Supreme Court of the United States
The United States, Plaintiffs in Error v. Jacob and Isaac Leffler
February 10, 183736 U.S. 86
Summary
The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s admission of the deposition of Salathiel Curtis, the principal obligor, as evidence for the defendants. It held that the rule excluding a party’s testimony to invalidate a negotiable instrument does not apply to a bond, and that Curtis, having been severed from the record by a separate judgment, was not a party whose testimony was barred. The Court also rejected the plaintiffs’ attempt to reverse the judgment against Curtis.
Holding
- Whether a party to a bond may testify to invalidate the bond under the rule applied to negotiable instruments. The rule excluding a party’s testimony to invalidate a negotiable instrument does not extend to a bond; therefore the deposition was admissible.
- Whether the witness’s interest as a principal obligor makes him incompetent to testify. The witness was not incompetent because his interest as a principal obligor had been eliminated by the prior judgment, execution, and release by the sureties.
- Whether a principal obligor who has had a separate judgment entered against him remains a party to the record for competency purposes. Curtis was severed from the record and no longer a party, so his testimony was not barred by the party‑witness rule.
- Whether the judgment against the principal obligor may be reversed on error after execution and discharge. The judgment against Curtis could not be reversed; it was final, executed, and barred by lapse of time and the insolvency law.
Cited by
- Seth E. Pecker v. John H. Sawyer
- Continental State Bank of Petrolia v. Waggoner
- Goodwin versus Chadwick
- Wilson v. the Hartford Fire Insurance Company
- Estate of Frank Hagenlocher, William Hagenlocher v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- Zachariah M. Winkler v. Amos Scudder
- Wilt versus Snyder
- F. J. Hills v. J. E. Brown