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166 Mass. 263

Way v. Dunham

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · decided 1896-05-25

<p>Promissory Note — Forbearance to Sue.</p> <p>Mere indulgence or delay on the part of the holder of a promissory note towards the payee and indorser in enforcing payment does not discharge him.</p>

Relies on Wilson v. Powers · Haydenville Savings Bank v. Parsons · Allen v. Brown

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1896-05-25

How this case has been cited

Cited by 6 later decisions — most recently June 1968

6 state decisions

3018961900191019201930194019501960decided

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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Morton, J.

¶1Mere indulgence or delay on the part of the plaintiff towards the principal debtor in enforcing payment did not discharge the defendant. Wilson v. Foot, 11 Met. 285. Agricultural Bank v. Bishop, 6 Gray, 317. Allen v. Brown, 124 Mass. 77. Wilson v. Powers, 130 Mass. 127. Haydenville Savings Bank v. Parsons, 138 Mass. 53. To discharge the defendant there must have been a valid agreement between the plaintiff and the debtor to extend the time or vary the .contract, or the defendant must have been led by the representations of the plaintiff to change his situation, either, for instance, by surrendering security or forbearing to take security, or otherwise to his loss. Wilson v. Foot, Agricultural Bank v. Bishop, Allen v. Brown, and Wilson v. Powers, ubi supra. Harris v. Brooks, 21 Pick. 195. Carpenter v. King, 9 Met. 511.

¶2The evidence falls far short of disclosing such a state of things.

¶3 Exceptions overruled.

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