Legal Definitions - never indebted, plea of

The never indebted, plea of is a legal defense used in lawsuits where one party claims another owes them money based on a contract. When a defendant enters this plea, they are formally denying that any contract – whether explicitly stated (express) or understood through actions (implied) – ever existed between the parties. Essentially, the defendant is asserting that because there was no contract, they never incurred the debt being claimed.

Here are some examples illustrating this legal concept:

• Scenario: A local handyman, Mr. Jones, sees that Mrs. Smith's fence is broken. Without discussing it with her, he repairs the fence and then sends her a bill for his services. Mrs. Smith refuses to pay, stating she never asked him to do the work.

  Application: If Mr. Jones sues Mrs. Smith for payment, she could enter a "never indebted, plea of." She would argue that no express contract (she never agreed to the repair) or implied contract (she didn't request the service, nor did her actions suggest agreement) ever existed between them. Therefore, she never became indebted to him for the repair.

• Scenario: A group of friends goes out to dinner. One friend, David, pays the entire bill, assuming his friends will reimburse him for their share. Later, one friend, Emily, claims she only ordered a drink and never agreed to split the full bill evenly or to have David pay for her meal. David then sues Emily for her portion of the bill.

  Application: Emily could use the "never indebted, plea of." She would contend that while they were friends dining together, there was no express or implied contract for her to contribute to the entire bill in the way David claims. She might argue she only agreed to pay for her own drink, not to be indebted for a larger share of the meal.

• Scenario: A marketing consultant, Sarah, sends a detailed proposal for a new advertising campaign to a company, "Bright Ideas Inc." The company reviews the proposal but never formally accepts it or signs any agreement. A few months later, Sarah sends Bright Ideas Inc. an invoice for "consultation services" based on the time she spent preparing the proposal, claiming an implied contract was formed because they reviewed her work.

  Application: If Sarah sues Bright Ideas Inc. for payment, the company could use the "never indebted, plea of." They would argue that merely reviewing a proposal does not constitute an express or implied contract to pay for the proposal's creation, especially since they never formally engaged Sarah's services. Thus, they never became indebted to her.