Christopher v. Cheney

Citations

• 64 Ill. 26

Syllabus

<p>1. Plea of faiVwre of consideration—whether sufficient. In an action on a promissory note, a plea of failure of consideration must aver more than the mere failure—it must disclose the manner of the failure.</p> <p>2. In an action on a note dated October 22d, 1868, the defendant pleaded a failure of consideration, averring that the consideration was an agreement to cancel judgments rendered on the 24th' of October, 1868, and a failure to cancel such judgments; but there was no averment to indicate how an agreement to satisfy judgments obtained subsequently to the execution of the note and the agreement, could form the consideration of the note:. Held, in view of the principle that pleas must be construed most strongly against the pleader, that, in the absence of any explanatory averment, the law would not intend that the satisfaction and cancellation of judgments not in existence could form the consideration of the note, and hence there could be no intendment that the failure to satisfy such judgments could constitute a failure of consideration, and the pica was therefore bad on demurrer.</p> <p>3. A plea which avers a total failure of consideration, hut only shows a partial failure, is had on demurrer.</p>