McCarteney v. Wyoming National Bank
McCarteney v. Wyoming National Bank
Opinion of the Court
By the Court,
The plaintiff below, who is also the plaintiff in error in this court, filed her petition in the court below, setting forth substantially the following facts: That on the tenth day of November, A. D. 1874, the said defendants, A. G. Swain and George Little, were' copartners, doing business under the firm name and style of Swain & Little, at Laramie city, county of Albany, Wyoming territory, and while so copartners and doing business as afore.said, did on said tenth day of November, 1874, at said Laramie city and county of Albany, and territory aforesaid, make their certain promissory note in writing, dated on said, day, and did deliver the same to said plaintiff, by which said note the said Swain & Little did promise to pay to the said plaintiff, or her order, the sum of three hundred and twenty-five dollars, six months after the date thereof, with-
The petition further avers, that the contract mentioned as aforesaid was signed and fully executed by the said A. G. Swain, of the first part, and by the Wyoming National Bank, aforesaid, (a corporation duly organized under the laws of the United States and doing business under the said corporate name in the county and territory aforesaid), and by divers other creditors of said Swain & Little and the said A. G. Swain, of the second part. The petition further avers, that all of the parties of the second part who
The petition further alleges, that immediately after the execution of the contract aforesaid, to wit, on or about the twenty-seventh day of January, A. D. 1875, according to one of the provisions of said contract, one N. L. Andrews took nominal possession of the store of said Swain as the agent of the defendants, and did remain in nominal possession of all the goods, wares and merchandise therein for the space of thirty days; that said Swain failed during that time to effect a compromise with his said creditors and the creditors of Swain and Little, and thereupon turned over to said Andrew's, as the agent of said defendants, all the goods, wares, merchandise, moneys, credits, book accounts, and effects of said A. Gr. Swain, amounting to -dollars; and that said Andrews took possession of the same as the agent of the creditors of defendants; and further, that the effects so turned over to said Andrews were more than sufficient to pay all the' preferred creditors mentioned in said contract, leaving a large sum to be divided among other creditors of said Swain & Little; that the effects thus turned over have long since been converted into money and divided among several creditors of the said Swain and Swain & Little; but that no part of the claim of the plaintiff has ever been paid, either to her or to any one for her, by the said defendants. A copy of the note and contract aforesaid are filed with the plaintiff’s petition.
1. That there is a misjoinder of parties defendants.
2. That several causes of action have been improperly united.
3. That the petition does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against the defendants.
The court below sustained the demurrer to the plaintiff’s petition, and this case is brought here for review. We will examine the first cause of demurrer assigned, and inquire, first, is there a misjoinder of parties defendants in this action ? It is important to bear in mind that there is an action of assumpsit brought by the plaintiff to recover the amount of a note executed, not by the defendant, but by the firm of Swain & Little, to the plaintiff. Like all actions of assumpsit, it is based upon a promise. It is alleged in the plaintiff’s petition that according to the terms of a certain agreement entered into between A. G. Swain, of the first part, and the Wyoming National Bank and other creditors of Swain & Little, and A. G. Swain, of the second part, one Andrews should convert certain goods, wares and merchandise, the property of the said A. G. Swain, into cash, and out of the proceeds thereof pay and discharge the note held by the plaintiff against the firm of Swain & Little. The contract filed with the plaintiff’s petition shows conclusively, if it shows anything, that it was a co'ntract entered into by Swain, a party of the first part, and the bank and other creditors of A. G. Swain and Swain & Little, as parties of the second part; and if any promise was made to pay the debt of the plaintiff, it was made by the parties of the second part to Swain, not by Swain. We are, therefore, of opinion that there is a misjoinder of parties defendants in this action, in making Swain a party defendant; and where such is the case, under the compiled laws of this territory a demurrer will lie: See Compiled Laws, 44, sec. 85.
Did the plaintiff forbear to proceed to collect by law the amount of her claim against Swain and Little, as she alleges she did? If so that was her own concern; as she was under no obligation to the defendant not to do so. We are unable to see that there is any consideration between the plaintiff
Counsel for the plaintiff in error, in their argument before this court, also assumed the position that, according to the legal effect of the agreement heretofore referred to, the defendant in error agreed with or promised Swain to pay the claim of the plaintiff. We find it extremely difficult to see upon what principle such an assumption can be sustained. The contract upon which such a promise is based forbids such a conclusion. It is well settled that in no ease can a stranger to a contract maintain an action upon it, or for the breach of it; save in the exceptional cases where the promissee was considered merely the agent for the stranger and where the stranger was regarded as the trustee of the party to whom the promise is made: Par. on Con. 5 Ed. 466-8.
At all events as the promise in this case alleged were under seal, then all the authorities seem to agree that a stranger cannot maintain any action for a breach of the promises: Par. on Con. 5 Ed. 475, 478.
It seems to the court that there is no error in the judgment of the court below, and that it should be affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- McCARTENEY v. WYOMING NATIONAL BANK
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