Case Name: Inhabitants of Mercer versus Inhabitants of Bingham
Court: Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Jurisdiction: Maine
Decision Date: 1856
Citations: 42 Me. 289
Docket Number: 
Parties: Inhabitants of Mercer versus Inhabitants of Bingham.
Judges: Tenney, C. J., and Appleton, Cutting and Davis, J. J., concurred.
Reporter: Maine Reports
Volume: 42
Pages: 289–296

Head Matter:
COUNTY OF SOMERSET.
Inhabitants of Mercer versus Inhabitants of Bingham.
A. offered to be defaulted for a given sum, in the suit brought by B. against him, which offer B. accepted at a subsequent term. A. claimed costs from the date of the record of his offer upon the docket to the time of its acceptance.— Held, that A. was not entitled to costs, but that B. was entitled to them up to the date of the default.
In order to give the defendant, who has filed his offer to be defaulted, a right to costs under B. S. of 1841, c. 115, § 22, the plaintiff must, 1st, proceed to an actual trial, and 2d, fail to recover a “greater sum for his debt or damage” than that for which defendant offered to be defaulted.
If there has been no trial in the suit, the defendant is neither entitled to costs by reason of his offer, nor thereby relieved from paying costs to the plaintiff.
Exceptions from Nisi Prius, Tenney, C. J., presiding.
This was an action of assumpsit for the recovery of the value of supplies furnished by the plaintiffs to certain poor persons, alleged to have a settlement in the town of Bingham. At an early day after the entry of the action, the defendants filed an offer, in writing, to be defaulted for a certain sum, which offer was entered upon the docket, and the offer, the filing thereof, and the entry upon the docket, were such as the statute requires in R. S., c. 115, § 22. The action was continued, without the acceptance of the offer, from March term, 1855, to the September term, when the action was put upon the trial docket; but, before it was called for trial, the offer of the defendants was accepted, and they were defaulted therefor. The defendants claimed costs from the time the offer was filed and entry thereof made upon the docket, to the time of the default, which the Court disallowed. The plaintiffs moved for costs to the time of the default, which were allowed by the Court. To these rulings the defendants excepted.
Hutchinson, for defendants.
J. S. Abbott, for plaintiffs.

Opinion:
Hathaway, J.
The defendants were not entitled to costs, and the plaintiffs must have their costs until the default was entered in the action. See Pingree v. Snell, page 53 of this volume, in which case the subject was fully considered.
Exceptions overruled.
Tenney, C. J., and Appleton, Cutting and Davis, J. J., concurred.