Stevens v. Hay
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
This was an action of debt on a bond given by Ira Hay as principal, and the other defendants as sureties, to Benjamin F. Richardson and two others, (the selectmen of the town of Stoneham, at the time when the bond was executed,) and their successors in office, for the faithful performance of the duties of collector and treasurer of the town, by the principal obligor.
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This was an action of debt on a bond given by Ira Hay as principal, and the other defendants as sureties, to Benjamin F. Richardson and two others, (the selectmen of the town of Stoneham, at the time when the bond was executed,) and their successors in office, for the faithful performance of the duties of collector and treasurer of the town, by the principal obligor. The action was not commenced in the name of the persons named as obligees in the bond, but in the name of the present plaintiffs, who were the legally chosen selectmen of the town of Stoneham, at the time of the commencement of…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court (Fletcher, J. not sitting in the • case,) was delivered at the October term, 1851.
Metcalf, J.
By the common law, a suit on a bond payable to one and his successors or assigns, can be maintained only by the obligee, during his life, and by his executor or administrator after his death. There is an exception to this rule in the case of those sole corporations that are trustees for the benefit of others, and not for their own benefit only. 1 Kyd on Corporations, 77. And when a statute directs that a bona shall be given to a certain officer, or to him and his successors,…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Jansen v. OstranderNew York Supreme Court · 1824
- Calhoun v. LunsfordSupreme Court of Alabama · 1837
- White v. QuarlesMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1817
- Cutts v. ParsonsMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1807
3Cited by2 opinions
- Constantine v. FosterIllinois Supreme Court · 1870
- Stanley v. NealeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1867