Shuey v. United States - 92 U.S. 73 (1875)

Rule:

An offer of a reward is revocable at any time before it is accepted, and before anything has been done in reliance upon it.

Facts:

The informant was given a $ 10,000 reward for information that he provided that led to the arrest of an accomplice to the murder of President Lincoln. However, the informant sought $ 15,000 additional reward money from defendant United States, that he alleged was due him from an offered reward of $ 25,000. The petition was dismissed and the informant appealed.

Issue:

Under the circumstances, was the informant entitled to an additional $15,000 reward money from the defendant United States? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The court affirmed the dismissal. The court found that the original reward offer was for $ 25,000 for the apprehension of the accomplice and for "liberal rewards" for information provided that led to an arrest. The court determined that the informant was, thus, only entitled to a liberal reward, and that $ 10,000 satisfied that description. Additionally, the court found that the reward offer was revoked prior to the time that the informant provided his information. The court held that because the revocation was published in the same manner as the reward offer and it was published prior to the informant's actions, the revocation was effective.