Mercantile Law Amendment (CAP. 275 1

CHAPTER 275

THE MERCANTILE LAW AMENDMENT ACT

Arrangement of Sections
Section

1. Short title.
2. Consideration for guarantee need not appear by writing.
3 . Guarantee to or for a firm to cease upon a change in

the firm, except in special cases.
4. A surety, who discharges the liability, to be entitled to

assignment of all securities held by the creditor.
5. Acknowledgements of debts may be made by agents.
6. Limitation of actions for "Merchants' accounts".
7. Absence beyond seas or imprisonment of a creditor not

to be a disability.
8. Period of limitation to run as to joint debtors in Antigua

and Barbuda though some are beyond seas. Judg-
ment recovered against joint debtors in Antigua and
Barbuda to be no bar to proceedings against others
beyond seas after their return.

9. Part payment by one contractor, &c. not to prevent bar
by certain statutes of limitations in favour of another
contractor, &c.

10. Power to make rules of court.

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Mercantile Law Amendment (CAP. 275 3

MERCANTILE LAW AMENDMENT

( 2 l s t April, 1876.) 211876.
1211949.

S.R.O. 2211956.
1811989.

1. This Act may be cited as the Mercantile Law Short title.
Amendment Act.

2. No special promise, to be made by any person after Consideration for
guarantee need

the passing of this Act, to answer for the debt, default, or not appear by
miscarriage of another person, being in writing and signed writing.
by the party to be charged therewith, or some other person
by him thereunto lawfully authorized, shall be deemed invalid
to support an action, suit, or other proceeding to charge the
person by whom such promise shall have been made, by
reason only that the consideration for such promise does not
appear in writing, or by necessary inference from a written
document.

3. NO promise to answer for the debt, default, or Guarantee to or
for a firm to

miscarriage of another, made to a firm consisting of two or cease a
more persons, or to a single person trading under the name ;~?,g:~~~;n
of a firm. and no ~romise to answer for the debt. default. snecial cases. , .
or miscarriage of a firm consisting of two or more persons,
or of a single person trading under the name of a firm, shall
be binding on the person making such promise, in respect
of anything done or omitted to be done after a change shall
have taken place in one or more of the persons constituting
the firm, or-in the person trading under-the name of a firm. -
unless the intention of the parties, that such promise shall
continue to be binding notwithstanding such change, shall
appear, either by express stipulation, or by necessary
implication from the nature of the firm or otherwise.

4. Every person who, being surety for the debt or duty $i;:i;s:k:
of another, or being liable with another for any debt or duty, liability, to be
shall pay such debt or perform such duty, shall be entitled entifled assignment to of all
to have assigned to him, or to a trustee for him, every judg- securities held by
ment, speciality, or other security, which shall be held by the creditor.
the creditor in respect of such debt or duty, whether such

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

4 CAP. 275) Mercantile Law Amendment

judgment, speciality, or other security shall, or shall not,
be deemed at law to have been satisfied by the payment of
the debt or performance of the duty, and such person shall
be entitled to stand in the place of the creditor, and to use
all the remedies, and, if need be and upon a proper
indemnity, to use the name, of the creditor in any action
or other proceeding, at law or in equity, in order to obtain
from the principal debtor, or any co-surety, co-contractor,
or co-debtor, as the case may be, indemnification for the
advances made and loss sustained by the person who shall
have so paid such debt, or performed such duty; and such
payment or performance, so made by such surety, shall not
be pleadable in bar of any such action or other proceeding
by him:

Provided that no co-surety, co-contractor, or co-debtor
shal be entitled to recover from any other co-surety, co-
contractor, or co-debtor, by the means aforesaid, more than
the just proportion to which, as between those parties
themselves, such last-mentioned persons shall be justly liable.

Acknowledgements 5 . An acknowledgement or promise, made or con-
of debts may be
made by agents. tained by or in writing signed by an agent of the party

chargeable thereby, duly authorized to make such
acknowledgement or promise, shall have the same effect as
if such writing had been signed by such party himself.

