44 S.C. 538 | S.C. | 1895
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This is an action commenced by Jacob Groesbeck, of Mound City, Mo., against J. Q. Marshall, of Columbia, S. C., upon a promissory note made by the defendant, Marshall, on the 31st day of July, 1890, whereby he promised to pay to the order of one John W. Stokes the sum of $1,187.50 on the first day of October, 1890. Stokes, the payee, endorsed the note after its maturity to the plaintiff, Groesbeck.
The case came on for trial before his honor, Judge Benet, and a jury. The defendant, Marshall, in his testimony, says: No consideration whatever was given to me for signing that note that I gave to Stokes, nor for the $600. I owed Stokes nothing or Wise nothing. It was given for the sole purpose of having the prosecution stopped. That certificate was given to prevent this new warrant or this new arrest. Nothing was said about any consideration whatever from Foster Marshall, nothing was said — this was entirely an after matter— Mr. Toumans: We object. Witness (continuing): Given six months after. Q. (By Mr. Muller): To whom did you give that? A. To Foster Marshall. Q. Why? A. For the purpose of preventing his being arrested. These people thought this not e was not going to be paid, and I wanted to show them that it would be paid — to prevent his second arrest; as soon as his second arrest, I said I wouldn’t pay that note. I would have paid that note, no matter what it was, if he had not been arrested the second time; it was because they broke their promise and faith with me, and had him arrested. * * * Q. (By Mr. Muller): Was there any other reason why you signed that certificate to J. Foster Marshall besides to prevent another arrest of your brother? A. To prevent his being arrested and to let these people know that I would pay the note. I presumed they didn’t think that note would be paid; if he hadn’t been arrested, I would have paid the note. I don’t know of anything else.
The jury rendered a verdict in favor of the defendant. The plaintiff appealed upon numerous exceptions, which will be set out in the report of the case.
The general proposition that an endorsee of a negotiable promissory note after maturity, takes it subject to all equities existing between the original parties to the note, is not questioned; but it is contended that the defendant is estopped, by reason of the fact that J. Foster Marshall, to whom the defendant had delivered the receipt and certificate hereinbefore men
A note given by a third person as compensation for the civil injury in a case of this kind is without consideration. In the case of Williams v. Walker, supra, the court says: “But where a note is given by a person not liable for the damages sustained by the party injured, for the purpose of stopping a prosecution even for assault and battery, it will be held void, as based upon an illegal consideration, because in such a case the consideration cannot be referred to the compensation due by the one to the other, for there is nothing due in such a case from the maker to the payee of the note, and the consideration must be referred to the stopping of the prosecution, and is, therefore, illegal. These views are fully supported by the following-cases: Corley v. Williams, 1 Bail., 588; Mathison v. Hanks, 2 Hill, 625; Banks v. Searles, 2 McMull., 356; Gray v. Seigler, 2 Strob., 117.” See, also, Hearst v. Sybert, Cheves, 177. The case of
It does not appear that the plaintiff made any inquiry as to the consideration of the note, although he had ample opportunity to do so. There were facts and circumstances sufficient to put him on inquiry, and his failure to fiud out the facts in the case must be attributable to his own negligence. He should have inquired why J. Q. Marshall, a third party, living in South Carolina, gave a note to settle demands of certain persons in Missouri against J. Foster Marshall. He cannot insist that he was misled by the statement in the certificate that J. Foster Marshall had conveyed his interest in real estate in Columbia for the purpose of securing the defendant for money advanced, as it is not contended that this statement is untrue. This court is, therefore, in view of all the foregoing facts and circumstances, of the opinion that the defendant could set up his defence against Groesbeck, the plaintiff.
We will next consider whether parol evidence was admissible to show the illegality or failure of consideration of the note.
Although we have not considered the exceptions in detail, we have endeavored to decide all questions properly arising under them.