Brown v. Austin
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The defendant in error, who was the original plaintiff in this suit, commenced an action of assumpsit against Brown, before a justice of the peace for this county, in which he declared, First, that Brown, at-, on the 12th day of August, 1797, being indebted to the said Austin in the sum of 73 cents, according to the account annexed to the writ, then and there, in consideration there- [ * 209 ] of, promised the said Austin to pay to him the same *sum on demand; and, secondly,…
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The defendant in error, who was the original plaintiff in this suit, commenced an action of assumpsit against Brown, before a justice of the peace for this county, in which he declared, First, that Brown, at-, on the 12th day of August, 1797, being indebted to the said Austin in the sum of 73 cents, according to the account annexed to the writ, then and there, in consideration there- [ * 209 ] of, promised the said Austin to pay to him the same *sum on demand; and, secondly, that the said Brown, at-, on the same day, in consideration that the said Austin had, before that time, at the special…
1Opinion of the CourtThacher, J.
I have had no doubt from the first opening of this case. It appears by the record that the plaintiff in error was acting as the agent of the public. The law is settled that any person ad *163ing in that capacity, who makes contracts for the public—contracts in which he has no interest or concern other than as one of the individuals composing the body politic—does not render himself personally liable. The cases cited by the counsel for the plaintiff in error, are express to this point. I think, therefore, that the judgment ought to be reversed.
Sewall, J.
I give my opinion upon only one point in…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Mott v. HicksNew York Supreme Court · 1823
- Tippets v. WalkerMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1808
- S. & J. Rathbon v. BudlongNew York Supreme Court · 1818
3Cited by17 opinions
- Sumner v. WilliamsMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1811
- Whiteside v. JenningsSupreme Court of Alabama · 1851
- Deming v. BullittIndiana Supreme Court · 1823
- Aven v. BeckomSupreme Court of Georgia · 1852
- Walker v. SwartwoutNew York Supreme Court · 1815
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