White v. Dingley
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
This was an action of covenant broken, in which the plaintiff declares that the said Dingley, by a certain deed described, among other things, covenanted with the plaintiff that neither he nor his executors, &c., should, during the term of two years from the date of the deed, sue, arrest, attach, or prosecute, the plaintiff for a certain demand which the defendant then had against the plaintiff.
Read the full summary
This was an action of covenant broken, in which the plaintiff declares that the said Dingley, by a certain deed described, among other things, covenanted with the plaintiff that neither he nor his executors, &c., should, during the term of two years from the date of the deed, sue, arrest, attach, or prosecute, the plaintiff for a certain demand which the defendant then had against the plaintiff. But the said Dingley, in no wise regarding his said covenant, but wishing to distress and injure -the plaintiff, and, by that means, to compel him to pay the said demand, before the said two years…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was afterwards delivered by
Parsons, C. J.
We are satisfied that this action cannot be maintained. The forfeiture of the debt is not in the nature of a penalty, but is a liquidation of the damages to be paid in case of a breach of the covenant on the part of the creditor. The parties have made their contract, and we have no authority to alter it, or to make another for them in its stead.
No action, by the common law, lies for damages sustained by suing a civil action, when the plaintiff fails, unless it be alleged and shown to be malicious, and without probable cause.
Defe…
2Cited by21 opinions
- Bickel v. MacKieDistrict Court, N.D. Iowa · 1978
- Bond v. WardMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1810
- Watt's Ex'rs. v. SheppardSupreme Court of Alabama · 1841
- Deshawn Gervin v. Pamela FlorenceCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2025
- Rosenblum v. GinisMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1937
16 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.