Hand v. Evans Marble Co.

Citations

• 88 Md. 226
• 40 A. 899
• 1898 Md. LEXIS 181

Syllabus

<p>Privity of Contract — Assignment of Liability — Liability of Corporation under Contract made by a Firm whose business it takes — Contract by Correspondence — Finality of Agreement.</p> <p>No one can be sued for a breach of a contract to which he was was not a party.-</p> <p>If a person who has contracted to do work for another assigns the contract without the consent of the other party to the defendant, the latter is not liable in an action for breach of the contract.</p> <p>By a contract in writing between the firm of E. & Son and a publisher, the former agreed to pay a sum of money for an advertisement inserted in the publisher’s book, but it was stipulated that the amount should only be deducted from the price of new work. Afterwards the E. Co. was formed to take over the business of E. & Son, and was sued upon the contract by the assignee of the publisher. Held, that the E. Co. was not liable to the plaintiff upon the contract so made by E. & Son.</p> <p>When negotiations between parties looking to the formation of a contract take place by correspondence, many letters being exchanged, and at a certain point an agreement seems to have been reached, still such agreement will not be held to constitute a final contract when the succeeding letters between them show that they did not intend to abide by such terms as a complete expression of their intention.</p>