McLean v. Lowe
McLean v. Lowe
Opinion of the Court
— The appellants were engaged in banking at Monticello, Indiana, in September, 1887. The appellee was a stock dealer. Wilson, Clark & Bodley were, at that time, commission merchants in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and
The complaint is in two paragraphs. The first is for money had and received. The second alleges that on September 16th, 1887, appellee had on deposit in appellants’ bank $1,000. On said day he drew his check on the bank for said amount, which appellants refused to pay, etc.
Appellants answered by way of defence in three paragraphs : 1st. The general denial. 2d. Payment. 3d. Setting up the facts alleging that appellee endorsed the drafts for $1,800 to appellants and received credit therefor to the amount of $1,500, and received the balance, $300, in cash, and afterwards received on his check $500; that the drafts were presented for payment to the drawees and payment thereof refused, except to the amount of $874.62, of which
Appellee filed a reply in five paragraphs: 1. The general denial. 2. Want of consideration. 3. Payment. 4. Denial under oath of the execution of the drafts. 5. Alleging facts which it is contended show the drafts to be of no validity.
There whs a demurrer filed by the appellants to each-paragraph of the reply, and overruled, but it is conceded that the demurrer is informal, and that no question is presented by the ruling.
The jury returned a special verdict. Appellants moved for judgment in their favor upon the special verdict; for a venire de novo; for a new trial; that appellee have judgment on the verdict for only $67 and costs; also, that appellee only have judgment on the verdict for $80 and costs. These several motions were overruled and exceptions reserved, and the rulings assigned as error.
Appellee moved for judgment in his favor on the special verdict for $1,033.50, with interest from the time the verdict was returned, which motion was sustained and appellants excepted, which ruling is also assigned as error.
The facts as found by the jury in their special verdict, which are material to the issues, are as follows :
The defendants (appellants) were, from June 15th until after September 17th, 1887, and still are, partners, and, as such partners, are owners of the Citizens’ Bank of Mont-i-cello, Indiana, the only bank in said town, and of which bank defendant McLean was, during said time, cashier and general manager, and during all said time Albert Jost was
On the 4th day of September, 1887, plaintiff agreed to sell Brady three car-loads of cattle,' hogs, and sheep, for $1,-804.54, which stock was, on the 5th day of September, 1887, undelivered, said Brady having paid only $100, and plaintiff refusing to allow the stock to be shipped until paid for. Brady proposed to plaintiff to go with him to defendants’ bank on the evening of September 5th, 1887, to procure the pay for said stock. The hogs at that time were not weighed, the cattle and sheep were near Monon, ready to ship; the cattle and sheep, at the agreed price, amounted to near $1,-400; the hogs, when weighed, amounted to $407.65, the sale constituting one transaction. On September 5th Brady drew a draft, in defendants’ bank, on Wilson, Clark & Bodley, for $1,400, and on September 7th drew another draft on same firm for $400, which drafts were handed to the defendants, and defendants, on September 5, placed to plaintiff’s credit $1,400, and paid plaintiff, in cash, $102, and placed to credit of Lathan Lowe $198, and plaintiff repaid to Brady the sum advanced by him ; the drafts so drawn were to pay for said stock, which stock was shipped to Wilson, Clark & Bodley. Defendants informed plaintiff that $1,400 had been deposited to his credit in defendants’ bank, and requested the plaintiff to see that the stock was shipped to Wilson, Clark & Bodley, and plaintiff permitted Brady to take the stock into his possession, and ship the same. Plaintiff would not have parted with said stock to Brady had he not been assured by defendants that the $1,400 was deposited to his credit.
