Commonwealth v. Julius

Citations

• 173 Pa. 322
• 34 A. 21
• 1896 Pa. LEXIS 704

Syllabus

<p>Guardian and ward — Default—Principal and surety.</p> <p>The default of' a second guardian cannot discharge the sureties of his predecessor in the guardianship from the consequences of a previous default of their principal.</p> <p>Where a decree of the orphans’ court has fixed the liability of a guardian and his sureties, and the amount due from them, a default on the part of the guardian’s successor in the guardianship will not discharge the sureties of the first guardian.</p> <p>Guardian and ward — Release—Fraud—Evidence—Question for jury.</p> <p>In an action by a ward against the sureties of her guardian, the case is for the jury, where the defendants set up a release executed by plaintiff after she became of age, which the plaintiff claims was procured by fraud, and the evidence tends to show that plaintiff was induced to sign the release by false representations made to her by the defendants to the effect that her counsel had agreed to the advisability of such a settlement, and that one of them had said she would probably get little or nothing out of her case by further litigation.</p> <p>Where a plaintiff has been induced to a certain action by the false and fraudulent representation of the defendants, it is competent for her to testify that the false and fraudulent representations were the consideration or inducement to her action. This is not a violation of the rule that a party to a contract shall not testify his undisclosed purpose or intention, for the purpose of nullifying words or acts which are relied on by others, which words and acts in themselves are prima facie evidence of the agreement.</p>