Northrup v. Foot
New York Supreme Court
Error from the Dutchess common pleas. Foot sued Northrop for deceit in the sale of a horse, and declared on a warranty. The defendant pleaded non. cul. and the statute of limitations. To the latter plea there was a replication. The sale took place in the state of Connecticut on a Sunday.
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Error from the Dutchess common pleas. Foot sued Northrop for deceit in the sale of a horse, and declared on a warranty. The defendant pleaded non. cul. and the statute of limitations. To the latter plea there was a replication. The sale took place in the state of Connecticut on a Sunday. The defendant produced an exemplification of a statute of that sta,te, re-enacted in 1821,entitled “An act for the due observation of the Sabbath or Lord’s day f whereby, among other things, it is enacted that no person or persons shall do any secular business on the Lord’s day, under a penalty not exceeding…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court,
Nelson, J.
This action cannot be sustained, for the reason that the contract out of which it arises is utterly void at the place where it was entered into. 1 Root, 474. 2 Conn. R. 548. 10 Mass. R. 318, note. It is in proof that, according to the unwritten or common law of Connecticut, all contracts entered into on Sunday are void; and if we were to follow the position of the counsel for the defendant in error, and interpret for ourselves the statute of that state for the observance of the Sabbath day, we should, without hesitation, concur with the construction there given to it;…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Crocker v. WhitneyMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1813
- Wight v. GeerSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1792
3Cited by17 opinions
- Carroll v. . Staten Island R.R. Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1874
- Tebbetts & Pearce v. DowdNew York Supreme Court · 1840
- Smith v. . WilcoxNew York Court of Appeals · 1862
- Geer v. PutnamMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1813
- Tucker v. WestSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1874
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