Drake v. Bell
Supreme Court, Kings County, New York
55 N.Y.S. 945 (Sup. Ct. 1899)
Relevant factsFree
Josephine Drake (plaintiff) hired a mechanic, Russell, to repair her house, but he mistakenly repaired her neighbor Edward Bell's (defendant) house instead, without Bell's knowledge. Bell's house genuinely needed the repairs and was significantly improved by them. After seeing the completed work, Bell orally promised to pay Russell's contractor for it. The contractor then assigned his claim against Bell to Drake, who sued Bell to collect on that promise.
IssueFree
Whether a subsequent promise founded on value the promisor already received from the promisee is binding, even though the promisor was under no prior legal obligation to pay for that value.