Harrington v. Hall
Harrington v. Hall
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was pronounced by
The facts in this case, upon which the judgment of the county court was rendered, and of which the plaintiff in error complains as erroneous, are found in the report of
Admitting the auditor erred in permitting Hodges to testify, this constitutes no sufficient reason for rejecting the report. Harrington, the defendant, presented no account against Hall; the auditing was confuted exclusively to the accounts of the latter.
If no charge or credit had been made of the 65 dollars, the balance of the account would have stood as it now stands. The credit and charge having been made by him at the same time, are to be taken together, and there is no principle upon which he can, by force of the account, be excluded from the benefit of the one, and made liable for the other.
If the credit is to avail the defendant, having been made in consideration of the debit, he ought to be subjected to the charge. Indeed, I can see no reason why the entries were made at all.
But, there is no rule of law by which Hodges ought to have been rejected as a witness; he is not incompetent by reason of interest, as that is balanced. If Joshua Harrington had paid to Hodges sixty-five dollars, in consideration that he would pay to Hall that sum on his account, he is liable to Harrington for his neglect or refusal. So, too, if Harrington had paid the amount to Hall for Hodges. If the sum is not paid by Harrington, Hodges is still liable to Hall.
The statement that Hodges and Harrington had settled all accounts, more than six years prior to the time of auditing this account, is unsupported by evidence, and merits no consideration.
Judgment of the county court affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Joshua Harrington, below v. Caleb Hall, below
- Status
- Published