West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1906-04-05
POPULAR TALKS ON LAW
By William C. Sprasus, President
The Sprasue Correspondence
School Of Law.
ARTICLE TREATS ON CONTRACTS
No. Two-The Consideration to Support
q Contract. Which Must
Have Two Sides.
Copyrighted 1906.


have a consideration to support il
in order to BE- good In law in other
words, that every contract must
have two sides /; and the further
rule that the consideration, or that
which is agreed to be gwen for the
promise, must not be something
which the promisor is already
bound in law TO give, has frequent
application in cases of settlements
of existing debts. A owes me, we
will say, $500, and the debt is
overdue. l say to him, "Pay me
$3.50 now and / will release you
from the remainder of the debt. /"
He pays me $3.50, relying on my
promise. Am / bound in law to
release him from the remainder of
the debtS No, because the con.
sideration for my promise to release
him was his paying me $3.50, some
thing which he was already bound
in law to do. If, however, he had
agreed to do something more than
he was already bound to do, as for
instance, to pay $3.50 at some place
other than that provided in the
original contract, or 10 pay me
S45o and do some specified service,
then that which was agreed to be
done over and above the mere pay
ment of the $3.50 would be con-
sidered in the law a sufficient con-
sideration to support the agreement
to release the debtor from the re-
mainder of the debt.
1t is held, however, that il a man
owes me SIoo overdue, and / agree
to accept something other than
money, as, say, horse In full pay
ment, / cannot thereafter claim that
the horse was not SIoo, and that
therefore the debtor still owes me
the difference between the value of
the horse and the hundred dollars
on the ground of no consideration.
If one pays something other than
money, whatever its value, in full
satisfaction or his debt, and the
creditor accepts it, the debt is dis
charged as completely as if it had
been fully paid in money.
Then, too, if the debt is not yet
due, the creditors agreement to
accept part of it at once in full
discharge of the whole debt is good,
as in that case the consideration is
payment before the debt is due,
and that is a new consideration
something the debtor was not bound
to do.
Where the debt IS uncertain in
amount, or is in dispute, it is held
that promise to give a release on
the payment cf certain amount of
money is good, even although it
may be afterwards found that the
real amount due was more.
If creditor receives in full pay
ment from his debtor some obliga-
tion due the debtor from a third
person, the debt is discharged, even
although the transferred debt is
smaller than the one for which it is
given in payment.
II person to whom a debt IS
due agrees to accept a negotiable
promissory note for a less amount
than the debt and gives a discharge,
he is bound to do so, the theory
being that the advantage the
creditor gets from the note, it being
negotiable, is sufficient considera-
tion. 1t was held that a promise OF
extra pay TO sailors in consideration
OF their agreeing to finish a voyage
for which they had signed articles
was without consideration. So was
promise to pay a witness for at.
tendance at court more than the
fees prescribed by law. So was q
promise to reward an officer fol
srresting a criminal whom the duties
Of his Office required him to arrest.
The whole question as TO whether
or not promise to psy less thar
the whole debt will discharge tn,
debt on the payment Of the lesse
amount depends entirely upor
whether or not what is agreed to b,
done by the debtor is something
which in law he is already bounC
20 do. II there is anything to b.
given or to be done by him othe
than he is bound by law already L
do, there is sufficient consideration
for the promise to release, and tn,
promisor will be bound.
A promise made TO one in con
sideration Of his forbearing to su
is made on valid consideration.