‘ This check is on [sic] payment of items as per statement following. Endorsement of payee will constitute a receipt in full.’

Below this statements the maker of the check had written...