Learned v. Bryant
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
This was an action of the case, brought by the plaintiff, as admin istratrix of the estate of David Learned, Esq., deceased, late sheriff of the County of Oxford, against the defendants, upon a receipt and promise made by them, by which they acknowledged to have received of him sundry articles of the value of $ 220, which he had attached on a writ against one Nathaniel Sawtell; and which they promised to deliver to the said intestate when he should call for the same, towards…
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This was an action of the case, brought by the plaintiff, as admin istratrix of the estate of David Learned, Esq., deceased, late sheriff of the County of Oxford, against the defendants, upon a receipt and promise made by them, by which they acknowledged to have received of him sundry articles of the value of $ 220, which he had attached on a writ against one Nathaniel Sawtell; and which they promised to deliver to the said intestate when he should call for the same, towards satisfying the judgment that might be recovered on the said writ. It was agreed by the parties, that the articles…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court.
It is admitted, in this case, that the defendants could prove, that the goods, committed to them by the deceased sheriff, were, in truth, the property of a stranger, and not of him for whose debt they were attached. This is certainly admissible evidence ; for the defendants were not bound by their receipt, at all events, to retain the goods. They were certainly not bound’to hold them against the demand of him who had the right. That person might have taken them out of their hands by replevin ; and they were under no obligation to resist a claim at the expense of a lawsuit, if…
2Cited by22 opinions
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- Perry v. WilliamsWisconsin Supreme Court · 1876
- Governor v. BancroftSupreme Court of Alabama · 1849
- Wright v. DawsonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1888
- Case, Bishop & Co. v. D. M. Steele & Co.Supreme Court of Kansas · 1885
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