Knoles v. Hill

Decided January 15, 1861

Illinois Supreme Court · decided 1861-01-15

This was an action commenced in the probate court of Menard county, and taken by appeal to the Circuit Court. It was in assumpsit on a note signed by the plaintiffs in error. The note was drawn in the usual manner for twelve hundred dollars, to bear ten per cent, interest. On the same paper, below and apart from the signatures, was this memorandum: “When due to draw fifteen per cent.” The judgment was for the plaintiff below.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1861-01-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently April 1929

3 state decisions

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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Breese, J.

¶1The memorandum on the note below the date and signatures, and made by the payee, is no part of the note. It is wholly meaningless — “ when due to draw fifteen per cent.” No one can say that fifteen per cent, per annum was reserved, even if it was shown the memorandum was placed there by the parties. There is no proof whatever that the memorandum was made at the time the note was made, or was signed by the parties as a part of the contract. The note is complete without it, and bears interest at ten per cent, from its date. There is no proof whatever of usury, none of a corrupt agreement to reserve more than ten per cent, on the indebtedness.

¶2The judgment for the interest as computed at ten per cent, is correct, and is affirmed.

¶3Judgment affirmed.