Embola v. Tuppela

220 P. 789 (1923)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D got bitten by the gold bug and joined the gold seekers' rush to Alaska. After a number of years of prospecting, D was adjudged insane and committed to an asylum in Portland, Oregon. D was released after a confinement of four years. His mining properties had been sold by his guardian. D was destitute. In May of 1918, D ran into P in Astoria, Oregon. They had been close friends for thirty years. P advanced money for his support, and in September brought him to Seattle to the home of Herman Lindstrom, a brother-in-law of P. D had asked a number of people to advance money for an undertaking to recover his mining property in Alaska without any luck. The estimated value of this mining property was about $500,000. In September, D made the following statement to Pt: 'You have already let me have $270. If you will give me $50 more so I can go to Alaska and get my property back, I will pay you ten thousand dollars when I win my property.' P advanced the sum of $50. In January 1921, after extended litigation, D recovered his property. D requested Mr. Cobb, his trustee, to pay the full amount to P, and upon his refusal so to do, P sued. D denied the contract claiming it was unconscionable, not supported by adequate consideration, procured through fraud, and usurious. The court found for P and D appealed.