Speelman v. Pascal

178 N.E.2d 723 (1961)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Decedent obtained rights to produce a musical version of George Bernard Shaw's play 'Pygmalion.' Before the musical was written or produced, decedent wrote a letter to his secretary (P), in which he agreed to give her a share of the profits from the musical. The letter was delivered to P. Decedent died before the musical was produced. When the musical was finally produced, it proved to be highly successful, and P sued to enforce the gift made in the letter against decedent's estate. The question presented in the lawsuit was whether the paper constituted a valid, complete, present gift to P by way of assignment of a share in future royalties when and if collected. The trial court granted P summary judgment and ruled that P was entitled to receive the percentages set out in the 1954 agreement, required D to render an accounting and to make payments. D appealed.