Oertel v. Schroeder

Citations

• 48 Ill. 133

Syllabus

<p>1. Promissory note—failure of consideration. Where a party in selling a brewery, fixtures and utensils, and a quantity of beer, represented that the beer was of good quality and merchantable, and was of the value of eight thousand dollars, and it appears that had it been of that quality it would have been worth that sum, when in fact about three-fourths, of the beer was spoiled and worthless, and it was worth but two thousand dollars,; and it appeared that the seller, in showing the beer to the purchaser, only exhibited a sample of the portion that was merchantable, and received a part of the purchase money, and took the note of the seller for a less sum than the loss occasioned by the beer not being merchantable : Sdd, that such facts would constitute a failure of consideration for the note.</p> <p>2. Same—evidence. Since the statute has given the defense of want, or failure in whole or in part, of the consideration of a note, such a defense may be proved by verbal testimony, without violating the rule that a written instrument cannot be contradicted, or its terms altered or varied, by parol. The statute has, in this respect, introduced an exception to the common law rule of evidence.</p>