Hunt v. Bridgham
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Assumpsit upon a promissory note made on the 9th of December, 1802, signed by James Ellis, one of the defendants, as principal, and Bridgham, the other defendant, as surety, and attested by two witnesses, for 460 dollars, payable to the plaintiff’s testator on demand with interest. The defence was, that as twenty years had elapsed after the date of the note before the commencement of the action, the legal presumption was that it was paid.
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Assumpsit upon a promissory note made on the 9th of December, 1802, signed by James Ellis, one of the defendants, as principal, and Bridgham, the other defendant, as surety, and attested by two witnesses, for 460 dollars, payable to the plaintiff’s testator on demand with interest. The defence was, that as twenty years had elapsed after the date of the note before the commencement of the action, the legal presumption was that it was paid. This presumption was supposed to be rebutted by the evidence of a payment of 50 dollars made and indorsed upon the note on the 15th of May, 1815. This and…
1Opinion of the Court
Wilde J.
The first ground of defence in this action is the presumption of payment arising from lapse of time. But this presumption is effectually rebutted by the partial payments made by Ellis, one as late as the year 1815, which are equivalent to an express acknowledgment of an existing debt. As to the legal effect of these payments the two defendants stand on the same footing; The contract being proved, the admission of one is the admission of both. If one of several joint promisors acknowledges the debt within six years, it will take the case out of the statute of limitations as to the…
2Cases cited18 opinions
- United States v. KirkpatrickSupreme Court of the United States · 1824
- Bell v. MorrisonSupreme Court of the United States · 1828
- Baird v. RiceCourt of Appeals of Virginia · 1797
- Reynolds v. WardNew York Supreme Court · 1830
- R. Patterson v. W. ChoateNew York Supreme Court · 1831
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