Wallace v. Fairman
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
ERROR to the district court of Alleghany county. Wallace Howe & Co. v. Fairman & M’llhenny. Case on book account. The plaintiffs having established their cause of action,-the defendants gave in evidence the same account rendered with this receipt upon it: “We have received T. G. Fairman’s note this day for 362 dollars 81 cents, which, when paid, is in full of the above.”
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ERROR to the district court of Alleghany county. Wallace Howe & Co. v. Fairman & M’llhenny. Case on book account. The plaintiffs having established their cause of action,-the defendants gave in evidence the same account rendered with this receipt upon it: “We have received T. G. Fairman’s note this day for 362 dollars 81 cents, which, when paid, is in full of the above.” The note was under seal and contained a warrant to confess judgment ; upon which a judgment had been entered in Mercer county, previously to serving this writ against the firm. Out of these facts the questions arose: 1.…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
Sergeant, J.
—The principle is well established that a bond given by a debtor to his creditor for a simple contract debt extinguishes the original debt, so that no cause of action upon the latter remains. Higgens’s case, 6 Co. 43. The reason is, that it gives to the creditor a higher and better security for his debt; and to confine him to his remedy on the bond, deprives him of no benefit, while it prevents repeated suits and costs for the same thing. Ibid. But where the reason of the rule ceases, the rule itself ceases ; and this occurs in a variety of…
2Cases cited6 opinions
- The BANK OF COLUMBIA v. PATTERSON’S Adm’rSupreme Court of the United States · 1813
- McIver v. WattlesSupreme Court of the United States · 1824
- Day & Penfield v. Leal & LealNew York Supreme Court · 1817
- Wolf v. WyethSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1824
- Leas v. JamesSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1823
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3Cited by6 opinions
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- Chapman v. DurantMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1813
- Witz, Biedler & Co. v. FiteSupreme Court of Virginia · 1895
- Wickerham v. VitoriSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1942
1 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.