* Mutual *
MUTUAL - Reciprocal.
In contracts there must always be a consideration in order to make them valid. This is sometimes mutual, as when one man promises to pay a sum of money to another in consideration that he shall deliver him a horse, and the latter promises to deliver him the horse in consideration of being paid the price agreed upon. When a man and a woman promise to marry each other, the promise is mutual. It is one of the qualities of an award, that it be mutual; but this doctrine is not as strict now as formerly.
To entitle a contracting party to a specific performance of an agreement, it must be mutual, for otherwise it will not be compelled.
A distinction has been made between mutual debts and mutual credits. The former term is more limited in its signification than the latter. In bankrupt cases where a person was indebted to the bankrupt in a sum payable at a future day, and the bankrupt owed him a smaller sum which was then due; this, though in strictness, not a mutual debt, was holden to be a mutual credit.
--b--
Need a Lawyer? Check Out The 'Lectric Law Library's Searchable Attorney Directory
& our Searchable Expert Witness Directory
The Lexicon's Lyceum Other Letters' Terms & Important Info.
