London Leasing Corporation v. Interfina, Inc.
Supreme Court of New York
279 N.Y.S.2d 209 (1967)
Interfina, Inc. (defendant), through its president Frederick Evans (defendant), issued a $52,000 promissory note to London Leasing Corporation (plaintiff), personally endorsed by Evans as well. After Interfina failed to pay, Evans, acting as corporate president, negotiated and signed agreements extending the payment deadline; Interfina still never paid in full, and London Leasing sued both Interfina and Evans personally to collect. Evans argued the extension agreements discharged his personal surety obligation because he only signed them in his corporate capacity as president, not as a personal consent to modifying the note's terms.
Whether a surety on a note is discharged if the maker and payee agree to modify the note without the surety's consent.