Limitation of 6. All actions of account or for not accounting, and
actions for
'gMerchants7 suits for such accounts as concern the trade of merchandise
accounts. " between merchant and merchant, their factors or servants,

shall be commenced and sued within six years after the cause
of such actions or suits arose; and no claim, in respect of
a matter which arose more than six years before the com-
mencement of such action or suit, shall be enforceable by
action or suit by reason only of some other matter of claim,
comprised in the same account, having arisen within six years
next before the commencement of such action or suit.

Absence beyond
seas or

7. The provisions of the Acts of the United Kingdom
imprisonment of of the twenty-first year of the reign of King James the First,
a creditor not to chapter sixteen, section three, and of the fourth year of the
be a disability.

reign of Queen Anne, chapter sixteen, section seventeen,
and of the third and fourth years of the reign of King William
the Fourth, chapter twenty-seven, sections forty-one and

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Mercantile Law Amendment (CAP. 275 5

forty-two, and chapter forty-two, section three, and of the
sixteenth and seventeenth years of the reign of Queen
Victoria, chapter one hundred and thirteen, section twenty,
are hereby expressly declared to be in force in Antigua and
Barbuda; and no person or persons, who shall be entitled
to any action or suit, with respect to which the period of
limitation, within which the same shall be brought, is fixed
by any one or other of the enactments aforesaid, shall be
entitled to any time, within which to commence and sue such
action or suit, beyond the period so fixed for the same by
the enactments aforesaid, by reason only of such person, or
some one or more of such persons, being at the time of such
cause of action or suit accrued, beyond the seas, or, in the
cases in which, by virtue of any of the aforesaid enactments,
imprisonment is now a disability, by reason of such person,
or some one or more of such persons, being imprisoned, at
the time of such cause of action or suit accrued, any local
law to the contrary notwithstanding.

8. Where such cause of action or suit, with respect Period of
limitation to run to which the period of limitation is fixed by the enactments as

in and by the preceding section declared to be in force in debtors in
Antigua and Antigua and Barbuda, or by any of them, lies against two Barbuda though

or more joint debtors, the person or persons, who shall be some are beyond
entitled to the same, shall not be entitled to any time, within s " , ~ ~ V ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ s t
which to commence and sue any such action or suit against joint debtors in
any one, or more, of such joint debtors who shall not be ~ , " ~ ~ ~ a ~ d b e no
beyond the seas at the time such cause of action or suit bar to proceedins
ackrued, by reason only that some other one or more of such ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ f t e ~
joint debtors was or were, at the time such cause of action their return.
accrued, beyond the seas; and such person or persons, so
entitled as aforesaid, shall not be barred from commencing
and suing an action or suit, against the joint debtor, or joint
debtors, who was or were beyond the seas at the time the
cause of action or suit accrued, after his or their return from
beyond the seas, by reason only that judgment was already
recovered against any one, or more, of such joint debtors
who was not, or were not, beyond the seas at the time
aforesaid.

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6 CAP. 275) Mercantile Law Amendment

Part payment by
one contractor,
&c., not to
prevent bar by
certain statutes
of limitations in
favour of another
contractor, &c.

9. In reference to the provisions of the Act of the
twenty-first year of the reign of King James the First, chapter
sixteen, section three, and of the Act of the third and fourth
years of the reign of King William the Fourth, chapter forty-
two, section three, and of the Act of the sixteenth and seven-
teenth years of the reign of Queen Victoria, chapter one
hundred and thirteen, section twenty, by section 7 of this
Act declared to be in force in Antigua and Barbuda, when
there shall be two or more co-contractors or co-debtors,
whether bound or liable jointly only, or jointly and severally,
or executors or administrators of any contractor or debtor,
no such co-contractor, or co-debtor, executor, or
administrator, shall lose the benefit of the said enactments,
or any of them, so as to be chargeable in respect, or by reason
only, of payment of any principal, interest, or other money,
by any other or others of such co-contractors, co-debtors,
executors or administrators.

Power to make 10. Rules of court for the purpose of giving effect to
rules of court. this Act (including the framing of writs and proceedings)

may be made in the same manner as rules of court for the
High Court may be made.