133 Ga. 486 | Ga. | 1909
Candler brought suit against DeGive to recover the sum of $250 and interest, alleged to be due the plaintiff by reason of ,a certain contract, attaching to his petition a copy thereof, which reads as follows: “I, J. L. DeGive, President of the Southern Historical Association, hereby agree to pay Governor A. D. Candler the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars upon delivery and collection of our book entitled ‘Georgia/ or at his option he may waive this amount and receive the additional one dollar per copy sold above one thousand copies, as stipulated in the original contract between Governor A. D. Candler and the Southern Historical Association. This delivery to be by the first of Feb., 1907, unless some unavoidable accident or delay beyond the control of the Southern Historical Association should prevent it. The foregoing agreement is to render void all parts of contract previously made between Southern Historical Association and Governor A. D. Candler as .regard to all remuneration over and above the five hundred dollars already paid him by said Association. It is .agreed and understood that Governor A. D. Candler will not in any way whatsoever publish or cause to be published any article in any way detrimental to the delivery and collection of this book. J. L. DeGive, President. A. D. Candler.” The petition alleged: “The said J. L. DeGive is indebted to the said A. D. Candler, this petitioner, in the sum of $250, with interest thereon from the first day of February, 1907, at the rate of seven per cent. The said J. L. DeGive was interested in the Southern Historical Association, against which the said A. D. Candler had a claim for services amounting to $500. As a compromise of the said claim, the said J. L. DeGive gave to the said A. D. Candler a writing hereto attached, marked exhibit A, and made a part of this petition, by which writing the said DeGive agreed to pay to the said
Ordinarily an instrument signed by one after whose signature is added the word agent, trustee, or the like, is the individual undertaking of the maker, such words being treated merely as descriptive of the person. Civil Code, §2998. And it has been several times held by this court that the mere addition thereto of the name of the person or corporation of whom the party signing is the agent, trustee, or the like, did not, of itself, relieve the person so signing from incurring an individual liability. Cleave-land v. Stewart, 3 Ga. 283; Faw v. Meals, 65 Ga. 711; Dozier v. McWhorter, 117 Ga. 788 (45 S. E. 61); Armour Packing Co. v. Lovell, 118 Ga. 164 (44 S. E. 990). Counsel for the defendant insists that the conditions and stipulations contained in the contract are such as to clearly indicate that it was intended to be the obligation of the Historical Association, and not that of the defendant. The Civil Code, §3022, declares that “the form in which the agent acts is immaterial;. if the principal’s name is disclosed and the agent professes to act for him, it will be held to be the act of the principal.” But an agent may bind not only his principal, but himself also. The suit was against DeGive
Judgment reversed.