Philpot v. Taylor

Citations

• 75 Ill. 309

Syllabus

<p>1. Case—lies for damages growing out of an iUegal or wrongful act. Whoever does an illegal or wrongful act is answerable for all the consequences in the ordinary and natural course of events, though these consequences be directly brought about by the intervening agency of others, provided the intervening agencies were set in motion by the primary wrongdoer, or provided the immediate acts causing the damage are the necessary or legal and natural consequence of the original wrongful act.</p> <p>3. Same — lies for selling land of another without authority. Where a party, falsely pretending to be the agent of the owner of land to sell the same, executes a contract for its sale, which is recorded, and upon which the purchaser brings suit for a specific performance, .whereby the owner is put to trouble and expense in defending the same, such pretended agent will be liable to the owner in an action on the case for the damages sustained by him in defending the suit.</p> <p>3. Evidence — declarations of parties in collusion to defraud, admissible— other party combining with him. In a suit against a party for falsely assuming to be the plaintiffs agent to sell land and making a sale thereof, where the facts show a combination or collusion between the defendant and the purchaser to effect a common purpose, the declarations of the purchaser are admissible against the defendant, though not made in his presence.</p> <p>4. Practice — reading law in presence of jury. On the trial of an action on the case the plaintiffs counsel was about to read to the jury a part of an opinion of this court, and on objection by the defendant, the plaintiffs counsel said he would read it for the benefit of the court, and did so read it: Held, that this was improper and should not have been permitted, as the jury can receive the law only from the judge, and in the form of written instructions.</p>