Milliken v. Pratt

In 1870, Massachusetts resident Daniel Pratt agreed to buy goods on credit from Milliken's (plaintiff) Portland, Maine company, conditioned on a guaranty from Mrs. Pratt (defendant) covering up to $500 of her husband's debt; the guaranty referenced Portland, Maine, though Mrs. Pratt signed it at her Massachusetts home before her husband mailed it to Maine. At the time, Massachusetts law barred married women from acting as sureties for their husbands, while Maine law permitted it; after Mr. Pratt made purchases through 1871 and then defaulted with an unpaid balance, Milliken sued Mrs. Pratt in Massachusetts, by which point Massachusetts law had itself changed to permit married women to act as sureties, and the trial court ruled for Mrs. Pratt.