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14 Johns. 177

Douglass v. Clark

New York Supreme Court

Decided May 15, 1817

New York Supreme Court · decided 1817-05-15

THIS was an actioníóf debt on bond. The condition of the bond, as set forth in the oyer, was as follows“ Whereas the said Zebulon (the plaintiff) and Levi Rice, heretofore executed their bond to the United States, conditioned to pay the collecof the twentieth collection district of the state of New-York, the amount of duty payable by the said Levi Rice, by virtue of the act of congress of the United Slates, passed the 24th day of July, 1813, entitled an act, laying duties on…

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1817-05-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 6 later decisions — most recently December 1861

4 state decisions

20181718201830184018501860decided

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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Per Curiam.

¶1Whether this plea be good or not will depend upon what is to be deemed the true construction of this bond. If the defendant is to be considered as undertaking to pay off and discharge the recited bond, the plea is bad •, but if it .be considered a bond of indemnity, and to save the plaintiff harmless from all damages, by reason of the recited bond, the plea, is good. (1 Saund. 117. n. 1. 1 Bos. and Pull. 688.) We are inclined to think the good sense and sound interpretation of the bond is according to the latter construction, and that the words, “ pay off and discharge” were thrown in, without being understood to require the defendant actually to pay off such bond.

¶2This construction is much strengthened by th&,circumstance, that it appears from the recited bond that the dSfelskti&t was not the person who was to pay the duties. They were due from JSicc, with whom the plaintiff was bound. We are accordingly of opinion, that the defendant is entitled to judgment on the demurrer.

¶3Judgment for the defendant.

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