Oswego Township v. Woodruff
Oswego Township v. Woodruff
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This action was brought by the defendants in error to recover the sum of $835.35, theretofore paid by them to the township of Oswego, in Labette county, on demand of its officers. The plaintiffs were sureties on the official bond of one John Blackburn, as treasurer of the said township for the year 1891. Blackburn was treasurer for the two succeeding terms, but it appears that he did not give an official bond during either of such terms. In February, 1894, his successor found that Blackburn was short in his
“Was the money, $835.35, paid by the plaintiffs herein to the defendants under an agreement between the plaintiffs and the then township officers that, if it should be determined that said plaintiffs were not legally chargeable with said sum, then defendant would reimburse or refund the said plaintiffs the sum thereof for which they were not legally chargeable?”
The defendant claimed that the only promise made to the plaintiffs was that if the defalcation should thereafter be found to be a less sum than that paid by them, the township should refund the excess so paid. The jury returned an affirmative answer to the foregoing question, and the court thereupon entered judgment in favor of the plaintiffs below in accordance with the prayer of the petition.
The evidence is conflicting in respect to the alleged agreement on the part of the township to refund. Woodruff, testifying on behalf of the plaintiffs, stated
The right of the plaintiffs below to recover depended on proof of the alleged promise to repay. The jury were authorized by the instructions to find for or against both or either of the plaintiffs. They saw the witnesses and heard them testify. They must have believed that Woodruff did speak for himself and Kabrey and that the payment made by them was upon the alleged condition. We cannot weigh the evidence. The jury has done that. There was some evidence tending to support the affirmative of the issue presented. The finding, having received the approval of the trial court, must under such circumstances be affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.