Luebbert v. Simmons

Mary Simmons (defendant) was a real estate agent living on Lake Lotowana, Missouri. She began dating Charles Luebbert (plaintiff). She moved in with Luebbert after filing for bankruptcy and during divorce proceedings. Simmons frequently borrowed money from Luebbert over the course of their relationship. Luebbert reminded Simmons regularly of her debt, and she occasionally made small repayments to him. In March 1995, Luebbert and Simmons were having drinks at his home when Luebbert expressed doubt that Simmons would ever repay him. Simmons wished to reassure Luebbert, and insisted on signing a promissory amount stating that she would repay him $12,200 by December 31, 1995, plus 10 percent interest. A couple of weeks later, Simmons wrote out a second promissory note, identical to the first but using neater handwriting. When Simmons moved out in June, she wrote two checks for $1,000 each to Luebbert but asked that he hold off cashing them. When Luebbert eventually tried to cash the checks, payment had been stopped on them. Luebbert sued to recover the amount of the promissory note. The trial court found in favor of Luebbert, awarding him $12,200, interest of $8,153, and costs of bringing the suit. On appeal, Simmons argued that her promissory note was not a valid contract, because there had been no meeting of the minds. She maintained that she had been drunk at the time she signed the first note, and that she had signed the note as a joke.