86 N.Y.S. 267 | N.Y. App. Term. | 1904
The plaintiff, a physician, alleges that he rendered professional services, both medical and surgical, to one Mary E. Moore, for injuries received by her through the negligence of the
“R. R. Billington Esq,
“Dear sir.
“Yon are hereby authorized to pay Dr. Laffin his fee out of any amount you may be able to realize out of my suit against the Railroad Company,
“Mary E. Moore.
“I hereby agree to pay Dr. Laffin 10 per cent of any amount that Mrs. Moore may realize out of the above mentioned suit, fee for his professional services.
“R. R. Billington, Attorney for Mrs. Moore.”
The defendant, who, by his answer, as by his motion, urged the illegality and invalidity of the agreement by himself and by one in part associated with him, testified that the plaintiff stated that he would not say anything about the facts of the case; that he could tell the truth in such a way that it would ruin the case; that “if you don’t sign the contract, it is all up”; the Metropolitan Street Railway Company had offered him pay for his services, and he would go over to them; that another doctor, his assistant, would do whatever he did; and that the defendant herein offered to pay him a reasonable sum for his services as an expert if he were called as such, and finally “I said to Doctor Eaffin, suppose the attorney on the other side asks you on the stand what you are getting for testifying here, you will, have to tell him you are going to get 10% of the verdict. He said, T will say I have no contract, but,’ he said, ‘to avoid that, you sign the contract, and leave it with my attorney, and I won’t see it,’ and he absolutely refused to go on the stand and testify unless I did that, and I finally sent down to Mr. Burt, and had the. paper put in an envelope and sealed, and left it with him.” This was denied in part on the rebuttal, but upon the character of the testi
“Unless the rule is that every agreement made by a third person to furnish evidence in a litigation for compensation contingent upon the event is illegal. I find no authority for so extensive a proposition. In Stanley v. Jones, 7 Bing. 369, it was held that an agreement made by a third person to communicate to a person claiming to have been defrauded such information as should enable him to recover damages for the fraud, and to exert his influence to procure evidence to substantiate the claim, upon condition of receiving a portion of the sum recovered, was illegal. In that case the person making the agreement to communicate the information was entire stranger in interest to the proposed litigation, and professed to have knowledge of facts of importance to the party, but wliich he did not disclose.” Tindal, O. J., said that “such an_ agreement was illegal from its manifest tendency to pervert justice, and we” fully assent to the decision in that case. An agreement by a stranger to furnish evidence to substantiate a claim or defense for a compensation depending upon the success of his efforts is dangerous in its tendency, as furnishing an inducement for perjury and the subornation of witnesses.”
Useful in the same direction is Lyon v. Hussey, 82 Hun, 15, 31 N. Y. Supp. 281. The judgment rendered herein must be affirmed, with costs.
Judgment affirmed, with costs. All concur.