Ward v. Jack

Citations

• 172 Pa. 416
• 33 A. 577
• 1896 Pa. LEXIS 792

Syllabus

<p>Statute of limitations — Acknowledgment of indebtedness — Prorhise to pay.</p> <p>An acknowledgment and promise to pay a debt sufficient to toll the bar of the statute of limitations, must contain a clear and unequivocal acknowledgment of the debt, a specification of the amount of it, or a reference to something by which the amount can be definitely and certainly ascertained, and an express or implied promise to pay it.</p> <p>In an action to recover a debt alleged to have been barred by the statute of limitations, the plaintiff produced a witness who testified as follows: “K (the debtor) and I were sitting on some lumber, and W (the creditor) came down and asked N about his books, he asked N about the settlement of his books. N said: ‘ Mr. W, that ought to have been settled long ago, and you shall have your money inside of ten days; ’ before this, though, W said to him that the limitation was about to out him out. N replied to him, ‘ Mr. W, I wouldn’t allow that limitation to cut you out if it was now, if it was six years now.’ He said that he would have F look after the books.” Held, that the evidence was too vague and uncertain justly to be regarded as an identification of the debt, or such a reference as the law required as a substitute for it.</p>