Troxell v. Malin
Troxell v. Malin
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The defendants set up several grounds of defense, the principal ones being, (1) that the note in suit was given in part payment for a patent right, of which fact, the plaintiff had full knowledge at the time he received it; (2) that the plaintiff was not a bona fide holder for value, but was merely allowing the use of his name, for the benefit of the payee; (3) failure of all consideration, in that the inducing cause for giving the note was a promise made by the payee, which had not been in any
An allegation of fraud opens a wide door to the admission of evidence. In Stauffer v. Young, 39 Pa. 455, the reason of the rule was fully and clearly stated; “the meaning of the maxim that great liberality of evidence is to be allowed in the trial of questions of fraud, is that every circumstance in the condition and relation of the parties, and every act and declaration of the person charged with the fraud shall be competent evidence, if in the opinion of the judicial mind it bears such a relation to the transaction under investigation as in its nature is calculated to persuade the jury that the allegation of fraud is or is not well founded: ” Glessner v. Patterson, 164 Pa. 224; and, the order in which the testimony is received is largely within the discretion of the trial judge: Amrhein v. Clausin,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- I. S. Troxell v. C. H. Malin, Nathan Supplee and Wm. C. Bevan
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Promissory note — Fraud—Failure of consideration — Equities affecting indorsee. In a suit oil a promissory note brought by the indorsee against the makers, the defense alleged that the note was “ given.for a patent right,” these wordshaving been inadvertently omitted; that the ¿ilaintiff had full knowledge of the fact; that the plaintiff was not a bona fide holder for value and that there had been a failure of all consideration. Held, that, the evidence being contradictory, the credibility of the witnesses was wholly for the jury and the verdict determines the truthfulness of the defense, and that in making the indorsee a mere accomplice of the payee the defendants could avail themselves of any defense that could have been asserted if the suit had been brought by the payee. Evidence — Latitude on allegations of fraud. An allegation of fraud opens a wide door to the admission of evidence; every circumstance in the condition and relation of the parties, every act and declaration of the person charged with fraud, is competent evidence, if in the opinion of the judicial mind it bears such a relation to the transaction under investigation as in its nature is calculated to persuade the jury that the allegation of fraud is or is not well founded. Promissory note — Omission of words “ given for patent right ” — Defense against third party. If the words “ given for a patent right” are omitted from a promissory note by fraud or mistake the note is open to the same defenses in the hands of a third party taking same with notice of the facts as if it were in the hands of the original owner. Evidence — Credibility a question for the jury. The credibility of á witness is for the jury and they are not bound to accept his statements because he is unimpeached and uncontradicted by other witnesses.