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Keywords

contractplaintiffdefendantliabilitystatuteoverruled

contractplaintiffdefendantstatuteoverruled

Related Cases

Mayo v. Hutchinson, 57 Me. 546, 1870 WL 2926

Facts

The case arose from a promissory note for $169, which was signed by H. P. Hutchinson, C. E. Thayer, and a married woman. The note was indorsed in blank and was due sixty days from the date of signing. The presiding judge determined that the married woman was only a surety on the note and that the action could proceed against her under the relevant state statutes.

The case arose from a promissory note for $169, which was signed by H. P. Hutchinson, C. E. Thayer, and a married woman.

Issue

Is a contract of suretyship valid and binding on a married woman under the statutes of the state?

The presiding judge found that the second signer of the note was a married woman at the time she signed the note, and that she was only a surety on the note; and thereupon ruled, as matter of law, that the action was maintainable under the statutes of this State, both against the principal and surety; to which ruling the defendants alleged exceptions.

Rule

Under the statutes of the state, specifically an act approved on February 23, 1866, a married woman's contracts made for lawful purposes are valid and binding.

By an act approved Feb. 23, 1866, c. 52, “The contracts of any married woman, made for any lawful purpose, shall be valid and binding, and may be enforced in the same manner as if she were sole,” &c.

Analysis

The court applied the statute which states that contracts made by married women for lawful purposes are enforceable as if they were single. The court emphasized that a contract of suretyship is lawful and thus valid, regardless of the marital status of the signer. The judge noted that the married woman may have acted indiscreetly, but that did not absolve her of liability under the law.

A contract of suretyship is a lawful contract, and for a lawful purpose. It is valid and binding on a married woman. The married defendant may have been indiscreet in entering into it, but that is not the fault of the plaintiff.

Conclusion

The court overruled the exceptions raised by the defendants and ruled in favor of the plaintiff, affirming that the married woman was liable on the promissory note.

Exceptions overruled. Judgment for the plaintiff.

Who won?

The plaintiff prevailed in the case because the court upheld the validity of the contract of suretyship signed by the married woman under state law.

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