Mottram v. Mills
The Superior Court of New York City
Assumpsit on a bill of exchange for £1000, drawn by the defendant on Major & Wallace, of London, in favor of the plaintiffs, dated November 6th, 1845, and payable sixty days after sight. The bill was accepted by Major & Wallace, November 26th, 1845; and when due was protested for non-payment, and notice thereof regularly given to the defendant.
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Assumpsit on a bill of exchange for £1000, drawn by the defendant on Major & Wallace, of London, in favor of the plaintiffs, dated November 6th, 1845, and payable sixty days after sight. The bill was accepted by Major & Wallace, November 26th, 1845; and when due was protested for non-payment, and notice thereof regularly given to the defendant. At the trial, the latter read in evidence in his defence, a composition deed or indenture, executed by and between Major & Wallace of the first part, their creditors, holders of certain bills drawn by the defendant and accepted by M. & W., of the…
1Opinion of the CourtBy the Court. Sandford, J.
The acceptors of the bill in suit, (Major & Wallace,) are, presumptively, the parties primarily liable for its payment. The burthen of proving a different relation between the drawer and the acceptors, rests upon the latter. The plaintiffs rely upon the recitals in the composition deed, produced in evidence by the defendant, as testimony sufficient to prove that for nearly the whole amount of the bill, the drawer was primarily liable. The deed states, that Major & Wallace had various dealings, in their business as merchants, with the defendant, in the course of which he was in the habit of…
2Cited by3 opinions
- Farmers' Bank of Amsterdam v. BlairNew York Supreme Court · 1865
- Gihon v. . StantonNew York Court of Appeals · 1854
- Whitman v. HortonThe Superior Court of New York City · 1880