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21 Ark. 521

Wiggins v. Fisher

Supreme Court of Arkansas

Decided October 15, 1860

Supreme Court of Arkansas · decided 1860-10-15

Hon. John C. Murray, Circuit Judge. There is no such denial of payment to Kirkpatrick as the law requires. The negative is limited to the plaintiff, and it is evident that the breach is insufficient. 13 Ark. 326; 1 Ch. Pl. 278, 291, 392. The bond granted on oyer is entirely different from the one set out in the declaration — shows a different cause of action. The variance, therefore, is fatal. 1 Ch. PL 338, et seq. .

Decided 1860-10-15

Mr. Justice Compton

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2The action in this case was brought by Fisher, as internal improvement commissioner, against Wiggins and others, on a penal bond, conditioned for the payment of seven hundred dollars, payable to Kirkpatrick, who was the plaintiff’s predecessor in office.

¶3In the Circuit Court a demurrer to the declaration was overruled, and the. defendants saying nothing further, final judgment was rendered against them.

¶4The first cause of demurrer assigned is, that the breach in the declaration is too narrow, inasmuch as it does not negative the payment oí the money to Kirkpatrick. It is true that the declaration concludes with a breach negativing the payment of the money to the plaintiff only, but then in that part of the declaration which contains a statement of the cause of action, the payment oí the money to Kirkpatrick, before he transferred the bond to plaintiff as his successor in office, is expressly and distinctly negatived. This, according to the most approved precedents, was sufficient.

¶5The second and only remaining cause of demurrer assigned, is an alleged variance.

¶6The bond, as described in the declaration, is conditioned for the payment of seven hundred dollars, and as read on oyer, is conditioned for the payment of the same amount, with a credit endorsed thereon, as follows:

“ Received on the within note one hundred dollars, there not being but six hundred dollars in my hands to loan. January, 1st, 1856. J. W. M. KIRKPATRICK.”

¶7Although this endorsement would be evidence in ascertaining the amount recoverable on the bond, yet in legal contemplation it wa3 no part of the bond, and the pleader properly disregarded it as such.

¶8Let the. judgment be affirmed with ten per cent, damages and costs.

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