Potts v. . Lazarus

The cause was submitted without argument. The only question which can arise in this case is, Who are the persons who are parties to this deed? In ascertaining this, it is the duty of courts to look into the whole of the contract, with a view of discovering who were contemplated by the actors in the transaction to be those persons on whom the responsibility was to rest. Whoever these shall turn out to be, they in law are to be considered as the parties.

It was for a long while held that the technical mode of signing the instrument was conclusive, and that, therefore, though in the body of the…