A liability arose on a joint and several promissory note, where it was clear that one of the two parties (C) was the principal debtor and the other (S) was, as between them, in the position of a guarantor. The note did not comply with the 1927 Act. Unaware of this, S paid what C had failed to pay, and claimed that amount from C’s estate after his death. The defendant sought to avoid liability because of the non-compliance with the 1927 Act, arguing against S that C’s implicit request to him was not ‘Please pay if I do not’ but rather ‘Please pay whatever sum, if any, I am liable to pay under the contract, but do not pay’.
Held: The argument was rejected: ‘the simple implication which arises here is a request by [C] to pay if he, [C], does not pay’.
Judges:
Greene MR
Citations:
[1938] Ch 13
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Helpful – Alexander v Vane 1836
The Plaintiff had given an oral guarantee to P that the Defendant would pay for certain goods ordered by him from P: if the Defendant did not pay P for the goods, he (the Plaintiff) would do so. The Defendant did not pay the full amount due and the . .
Distinguished – Sleigh v Sleigh 1850
The court considered a claim for an indemnity under a bill of exchange which was said to be unenforceable. . .
Cited by:
Cited – Scottish and Newcastle Plc v Raguz CA 6-Mar-2007
The claimant was the original tenant under two 99 year underleases granted in 1967, and assigned them to the defendant who then himself assigned them. The eventual assignee had become insolvent. The landlord recovered the rents from the claimant who . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contract
Updated: 07 May 2022; Ref: scu.249880