account stated
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 291 U.S. 54 - Stearns Co of Boston Mass v. United States · 1934Most cited · 838 citing opinions
A balance must have been struck in such circumstances as to import a promise of payment on the one side and acceptance on the other
How the Supreme Court has restated “account stated”
Each Supreme Court definition of “account stated,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “account stated”
Court decisions citing the 5 opinions that defined “account stated” — 1,257 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 5 definitions, chronological · 1869–1941
- ORIGINAL
When the account is admitted in evidence as a stated one, the burden of showing its incorrectness is thrown upon the other party. He may prove fraud, omission, or mistake, and in these respects he is in no wise concluded by the admission implied from his silence after it was rendered.
No balance was arrived at as the result of computation and agreement. The Commissioner did not inform the taxpayer that the tax had been overpaid in a determinate amount. The taxpayer did not give assent either expressly or by silence to the outcome of the audit. The essentials of an account stated in any strict or proper sense are lacking altogether.
To constitute an account stated there must be an agreement as to liability and the amount due.
To establish an account stated, respondent must show that a balance was struck 'in such circumstances as to import a promise of payment on the one side and acceptance on the other