Gettysburg National Bank v. Gage

Citations

• 4 Pa. Super. 505
• 1897 Pa. Super. LEXIS 153

Syllabus

<p>Negotiable instruments — Alterations—Evidence—Burden of proof.</p> <p>Where the defense to a suit on a negotiable promissory note is that it was altered in a material part after it was signed and delivered by the maker, and the alteration is not so far apparent on an inspection of the paper as to raise a suspicion of its purity, the burden of proof rests on the defendant. If, however, there is an apparent alteration, the burden of proving that it was lawfully made or that the paper is in the same condition as when it was issued rests on the party offering it; -and the court will refuse to receive it in evidence until some explanation of the apparent alteration has been made. The quantity and character of proof required to carry the question to the jury must depend .upon the circumstances of each particular case.</p> <p>Stare decisis — Weight of precedent — Dependent upon facts.</p> <p>In determining whether a conclusion of law in any adjudicated case Is a precedent in a subsequent one, the value of the first, usually, is measured by its similarity or dissimilarity to the second in its controlling facts. And even if the court, announcing the conclusion, misapprehends or mistakes the facts, the conclusion to be of. any value as a precedent must be taken as applicable to the facts as assumed by the court: they, as concerns the judgment, are the facts, and whether existing or nonexisting, either prompt or compel the conclusion of law that determines the judgment.</p>