17 Mo. 399 | Mo. | 1853
delivered the opinion of the court.
At law, a technical release of one party to a contract, is a release of all. But in equity, a creditor may discharge ose surety without discharging the other. As in cases of joint suretyship, each surety is only bound for a rateable share of the debt, if the creditor discharges one surety, it will not prevent him from resorting to the other sureties for their proportions. He can by no act increase the liability of the surety, but in case of two sureties, he may forgive one his half of the debt and compel payment by the other of his share. As the failure by Bouton to sue one of the sureties, has discharged him, the other surety can only be made to pay the one half of the demand.
The other judges concurring, the judgment will be reversed and the cause remanded.