Case Name: Guthrie, assignee, v. White
Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1788-04
Citations: 1 Dall. 268
Docket Number: 
Parties: Guthrie, assignee, v. White.
Judges: 
Reporter: United States Reports
Volume: 1
Pages: 280–281

Head Matter:
Guthrie, assignee, v. White.
Parties.
The assignee of a simple-contract debt cannot maintain an action in his own name.
A certiorari was issued to John Culbertson, Esq., one of the justices for the county of Chester, to remove the proceedings in this cause ; and the record being accordingly returned, it appeared, that one Irwin, having maintained the defendant’s daughter for several weeks, made out an account against him, and, after swearing to the truth and justice of its contents, he assigned all his right, title and interest therein to the plaintiff. The debt being under ten pounds, the plaintiff, in his own name, sued the father, before the justice, upon this assignment, and obtained a judgment and execution against him ; although, as it was stated in the defendant’s deposit] on, his daughter was of full age, at the time ot contracting the debt, and no assumption, upon his part, had been proved or suggested.
Bradford
moved to reverse the judgment: 1st, on account of the general irregularity of the proceedings ; and 2d, because an action could not be maintained, by the assignee of a simple-contract debt, in his own name.
See Hindman v. Logan, Addis. 27.

Opinion:
Tiib Court
considered the whole proceedings to have been irregular ; but said, that there could be no doubt of the sufficiency of the second reason alone, as aground for setting them aside. And judgment was accordingly reversed.
See Reed v. Ingraham, 2 Yeates 387; 3 Dall. 505; 4 Id. 169; United States v. Kennan, Peters C. C. 169.