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17 Ill. 371

Simons v. Waterman

Illinois Supreme Court

Decided June 15, 1856

Illinois Supreme Court · decided 1856-06-15

This suit was originally commenced before a justice of the peace in Kane county, by the defendant in error against the plaintiff in error, and judgment entered in favor of the defendant in error for $88.46, from which an appeal was taken to the Circuit Court of said Kane county. The venue was changed to DeKalb county.

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Decided 1856-06-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently February 1961

3 state decisions

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Skinner, J.

¶1This action was commenced before a justice of the peace and appealed to the Circuit Court, where judgment was rendered for the plaintiff.

¶2On the trial the plaintiff read in evidence two promissory notes executed by the defendant—one payable to “ J. S. and J. C. Waterman,” and assigned by them to “ J. S. Waterman;” the other payable to “ J. S. Waterman.”

¶3The defendant offered to prove that the name of the plaintiff was “John C. Waterman,” and that “J. S. Waterman,” to whom one of the notes was made and the other assigned, was ■“James S. Waterman.” The plaintiff objected, and the court sustained the objection.

¶4If the evidence tended to prove that the plaintiff, by whatever -name he sued, was not the real person holding the legal interest in the notes sued on, then the evidence was improperly excluded. And if the plaintiff, who sued by the name of John S. Waterman, was in fact John G. Waterman, and that James S. Waterman, who of necessity was somebody else, was the person holding the legal title to the notes, then it would follow that the plaintiff had no right of action.

¶5The evidence, as we understand the record, tended to prove that the plaintiff was not the person having the right of action .upon the notes, and therefore improperly excluded.

¶6Judgment reversed and cause remanded.

¶7Judgment reversed.

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