Citation Numbers: 85 Me. 172
Judges: Foster, Haskell, Libbey, Peters, Virgin, Walton
Filed Date: 12/14/1892
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 9/24/2021
The agreement set out in the declaration, demurred to by the defendant, is not champertous. It requires no suit in law or equity to be prosecuted as a litigation. There was no party to be sued. The United States may be petitioned, but not sued. There was really no defendant to oppose any claim. There was not even a court before which to prosecute claims. The Alabama Claims Commission was not a common law court in any sense.
The policy of the rule which inhibits champertous contracts does not apply to the present contract. Contracts of this kind do not have an}1- tendency to foment litigation, or to encourage unjust claims against the government. The United States held the amount of the award received from the British government as a trustee for its owners, and not only did not oppose any rightful claim, but invited owners to present their claims, in order to be able to make a proper distribution of such fund. But no judgment against the United States government could be enforced without its assent.
These views are in accordance with decisions in late cases in other courts, where the question has been on principle and authority much elaborated. The case of Manning v. Sprague, 148 Mass. 18, covers all the ground.
It is contended, however, that the contract in the Massachu
Demurrer overruled.