Wald v. Arnold
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Contract, on an account annexed. Writ dated May 2,1896. The case was submitted to the Superior Court, and, after judgment for the defendant, to this court, on appeal, upon agreed facts, in substance as follows. On April 8, 1895, the plaintiff’s attorney wrote the defendant substantially as follows: “A bill against you has been placed in my hands for collection. The amount of the bill is $77.91, plus interest. Please give this matter your immediate attention.”
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Contract, on an account annexed. Writ dated May 2,1896. The case was submitted to the Superior Court, and, after judgment for the defendant, to this court, on appeal, upon agreed facts, in substance as follows. On April 8, 1895, the plaintiff’s attorney wrote the defendant substantially as follows: “A bill against you has been placed in my hands for collection. The amount of the bill is $77.91, plus interest. Please give this matter your immediate attention.” On April 11,1895, the defendant wrote a letter to the plaintiff’s attorney, of which the following is a copy: “ Your letter received,…
1Opinion of the CourtHolmes, J.
The theory on which an acknowledgment or new promise takes a debt out of the statute of limitations is that it waives the bar of the statute. Ilsley v. Jewett, 3 Met. 439, 445. See Bigelow v. Norris, 139 Mass. 12. Therefore were the matter a new one, perhaps the question might be raised whether an acknowledgment before the statute had run, when there was nothing to waive and the liability was undeniable, ought to have any effect. But probably the whole doctrine is a relic of the time when the statute was regarded with disfavor and evaded as far as possible; Langdell, Con. § 73; Bangs v. Hall,…
2Cases cited8 opinions
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3Cited by6 opinions
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- Gill v. GibsonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1916
- Gilmour v. JohnsonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1926
- Lord v. JonesSupreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1911
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