Johnson v. Smallwood

Citations

• 88 Ill. 73

Syllabus

<p>1. Parent and child—parent’s liability for goods bought by child. Where a father has supplied his minor son with necessaries, or is ready_to supply them, he can not be bound by a contract the son may make with a third person for the purchase of goods, without his authority, although they may be regarded as necessaries.* </p> <p>2. Same—what proof of son’s authority to buy, will bind father. The authority of an infant to bind the father by contracts for necessaries is inferred from very slight evidence. Where a minor son bought clothing without the consent of his father, who knew nothing of the purchase until the goods were brought home, but he allowed his son to retain them, and the plaintiff testified to the father’s promise to pay, which the latter, on oath, denied, it was held, that the jury were authorized to find the father liable for the price of the goods.</p>