Ryer v. Stockwell

Baldwin, J. delivered the opinion of the Court—Cope, J. concurring.

This action is brought to recover the amount of a certain reward offered by the defendant for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who set fire to the defendant’s house, in the north part of the city of Stockton, on the morning of the 18th of June, 1856. This reward was offered by publication in a newspaper. The complaint after setting- out this publication, charges that the plaintiff saw and read the notice, and proceeded on the faith of it to institute inauiries and investigations with regard to the persons who set fire to the house of defendant, and did detect the criminal and gave information to the proper authorities to wit: a Justice of the Peace of the county and to the District Attorney; which information led to the arrest and conviction of one Callahan, on an indictment preferred against him for the crime of arson in the second degree. The prisoner was, in Jan. 1857, convicted in the District Court of San Joaquin. The complaint avers a demand on defendant for the reward on the 2íth June, 1857, the time of making complaint before the Justice, and on the 19th day of March, 1859. The suit was brought on the 21st of March, 1859. The defendant demurred to this complaint, and the demurrer was sustained. Afterward the plaintiff amended his complaint by leave, and this pleading was also (|emurred to; but it is not necessary to notice it, as it presents no neiv features.

1. The grounds of demurrer were, that this agreement is a nude pact, the plaintiff being- bound to render the services, as a good citizen, without reward, and therefore cannot claim any, though specially promised it. But this position is not tenable. The defendant had a special interest in procuring this intelligence and evidently designed to furnish extraordinary inducements to the discovery of the facts; and the complaint alleges that the [136]plaintiff put himself to extraordinary trouble to procure them. It can hardly be said that every citizen is bound, however meritorious the task may be, to quit his own business, and devote his time to the discovery of crime and bringing criminals to justice. Mor, that if a man who has lost his property agrees to give another a sum of money to go with him to discover or arrest the thief and recover the goods, he is not bound to pay that other if the latter performs the service.

2. The next objection is, that this claim is barred by the Statute of Limitations." We agree with the counsel for the Respondent, that this paper on its face is not a written contract. It lacks mutuality. The plaintiff was no party to it. It is a mere proposition. But it may become a contract. It offers a given compensation for particular services, and invites the rendering of those services. Just as if a man were publicly to advertise that he would give any workman certain wages for doing work on his promises; if a workman, seeing the proposition, should go on and do the work, and, especially, if the advertiser received the benefit of it, we apprehend that no one would dispute that he could sue and recover. The services would, in such case, be rendered at the instance, and by the request, of the employer, and he would be responsible for the price. (See 11 Mass. 31; 14 Id. 172, for cases in which the obligation of payment for services is implied from much slenderer material.)