Fisher v. Plimpton
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Appeal from the disallowance, by commissioners in the probate court, of a claim against the estate of Horace Plimpton, of which the appellee was administratrix. The claim was on a promissory note made by the intestate to Fisher, dated January 15, 1849, for eighty-six hundred and seventy-nine dollars, payable on demand with interest, and purporting to have been signed in presence of an attesting witness.
Read the full summary
Appeal from the disallowance, by commissioners in the probate court, of a claim against the estate of Horace Plimpton, of which the appellee was administratrix. The claim was on a promissory note made by the intestate to Fisher, dated January 15, 1849, for eighty-six hundred and seventy-nine dollars, payable on demand with interest, and purporting to have been signed in presence of an attesting witness. The answer set up, among other defences, the statute of limitations, denying the genuineness of the attestation; and also alleged that the note was without consideration. At the trial in this…
1Opinion of the CourtBigelow, C. J.
It is sometimes quite difficult to draw the line between evidence which is remote and immaterial, and that which may have a legitimate bearing, though slight, on the determination of the main fact which is to be settled by the verdict of a jury. This is especially true, when, as in the case at bar, an allegation of fraud forms one of the essential issues on which the rights of the parties depend, and when resort is had to a chain of circumstantial evidence in order to establish or disprove it. The competency of evidence in such cases often turns on the aspect in which the case presents itself…
2Cited by5 opinions
- Long v. Inhabitants of AtholMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1907
- Costello v. CrowellMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1882
- Hayden v. StoneMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1873
- Sanderson v. CarrollMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1921
- Vought v. PorterSupreme Court of Minnesota · 1926