Bezzell v. White
Supreme Court of Alabama
Error from the Circuit Court of Greene. Before the Hon. J. D. Phelan. The defendant in error declared in assumpsit against the plaintiff, as administrator of William Bezzell, deceased ; a trial was had, and a verdict returned in favor of the plaintiff below, whereupon judgment was rendered.
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Error from the Circuit Court of Greene. Before the Hon. J. D. Phelan. The defendant in error declared in assumpsit against the plaintiff, as administrator of William Bezzell, deceased ; a trial was had, and a verdict returned in favor of the plaintiff below, whereupon judgment was rendered. On the trial a bill of exceptions was sealed by the presiding judge, which presents the following facts : The plaintiff, Philip Beazley, Hartwell, Murphy, Gibson, and the defendant’s intestate, were the. securities of one Gully, as sheriff of Greene county, and that as such, the plaintiff, Beazley,…
1Opinion of the CourtDargan, J.
The law is well settled, that a surety paying the debt of the principal, can compel contribution in this form of action. This right to contribution, it is said, does not arise from contract, but springs from a principle of equity, that those who have a common burthen to bear, should contribute equally, and the whole burthen ought not to fall on one. See 2 Bos. & Pull. 270; 14 Ves. 35, 160; also, 9 Ala. Rep. 787.
If the right to contribution results from an equity, that each surety should bear his part of a common burthen, it surely ought to be rebutted by proof that no such equity exists in…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Fitzpatrick's Adm'r v. HillSupreme Court of Alabama · 1846
3Cited by3 opinions
- Eaton v. HastyNebraska Supreme Court · 1877
- Stallworth v. PreslarSupreme Court of Alabama · 1859
- Morrison v. TaylorSupreme Court of Alabama · 1852