The plaintiff and defendant were directors of an insurance company. The board resolved to rent a house from Mr Chadwick for one year. A memorandum of agreement was prepared and agreed, but it was never signed. The memorandum recorded an agreement to let the house to the directors personally. Mr Chadwick then sued for one year’s use and occupation and sought to rely on the memorandum. Mr Clarke objected that it was inadmissible, because it had not been stamped. The objection succeeded, and Mr Chadwick was non-suited.
Held: The Court of Common Pleas upheld the objection. A provision in the Stamp Act which required the stamping of: ‘any agreement, or any minute or memorandum of an agreement, made in England, under hand only, or made in Scotland, without any clause of registration.’ Coltman J: ‘One argument that has been urged on the part of the plaintiff is that no document can require a stamp unless it be signed, the words of the stamp act imposing a duty upon ‘any agreement, or any memorandum of an agreement, made in England, under hand only.’ It appears to me, however, that that is not the meaning of the statute, but that the legislature, in using that expression, merely intended to denote instruments under hand only – that is, not under seal, – in opposition to instruments under seal. The words that follow, ‘or made in Scotland, without any clause of registration’ shew this to be the true construction – an instrument with a clause of registration, in that country, having the same force as an instrument under seal with us.’
Judges:
Coltman J, Tindal CJ
Citations:
(1845) 1 CB 700
Cited by:
Cited – Trustee Solutions Ltd and others v Dubery and Another ChD 21-Jun-2006
The rules of a pensions scheme were altered. It was required that any such alteration be in writing, but the trustees had not signed the document creating the amendment.
Held: The words ‘writing under hand’ clearly required a signature, and . .
Cited – Trustee Solutions Ltd and others v Dubery and Another ChD 21-Jun-2006
The rules of a pensions scheme were altered. It was required that any such alteration be in writing, but the trustees had not signed the document creating the amendment.
Held: The words ‘writing under hand’ clearly required a signature, and . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contract
Updated: 07 May 2022; Ref: scu.244447