Swift & Co. v. Smigel
New Jersey Supreme Court
115 N.J. Super. 391, 279 A.2d 895 (1972)
In 1962, Joseph Smigel entered a "continuing guaranty" agreeing to pay at maturity all debts a nursing home owed Swift & Company (plaintiff) for delivered goods; Smigel was adjudicated legally incompetent in 1966, with his son Erwin Smigel (defendant) appointed guardian, but neither Smigel nor Erwin paid for merchandise Swift delivered for most of 1967, and Swift was never notified of Smigel's incompetency adjudication. Swift sued Erwin, as executor of Smigel's estate, for the $8,500 in unpaid merchandise; the trial court granted summary judgment dismissing Swift's complaint, and Swift appealed.
Whether an offer is automatically revoked if the offeree does not have knowledge of the offeror's incompetency at the time of acceptance.