On the occasion of drawing the $1,400 draft and placing
We have extracted from the special verdict such facts as can in any way be material to the decision of the case under the issues, omitting therefrom a large amount of irrelevant matter and repetitions of facts and evidence contained in the verdict. ,
There is a statement in the verdict that the plaintiff’s father, at some time previous to the transaction, in a general way,.stated to the appellants that his son was going to commence business on his own account, and for them to give him any necessary instruction that he might need in doing business at the bank, and they replied that they would do so; but it does not appear that the appellants were requested for any instructions upon this occasion, or informed that he needed any, or that he did not fully understand the business; and it does not appear that the appellants did anything to mislead him, or had any interest in the transaction. As regards the letter of credit, it does not appear that the appellee had any knowledge of such a letter at the time of selling his stock, or endorsing the drafts. The fact that the bank had deposited with them such a letter of credit did not preclude them from requiring the appellee to endorse the draft as an additional security.
The facts found in the verdict, relating to the transaction with the appellants at the bank, may be summarized as follows : Appellee sold Brady live stock at an agreed price of $1,800, and was about to ship them to Wilson, Clark & Bodley, at Chicago; before shipping the stock appellee and Brady came to appellants’ bank, on the 5th day of September, and a draft was drawn by Brady, or written by the cashier for him, on Wilson, Clark & Bodley, of Chicago, for $1,400, payable to the order of the appellee; Albert Jost, the cashier placed the draft on the counter in front of the appellee, and said to him it was all right, and requested him to endorse it,
There is not a fact found that tends to show any bad faith on the part of the appellants. They were doing a banking business. The appellee and Brady, who had purchased appellee’s stock, came into the bank and made known their business, and wanted to draw on the persons to whom the stock was to be consigned for the price to be paid. The cashier wrote a draft for the amount addressed to the consignees, payable to appellee’s order; Brady signed it, and then it was turned over for appellee to endorse it, and he is requested by the cashier to endorse it, the cashier saying it is all right. The appellee endorsed the draft, and the cashier took it up and informed the appellee that he would pay him the amount of it, and appellee accepted it. There was no occasion for any thing more being said. The transaction occurred in the way business men do business. It is no part of the duty of bankers to stop and explain to customers the legal liability of signing their names upon drafts.
If appellee did not know what he was signing it was his business to know, or to make inquiry and ascertain what it was, and his liability before signing and endorsing it.
Under the law he is presumed to know, and in the absence of fraud he is bound to know, and it was his own negligence that he did not know. If by any misrepresentations or fraud on the part of the appellants appellee had been misled and induced to endorse the drafts, or if appellants had procured appellee’s signature by deception, then he might be in a position to ask that they stand the loss, and not he, and that he be released from the payment,''but no such state of facts is found in this case,
The appellee endorsed the drafts, and the law fixes his liability, and by that he is bound.
The burden was upon the appellee to make out his case upon his complaint. The law also casts the burden upon the appellants to make out their case upon their set-off pleaded, but this they did by the drafts, which are found to have been executed and endorsed by the appellee, and copies of each set out in the special verdict. When such facts were established the appellee was liable for the amount of the drafts unless he showed them to have been paid, or established other facts entitling him to be relieved from the payment of them.
The facts found show that the appellants received from Wilson, Clark & Bodley $874.62, and that they paid to the appellee $800, leaving in their hands $74.62 of the money actually received. See Neal v. Wood, 23 Ind. 523; Fitch v. Citizens, etc., Bank, 97 Ind. 211; Smith v. Muncie, etc., Bank, 29 Ind. 158; Hubbard v. Harrison, 38 Ind. 323; Dutton v. Clapper, 53 Ind. 276; Am. Ins. Co. v. McWhorter, 78 Ind. 136; Clodfelter v. Hulett, 72 Ind. 137; Williamson v. Hitner, 79 Ind. 233; Robinson v. Glass, 94 Ind. 211; Stack v. Beach, 74 Ind. 571; Miller v. Powers, 119 Ind. 79.
The court erred in rendering judgment on the verdict in favor of the appellee for $1,033.50.
From the facts found the appellants were not entitled to a judgment in their favor. There is no finding as to attorney’s fees, and in the absence of a finding of some amount on account of attorney’s fees the appellee was entitled to recover some amount.
The other questions presented may not arise on a re-trial of the cause.
The judgment is reversed, at costs of appellee, with instructions to grant a new trial.
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