Hall v. Humphrey-Lake Corp.

Decker Hall was a shareholder in the Humphrey-Lake Corporation, an operator of laundry and dry-cleaning stores. In July 1969 he agreed to sell his 98 shares of stock to the company for $36,000 — $28,000 in principal and $8,000 in interest — payable in 48 monthly installments of $750 each. The contract was signed by Hall and by the company’s vice-president, the defendant Whitfield Hughes.

The company complied with its obligations for 17 consecutive months —making payments totaling $12,750 — but made none after December 1, 1970. In April 1971 Hall died and his widow, the plaintiff Ruth Hall,…