Swanson v. Griffin
Swanson v. Griffin
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The verdict and judgment in this cause should have been for the plaintiff.
The court erroneously instructed the jury for the defendant, but even under the instructions as given, and accepting as true the defendant’s own testimony, the jury should have returned a verdict against him for the amount demanded in the suit.
There is no controversy about the material facts, which are that the defendant had sexual intercourse with the infant unmarried daughter of the plaintiff, and that she became pregnant and gave birth to an illegitimate child; that the plaintiff threatened legal proceedings against defendant, and that he executed his written agreement for the payment of five hundred dollars in satisfaction of the plaintiff’s demand. The defendant explains as his motive in executing the writing that he desired the knowledge of his conduct to be concealed from his family and church, and, since the facts have become known, he considers that a failure of considera
The court should have rejected the instructions asked by the defendant and should have sustained the plaintiff’s motion for a new trial. The first instruction given for the defendant is correct as an abstract proposition, but was wholly inapplicable to any phase of the ease being tried and could only serve to confuse the jury. The second and fifth instructions erroneously told the jury that the defendant was not liable on his promise to the father, if another person had before the defendant’s debauchment of the infant daughter, had intercourse with her. The third instruction finds no support in the facts, even accepting the defendant’s statement of them. The sixth instruction imputes to the plaintiff the defendant’s purpose in giving the promise to pay, and permitted the jury, against the proved facts, to infer that past cohabitation was the consideration of the promise, instead of the legal liability of the defendant to respond to the plaintiff for the consequences of such past cohabitation, the pregnancy of the daughter. The seventh instruction is opposed to the well-settled rule that the compromise of a doubtful claim is a sufficient consideration for a promise to pay money, and devolved on the plaintiff the burden of proving beyond doubt the validity of the original claim. The uniform current of authority is to the contrary. 3 Am. & Eng. Ency. of Law, 837, note 1; Gunning v. Royal, 59 Miss. 45.
The judgment is reversed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Charles Swanson v. Gus Griffin
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1.. Contract. Consideration. Past illicit intercourse. Compromise. In an action upon a note giren to prevent legal proceedings against defendant for his admitted sexual intercourse with plaintiff’s infant unmarried daughter, whereby she became pregnant (afterwards giving birth to a child), it is no defense that the motive in giving the note was to have defendant’s conduct concealed from his family and church, and, the matter having become public, a failure of consideration intervened. 2. Same. Defense. Previous unchaste character. Defendant’s liability on such note is not affected by proof of the unchastity of plaintiff’s daughter previous to defendant’s connection with her. 3. Consideration. Compromise of doubtful claim. Burden of proof. It is sufficient consideration for a note that it was given in compromise of a doubtful claim, and in an action thereon it does not devolve on plaintiff to prove the validity of his original claim.