37 Vt. 391 | Vt. | 1864
The defendant retained the plaintiff as his attortorney, in any litigation that might grow out of a conveyance to him of certain property by his brother, John Adams, (who had failed) ; and, in consideration of such retainer, promised the plaintiff, verbally, to pay him one-half of a debt of three or four hundred dollars, due to the plaintiff from the said John, and also promised to pay the plaintiff for his services if he performed any. The defendant claims that his promise is supported by no legal consideration, and therefore does not bind him. It has long been the practice for members of the bar to receive fees for merely being retained by clients, and to charge for such retainers, without any special contract or promise to pay; and it has never been doubted in this state, to our knowledge, that lawyers were properly and legally entitled to make such charges. The amount of such charges has of course va-, ried greatly, depending upon the amount and importance of the mat-, ter in controversy, and the -professional standing of the counsel. Where, upon such retainer, the client expressly promises to pay a certain sum, w.e think it .cannot :be said to be a promise without consideration, and that such consideration must be regarded as sufficient and -adequate to the extent of the sum he has promised to pay.
The important question in the case is, whether this promise bound the .defendant, it ,not being in writing. It was in terms a promise to pay the deht of another, or a portion of the debt of another. The liability of John Adams for his debt to the plaintiff still subsisted precisely to the same extent as before. The plaintiff insists, that in
The defendant’s promise to the plaintiff was, therefore, a promise to pay a pre-existing, and still subsisting, debt of another, founded upon the consideration of the plaintiff’s retainer, by the defendant, as his counsel in his own personal matters ; which we regard as sufficient to sustain the contract, if in writing.
The question, whether the defendant’s promise was valid without writing, opens the door to an examination to an almost endless extent of judicial discussion and determination, both in England and this country, and we can hardly hope to do more than to add another decision to the long line, which may serve to. perplex future explorers into the true extent and meaning of this section of this ancient statute. There are some things that have always been undisputed in all the cases arising under it; one is, that the promise piust be supported by a valid consideration. This was so before thp
But it was never considered necessary that the new consideration should be one that was beneficial to the promissor, in order to make his promise binding, if in writing; if it was, or might be detrimental to the promissee, it was enough, like forbearance of his debt.
So too, the promises mentioned in this section of the statute, are those of suretyship, or guaranty for the debt of another, which still subsists against him; for if the effect of the new promise or contract be to discharge the original debt, the promissor becomes the sole debtor, and there is no debt of another to which his promise is collateral, therefore such promise is not jvithin the purpose and spirit of the statute, and need not be in writing. In the present case, as before said, we regard the defendant’s promise as one for the payment of a pre-existing and still subsisting debt of another, and therefore within the terms of the statute ; still it does not follow that he is not bound by it, though not in writing, for it is well established that a parol promise to pay the debt of another, which still subsists in full force against him, in favor of another, may be binding upon such promissor.
This statement seems to be almost a direct contradiction of the express language of the statute; but it is established by repeated decisions in England, in the American courts generally, and by several decisions in this state. The decisions are contradictory enough, as to what is necessary, in order to make such a promise binding, but all agree that there may be a state of facts which will make it so. What is that state of facts which will take a parol promise to pay the still subsisting debt of another out of the reach of the statute? and do the facts of the plaintiff’s case make it one of that class ? Many attempts have been made by different judges and law writers, to lay down a precise rule or definition by which it could be at once determined, whether such promise was or was not within the Statute, but these rules have given rise to the same conflict of debate
/ He endeavors also to reduce the promises for the debts or defaults jOf others, which are, or are not, within the statute, to classes. Among those not within the statute, he brings the following:— ■' “ Where, although the debt remains, the promise is founded on a I new consideration, which moves to the promissor. This consideration may come from the debtor — as when he puts a fund into the ^ hands of the promissee, either by absolute transfer, or upon a trust * to pay the debt, — or it may be in his hands charged with the debt as J a prior lien, as in the case of Williams v. Leper, and many others. So the consideration may originate in a new and independent dealing between the promissor and creditor, the undertaking to answer for the debt of another being one of the incidents of that dealing. Thus A., for any compensation agreed on between him and B., may undertake that C. shall pay his debt to B.” In this opinion Ch. J. Comstock endeavors to show, that both upon principle and by a great majority of adjudged cases in New York, and elsewhere, where a creditor has a security of any sort in his hands for the payment of his debt, and surrenders it to his debtor upon the promise of a third person to pay his debt, such promise is within the statute, and not binding unless made by writing; but if such security be surrendered to the party making the promise, for his own benefit and advantage, the promise, though by parol, is not within the statute, and binds the promissor. Though there are adjudged^ cases to the contrary, it is shown clearly, as we think, that by the great majority of decisions, these conclusions of the majority of the court are fully sustained. But wherein consists the difference in the two cases, so that in one the parol promise is binding, and not in the other? The promise in both is to pay the debt of another, for which he still continues liable. The surrender of the security is equally a detriment to the creditor in both cases, and in either case forms an
