Lackaff v. Hinz
Lackaff v. Hinz
Opinion of the Court
This is an action upon a promissory note, executed and delivered by the defendant to the plaintiff on December 23, 1908. The defense is that the note was executed without lawful consideration therefor, in that it was executed in payment of the purchase price of intoxicating liquor sold to a minor, in violation of Rem. & Bal. Code, § 2963, then in force. The trial was before the court without a jury. Judgment being rendered in favor of the plaintiff, the defendant has appealed. The controlling facts are not in dispute.
On December 23, 1908, one William Smiley was a minor, of the age of twenty years and nine months. For some time prior thereto, he had been conducting a retail liquor business at Camas, in Clarke county, under the required local and Federal licenses. While engaged in that business, he purchased and received from respondent intoxicating liquors, aggregating in value the sum of $314.60, which sum was unpaid on December 23, 1908. Some two or three weeks prior thereto, he failed in his business and left the state. His father, A. Smiley, then took charge of the business and proceeded to settle with the creditors. The authority of the father to so act is not ques
Proceeding upon the theory that the note here sued upon was given in payment of the liquor sold by appellant to the minor, William Smiley, and that such sale was in violation of law, it is contended by counsel for appellant that the note is without lawful consideration. This contention is rested upon the general rule that such a sale of liquor does not constitute a lawful consideration supporting and rendering binding the debt so attempted to be created, even though evidenced by a promissory note; citing 23 Cyc. 339 and other authorities. The fallacy of this contention, it seems to us, is found in the fact that the consideration, the lawfulness of which is here involved, is the consideration moving from William Smiley, the owner of the business, to appellant Hinz, who gave the note in part payment of the business of William Smiley. Clearly this was not an unlawful consideration. Suppose the note had been given by appellant to William Smiley direct, in part payment of the purchase price of the business. Wherein would there have been any want of lawful consideration? We know of no law or rule of public policy preventing property of a minor, .even though it happens to be intoxicating liquor, being sold; other than as such sales may be subj ect to license and revenue laws. We are quite unable to see any legal ground, and none
The judgment is affirmed.
Chow, C. J., Mount, Gose, and Chadwick, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- F. J. Lackaff v. P. Hinz
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- Syllabus
- Bills and Notes — Consideration—Validity. The validity of the consideration for a note given in part payment of the purchase of a liquor business that had been conducted by a minor, is not affected by the fact that the note was issued by the minor to pay the purchase price, of intoxicating liquor sold to him in violation of law.