Kibler v. Frank L. Garrett & Sons, Inc.
Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc
439 P.2d 416 (1968)
After Garrett (defendant) disputed Kibler's (plaintiff) invoice for wheat harvesting, Garrett sent a $444 check with a letter calling the higher invoiced amount "ridiculous" but never stating the check was full and final payment; small print on the check itself stated it was accepted in full payment, but neither Kibler nor his attorney, whom Kibler consulted before depositing, ever saw or read that language. The trial judge, sua sponte, dismissed Kibler's suit on accord-and-satisfaction grounds even though Garrett hadn't raised that defense, and Kibler appealed.
Whether a disputed debt is resolved through an accord and satisfaction where the creditor deposits a payment tendered by the debtor without understanding that the debtor intended the payment to fully settle and discharge the disputed debt.