Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

1 S.C.L. 480

Rouple v. M'Carty

Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas · decided 1795-05-15

THIS was a special action on the case, for selling an unsound negro female slave. The evidence was extremely doubtful, whether the unsoundness stated, was the effect of disease before or after the sale.

Decided 1795-05-15

The Court,(present Waties and Bay, Justices,)

¶1therefore, took this opportunity of mentioning that these kind of actions had become very frequent of late ; as it often happened that as soon as a purchaser got tired or disappointed in a bargain, he would then set up a pretext of this kind for recovering back his money. That juries had been very much in the habits of giving in such verdicts as had a tendency to rescind sales entirely, instead of making a reasonable abatement in the price so as to do justice to both *481parties, without setting aside a bargain. They, therefore, recommended to the jury to consider seriously of this case, and not to slide too easily into a practice that really rendered almost all sales uncertain. They further laid it down as a good general rule, that wherever the case was a doubtful one, as the present, it was better to support contracts, than to vitiate, or set them aside.

¶2Verdict for defendant.

/1/scl/480 · .json · Public domain