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Little v. Rees

M. V. Little and another v. Ralph Rees

Little v. Rees, 26 N.W. 7 (Minn. 1885)
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Court
Supreme Court of Minnesota · State Highest Courts
Decided
November 21, 1885
Judges
Diokinson
Citations
26 N.W. 734 Minn. 2771885 Minn. LEXIS 218
Headnotes
Contract — Subsequent Modification — Mude Promise. — The rule that a mere naked promise is of no legal effect, applied in respect to such a promise made after a contract had been entered into, the same being relied upon as effecting a modification of the contract.
Summary
Appeal by defendant from a judgment of- the municipal court of Minneapolis.

Syllabus and headnotes are prepared by the reporter or publisher, not the court, and are not part of the opinion.

Opinion of the Court — Diokinson

Text extracted by OCR from a scanned original; check the original for exact wording.

DioKinson, J.

The court found the facts to be that the defendant contracted to pay the plaintiffs $200, ($50 of which was afterwards *278 remitted by tbe plaintiffs,) “if they would find some person with whom he could trade said lot for other property, defendant agreeing to make the trade himself if the proper person were produced by plaintiffs.” The finding is further to the following effect: The plaintiffs performed the prescribed condition on their part, by introducing to the defendant as a purchaser one Peake, with whom the defendant entered into a contract under seal for the conveyance of the land in exchange for certain other lands which Peake agreed to convey to the deferidant. After the terms of this contract had been agreed upon, and immediately before the written contract was executed, the plaintiffs “told defendant that they would not charge any commission for their services unless the trade went through and was consummated.” The court also finds, in terms, that “said trade was never consummated, and that the same failed through the fault of said Peake.” The obvious import of the statement that the trade was never consummated, is that the contract between the defendant and Peake was never performed.

The appellant contends that the judgment in favor of the plaintiffs is erroneous, for the reason that the contract was so modified that the plaintiffs’ right to compensation depended upon the performance of the contract made with Peake. The fact, however, of such a modification of the contract does not appear. It is not found by the court, nor does it follow as a legal result from what is found, viz., that the plaintiffs “told defendant” as above recited. This promise or statement was made after the contract had been entered into, and the plaintiffs, as is found, “had then done and completed all that was required of them under their contract with defendant.” So far as appears, the promise was a mere naked agreement without consideration, and could have no legal effect.

There is no merit in the point that the court found some facts not alleged in the pleadings.

Judgment affirmed.

How later courts describe this case

No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

1891: 11894: 11916: 11919: 11923: 21926: 11928: 11950: 118912026peak 1923 · 2

Relies on it most ⓘ

  1. Pond v. Anderson44 N.W.2d 372 (Iowa 1950)
  2. Pleasant v. Arizona Storage & Distributing Co.267 P. 794 (Ariz. 1928)
  3. William Weisman Realty Co. v. Cohen195 N.W. 898 (Minn. 1923)
  4. Westfall v. Ellis170 N.W. 339 (Minn. 1919)
  5. In re American Range & Foundry Co.14 F.2d 466 (D. Minnesota 1926)
  6. Titus v. Whiteside228 F. 965 (N.D. Cal. 1916)

Most recent

  1. Pond v. Anderson44 N.W.2d 372 (Iowa 1950)
  2. Pleasant v. Arizona Storage & Distributing Co.267 P. 794 (Ariz. 1928)
  3. In re American Range & Foundry Co.14 F.2d 466 (D. Minnesota 1926)
  4. William Weisman Realty Co. v. Cohen195 N.W. 898 (Minn. 1923)
  5. United Sales Agency v. Luck Land Co.191 N.W. 897 (Minn. 1923)
  6. Westfall v. Ellis170 N.W. 339 (Minn. 1919)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 0

No citations to other opinions in this database were found.

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