Stevens v. Wood

• Decision Date: 28 June 1879
• Parties: Seymour W. Stevens v. Addison Wood
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

127 Mass. 123

Seymour W. Stevens v. Addison Wood

Supreme Court of Massachusetts

June 28, 1879

Suffolk. Contract upon a promissory note for $ 63.50, dated June 1, 1877, signed by the defendant, payable to Charles G Fletcher or order on demand, and by him indorsed to the plaintiff. Writ dated March 7, 1878. Answer, that the note was signed and delivered on the Lord's day. Trial in the Superior Court, without a jury, before Colburn, J., who found the following facts:

Fletcher held a note against the defendant, dated June 5, 1871 payable on demand, upon which no payment had been made. In May and June, 1877, Fletcher was temporarily absent from the Commonwealth, and, finding that the note would soon be barred by the statute of limitations, made up the amount which would be due on the note to June 1, 1877, and wrote the note in suit, with the exception of the signature and indorsement and sent the old note with the new one to Ralph Ball, who was a friend and neighbor of his in this state, with a request that Ball should call on the defendant before the old note was barred by the statute, and collect the old note, or get him to sign the new note in renewal. The notes were received by Ball in the latter part of May 1877, and on May 31, which was Thursday, he called upon the defendant, stated the request he had received from Fletcher, and asked him to pay the old note, or sign the new one. The defendant said he could not pay that day, but promised to call upon Ball before the next Saturday night, and pay the old note or sign the new one. The defendant did not call as he had promised, but on Sunday, June 3, 1877, he called upon Ball, gave an excuse for not coming before, stated that he hardly thought he should be able to pay the old note, that he wished to take the new note and examine it to see if the interest was cast correctly, and promised to sign it if he found it right, and send it to Ball on Monday morning. The defendant then took the new note away signed it, and in the evening of that day sent the new note by a messenger to Ball. Ball at first declined to take the note on Sunday, but the messenger complained of the great inconvenience of coming again, and he took it and gave up the old note. A few days afterwards Ball handed the note in suit to the wife and daughter of Fletcher, who received it upon his return home. Some months afterwards, Fletcher indorsed the note to the plaintiff. At the time of the indorsement, neither Fletcher nor the plaintiff had the slightest reason to suppose that any of...