Assumpsit - Contracts

Assumpsit - Contracts, ^* An undertaking either express or implied, to perform a parol agreement. 1 Lilly's Reg. 132.

2. An express assumpsit is where one undertakes verbally or in writing, not under seal, or by matter of record, to perform an act, or to pay a sum of money to another.

3. An implied assumpsit is where one has not made any formal promise to do an act or to pay a sum of money to another, but who is presumed from his conduct to have assumed to do what is in point of law just and right; for, 1st, it is to be presumed that no one desires to enrich himself at the expense of another; 2d, it is a rule that he who desires the antecedent, must abide by the consequent; as, if I receive a loaf of bread or a newspaper daily sent to my house without orders, and I use it without objection, I am presumed to have accepted the terms upon which the person sending it had in contemplation, that I should pay a fair price for it; 3d, it is also a rule that every one is presumed to assent to what is useful to him. See Assent

^* From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, 1856 Edition. Please see Bouvier's Legal Abbreviations & Abbreviated References for help with obscure nomenclature & references.