Hopkins v. Racine Malleable & Wrought Iron Co.
Wisconsin Supreme Court
• Appeal from a judgment of the circuit court for Racine county: E. B. Belden, Circuit Judge. The plaintiff having secured a patent upon a certain farm gate and having had some undisclosed negotiation with the defendant, a manufacturer of malleable irons, the latter on March 10, 1905, mailed to him the following writing: “Hopkins’ Gate Contract.
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• Appeal from a judgment of the circuit court for Racine county: E. B. Belden, Circuit Judge. The plaintiff having secured a patent upon a certain farm gate and having had some undisclosed negotiation with the defendant, a manufacturer of malleable irons, the latter on March 10, 1905, mailed to him the following writing: “Hopkins’ Gate Contract. “The Racine Malleable and Wrought Iron Company of the city of Racine, state of Wisconsin, hereby agrees with Floyd Hopkins of the town of Belvidere, county of Boone, state of Illinois, to furnish, at any time hereafter during the life of the patent,…
1Opinion of the CourtDodge, J.
No principle is more elementary in tbe law of contracts tban that consideration is essential to their validity, and that a wholly executory contract for mutual acts is of no binding force upon one party unless and until the other has become bound thereby. In such a contract mutuality is an essential of validity. Dodge v. Hopkins, 14 Wis. 630; Moulton v. Kershaw, 59 Wis. 316, 18 N. W. 172; Teipel v. Meyer, 106 Wis. 41, 81 N. W. 982. That rule has received modification to the extent that an executory promise by one party may be construed to evince his intention to make a continuing offer of…
2Cases cited11 opinions
- Minnesota Lumber Co. v. Whitebreast Coal Co.Illinois Supreme Court · 1895
- Lima Locomotive & Machine Co. v. National Steel Castings Co.Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 1907
- Excelsior Wrapper Co. v. MessingerWisconsin Supreme Court · 1903
- Moulton v. KershawWisconsin Supreme Court · 1884
- Dodge v. HopkinsWisconsin Supreme Court · 1861
6 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by13 opinions
- E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. v. Claiborne-Reno Co.Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1933
- Weston Paper Mfg. Co. v. Downing Box Co.Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1923
- Pessin v. Fox Head Waukesha Corp.Wisconsin Supreme Court · 1939
- Woerheide v. Barber Asphalt Paving Co.Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1918
- Halvorson v. TarnowWisconsin Supreme Court · 1950
8 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.