Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

1 Cal. Dist. Ct. 112

Haskell v. Cornish

California District Court

Decided June 15, 1857

California District Court · decided 1857-06-15

This is an action on three promissory notes, each being in the words following: San Francisco, April 5th, 1855 : Eight months after date, we, the undersigned, Trustees of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, in behalf of the whole board of Trustees of said association, promise to pay to Darius Stokes, or order, four hundred and ninety eight dollars and seventy-five cents, with interest at three per cent, per month, until paid, for value received by said association.

Decided 1857-06-15

Norton, J.

¶1,In the- charge to the Jury, instructed them that these notes, as drawn, could not be enforced against the church property. They were given on behalf of the trustees, without any apparent authority so to raise the money. It seemed a common occurrence for notes of this kind to be made when a few persons get together to start a church, and the authorities vary as to the extent of liability of their makers. It depends altogether on the manner they were worded. If plaintiff purchased the notes in the ordinary course of business, before they became due, and not after, he was entitled to recover against third parties. If the Jury believed they were intended to be, and were executed as the notes of defendants, the plaintiff was also entitled to recover.

¶2Verdict for plaintiff.

/1/caldistct/112 · .json · Public domain