Proprietors of the Upper Locks v. Abbott
Superior Court of New Hampshire
Assumpsit, upon an account annexed to the writ for tolls for the passage of lumber through the locks and canals of the plaintiffs, at Montague, on the Connecticut River. The following facts appeared in evidence. In the year 1840, one Sanborn was employed by Abbott and others to freight lumber to the Hartford market,'by the thousand, and he was to pay the tolls thereon.
Read the full summary
Assumpsit, upon an account annexed to the writ for tolls for the passage of lumber through the locks and canals of the plaintiffs, at Montague, on the Connecticut River. The following facts appeared in evidence. In the year 1840, one Sanborn was employed by Abbott and others to freight lumber to the Hartford market,'by the thousand, and he was to pay the tolls thereon. On arriving at the plaintiffs’ locks, and after entering the head of the canal with the lumber, Sanborn applied to the plaintiffs’ agent for permission to pass the lumber through the locks, upon his own credit, but the agent…
1Opinion of the CourtGilchrist, J.
If the defendant’s promise had been a collateral undertaking, in the circumstances of this case, it must have have been in writing. The principle established by the cases is, that if any credit is given to the party who receives the benefit, the undertaking of the other is collateral, and voidable unless in writing. Holmes vs. Knight, 10 N. H. Rep. 177, and cases there cited. Whether this-principle has not been sometimes so applied as to transform the collateral liability into a principal liability, as it is intimated in that case may have been done, need not be now inquired into, because it…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Chapin v. MerrillNew York Supreme Court · 1830
- Holmes v. KnightsSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1839