Sullivan v. Collins
Supreme Court of Iowa
Appeal from Jasper District Court. Suit on promissory note, executed by defendant to plaintiff. Defense, want of consideration. Tbe defendant sold to plaintiff a mare, and received bis pay; afterwards, tbe plaintiff was sued before a justice of tbe peace, in replevin for tbe mare, by a former owner, wbo claimed that the mare had been stolen from him.
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Appeal from Jasper District Court. Suit on promissory note, executed by defendant to plaintiff. Defense, want of consideration. Tbe defendant sold to plaintiff a mare, and received bis pay; afterwards, tbe plaintiff was sued before a justice of tbe peace, in replevin for tbe mare, by a former owner, wbo claimed that the mare had been stolen from him. On the day the writ of replevin was served on Sullivan, he compromised with the plaintiff in the writ, by relinquishing all claim to the mare, in consideration of the relinquishment by the claimant of all damages for the detention and the payment…
1Opinion of the CourtCole, J.
1. Promissory note: compromise. I. At the request of plaintiff’s counsel the court instructed the jury, “that it is a sufficient consideration to support a note, to show that it was given to settle a claim and avoid litigation.”
This is not the law. A note given, before a suit brought, to settle an illegal or wholly unfounded claim, has not sufficient consideration to support it, and cannot be enforced at law. It is essential that the claim be sustainable at law or in equity; or, at least, that it be doubtful (either in its right or amount). 1 Parsons on Contr., 366, 367, and note c; Chitty on…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Stewart v. AhrenfeldtNew York Supreme Court · 1847
- Warder v. TuckerMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1811
- Jarvis v. SuttonIndiana Supreme Court · 1852
- Gould v. ArmstrongThe Superior Court of New York City · 1829
3Cited by15 opinions
- Rauen v. Prudential Insurance Co. of AmericaSupreme Court of Iowa · 1906
- Watrous v. WatrousSupreme Court of Iowa · 1917
- Keefe v. VogleSupreme Court of Iowa · 1872
- Foster v. M. A. Metts & Co.Mississippi Supreme Court · 1877
- Lockie v. BakerSupreme Court of Iowa · 1928
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