Citation Numbers: 1 Thomp. & Cook 129
Judges: Smith
Filed Date: 6/15/1873
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 1/13/2023
It seems to me that the decision of the circuit was correct, and that the exception thereto is not well taken.
Powers of attorney, and all special powers, are to be construed strictly, and the general words are to be construed in reference to
While the agent might have prosecuted such right of action and settled with the defendant for such trespass, he had no power to assign the cause of action. It has been frequently held that, while an attorney has power to collect and receive payment of a debt, he has no power to compromise or sell it without the express authority of his client.
In Garrigue v. Loescher, 3 Bosw. 575, it was held that a power to enforce a claim in court or otherwise and employ attorneys, etc., did not warrant an assignment of the claim.
We think that it was an excess of authority, as derived from the power of attorney, to sell and assign the cause of action for which this suit was brought, and that the decision at the circuit was right and the motion for a new trial should be denied.