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13 Vt. 50

Scott v. Hoxsie

Supreme Court of Vermont

Decided January 15, 1841

Supreme Court of Vermont · decided 1841-01-15

This was an action of book account. Judgment to account having been rendered by the county court, auditors were appointed, who afterwards reported a balance in favor of the defendant of one dollar and thirty-five cents. The auditors further reported that they had allowed the ninth and tenth items of the defendant’s account, subject to the opinion of the court upon the following statement of facts.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1841-01-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently September 1939

2 state decisions

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Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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¶1The opinion of the court was delivered by

Bennett, J.

¶2This case comes before us upon exceptions to the opinion of the county court in rendering judgment for the defendant upon the report of the auditors.

¶3The only question which arises is on the two items in the defendant’s account, numbered nine and ten. In regard to these two items, the auditors report that Scott had been en*53gaged as an attorney to institute two certain suits for the individuals named in the report, and that having commenced them, he engaged the defendant to assist him, and' that the defendant rendered the services and was employed by no one _ except the plaintiff. Though the auditors do not find an express promise on the part of Scott to pay the defendant for these services, yet, they allow them upon the ground of an implied promise. The services were rendered at the express request of Scott, and he did not profess to employ the defendant in behalf of his clients ; and, indeed, it does not appear that he had any authority so to do. Besides the auditors report expressly negatives the fact. that the defendant was employed by them. No express promise, as has been urged, could be necessary to charge the defendant. The plaintiff acted upon his individual responsibility, and was the only person who did ever employ the defendant. The auditors were fully justified in finding an implied promise, under the circumstance of this case, from the express request of the plaintiff to perform the services. Such a request is as obligatory upon the party as an express promise.

¶4The judgment of the county court is affirmed.

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