Baughman v. Automated Horizons, Inc.

By Judge Clifford R. Weckstein

When the defendant failed to pay a promissory note on the day it was due, the plaintiff immediately filed suit. The defendant’s reaction to that suit creates the legal and factual context within which I must answer this question: Has the defendant been discharged from its written obligation because, three weeks after default and suit, the plaintiff negotiated a check that was offered in “full and final payment?” In a bench trial, a written stipulation was presented, witnesses testified, and exhibits were introduced. While the testimony of witnesses varied on…