Taylor was the tenant of the plaintiff, and in arrear for his rent; he was insolvent, and conveyed all his effects for the benefit of his creditors; they employed Leper, the defendant, as a broker to sell them, and he advertised them for sale. On the morning of the sale the plaintiff came to the house to distrain the goods for his unpaid rent, whereupon the defendant promised the plaintiff if he would not distrain he would pay the rent due him. The plaintiff’ desisted from distraining, and allowed the defendant to sell the goods. It was held by the court, that his promise to pay the plaintiff was valid, though not in writing. Lord Mansfield said: “The \res gestae would entitle the plaintiff to his action against the defendant.» The goods are the fund; Leper was a trustee for all the creditors, and was obliged to pay the landlord, who had the prior lien.” The decision went clearly upon the ground, that as the plaintiff had the prior lien on the goods for the payment of his rents, and surrendered it to the defendant on his promise to pay the rent, it became a trust in his hands for the payment of the plaintiff’s debt, and his promise was not that of a surety or guarantor for Taylor, but for the performance of his own duty. This case was followed by Castling v. Aubert, 2 East, 325. The plaintiff was under liabilities for one Grayson, and held certain policies of insurance as security therefor. The defendant was the agent of Grayson for the management of his insurance affairs, and, a loss having happened, the defendant needed the policies in order to get the money, and applied to the plaintiff to surrender them to him, which the plaintiff'did upon the defendant’s promise to pay the acceptances for which the plaintiff was liable. This promise was not in writing. It was claimed that under the statute of frauds, the promise was not binding, but the court held that it was, and said it was rather a purchase of the securities which the plaintiff held in his hands, and that the defendant had in contemplation not principally the discharge of Grayson, but I the discharge of himself. Edwards v. Kelly, 6 M. & S. 204, and many other English cases, follow in the same line of decision, and
The subject is well illustrated by the decisions in the case of factors selling goods under a del credere commission, where the agreement is by parol. It was at one,time held, that the factor’s agreement to guaranty his sales, was not binding unless in writing ; that it was a promise within the statute of frauds. But the contrary is now firmly established both in England and this country: Couturier v. Hastie et al., 16 Eng. L. & Eq. 562; Wolff v. Koppel, 5 Hill, 458 ; Swan v. Nesmith, 7 Pick. 220. If it be true that a new consideration moving directly between the parties, and to the promissor, is sufficient to sustain a verbal promise to pay the debt of another, it would seem there never could have been any question about the
These eases are cited to show that/itls not true that in every case, where the promise is founded upon a new consideration moving wholly between the parties to the guaranty, the promise is taken out of the statute. It depends upon the transaction itself, the general object and purpose, or, as Lord Mansfield expressed it, on the res gestee. If the leading purpose and object be to guaranty, or become responsible for the payment of a third person’s debt, then the promise is within' the statute although it may be founded upon a consideration directly between the parties. • It is almost impossible to imagine a case where a promise to pay the debt of another, for which he remains liable, upon a consideration moving wholly from the creditor and in which the debtor has no concern; where the leading object and purpose can be any other than to make the promissor the surety or guarantor of the debt. In such case no duty or
In support of these views we refer further to Nelson v. Boynton, 3 Met. 396 ; Kingsley v. Balcom, 4 Barb. 131, and Browne on Statute of Frauds, ch. 10. In the present case we regard the defendant’s promise as essentially a contract of guaranty of one-half the amount of John Adams’ debt, and though founded upon a sufficient consideration moving directly to the defendant, it was a promise within the statute, and not being in writing, not enforceable at law. Where a promise to pay the debt of another is founded upon the consideration of property sold by the debtor to the promissor, to be paid for to his creditor, if payment is not made accordingly, and the debtor is compelled to pay his debt, he is entitled to have pay for his property sold. If he places property or funds in the hands of another to pay his debt, and it is not done, he is entitled to his property again. If a creditor holds securities of his debtor of any sort for the payment of his debt, and surrenders them to a third person upon his promise to pay the debt, and he fails to do so, and the debtor pays his own debt, he is entitled to have his securities returned to him, or applied for his benefit. In this case the defendant received nothing, and held nothing in his hands, for the payment of John Adams’ debt. If John Adams paid the debt to the plaintiff, the defendant was under no liability to either of them for anything he had received. Ilis obligation to the plaintiff began with, and rested solely upon his promise. It is a naked promise to pay the debt of another, and within the statute, if one can be, where it is founded on a new consideration moving to the promissor, which we have tried to show may be the case. It is claimed that several decisions in this state support the plaintiff’s right to recover in this case, and it is true that in some of our cases the same general language is used that has already been referred to ; that when the promise is founded upon a new consideration moving between the
Templeton v. Bascom, 33 Vt. 132: The plaintiff had a debt against the defendant’s father, who had died, leaving ample property for the payment of his debts. The defendant was the sole heir to his father’s estate, and all the property was in his hands In consideration that the plaintiff would not proceed to take out
But in all these cases the plaintiff surrendered, and the defendant received, a fund or a security charged with the payment of the plaintiff’s debt, and all come within the class of Williams v. Leper, and Castling v. Aubert, and upon the same ground with those were properly held not to fall within the statute. We know of no case in this state where the parol promise of one to pay the debt of another, has been upheld upon any other consideration than the receipt of some fund or other security, either from the debtor or creditor, charged with the payment of the debt, so that a trust or duty was created thereby to pay the debt, and so that in making the payment of the debt he was really fulfilling an obligation of his own. When carried further than this, the statute is really repealed. If it be true, that “A., for any compensation agreed on between him and B,, may undertake that C. shall pay his debt to B.,” as laid down by Ch. J. Comstock, and such promises held good without writing, then truly the statute of frauds and its labor have been in vain. If parol evidence can be made sufiiciént to charge one man with the payment of another’s debt, however large, by proving a promise, and a consideration of a pepper-corn, or a day’s work, or some other of equal value, every beneficial purpose of the statute is gone. No better scheme could have been devised before the days of the statute of the 29th of Charles the 2d, to establish a claim against a man by false testimony, than this would be. The statute was passed by reason of the strong temptation to make others responsible for the debts of irresponsible and insolvent debtors, and the facility afforded by the testimony of corrupt witnesses to establish such ■ contracts, if allowed to be proved by verbal testimony; hence, the evidence of any such promise by a third party was' required to be in writing. But if the statute can be avoided by find
Judgment reversed, and a new trial granted.