First National Bank v. Marshall
First National Bank v. Marshall
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
: The first specification of error discussed in the' brief of counsel for plaintiff in error is in the admission of the deposition of F. J. Atwood, taken in the case of the Parlin & Orendorff Company v. Bartlett, in June, 1889. Atwood was the president and general manager of the plaintiff bank, not only at the time the deposition was taken and of the trial of this action, but at and for a considerable period of time before the chattel mortgages under which the plaintiff claimed were taken. The defense of the sheriff was that the transaction was fraudulent; that for some time prior to the execution of the mortgages Bartlett had been buying great quantities of goods on the recommendations of Atwood as to his financial standing made to the wholesale dealers; that Atwood, as the manager of the bank, conspired with Bartlett and assisted him to get these goods on credit, for the purpose of defrauding the sellers, and of securing payment of a large indebtedness to the bank by a mortgage on the goods so purchased. The first attachment against Bartlett was issued in a suit brought by the Parlin & Orendorff Company, and levied on the same day that the chattel mortgages were executed, but after' they were filed in the office of the register of deeds. Soon
No material contradiction between his testimony in the deposition and on the witness-stand is apparent. Atwood, as president, had authority to represent the bank in this litigation. (National Bank v. Berry, 53 Kan. 696.) He and the attorney appearing for the bank could bind it by admissions made in the progress of the trial. On the witness-stand, Atwood not only admitted that the deposition had been taken and subscribed by him, but swore that it contained his testimony, and that it was true. This he stated without objection from his counsel, and we think, in view of the full opportunity offered for correcting any misstatement, and also for giving any further testimony desired, that the error in admitting the. deposition was cured. Although the practice followed is not to be commended, the plaintiff in error has not pointed out any particular in which it was injured by the manner of getting Atwood’s testimony before the jury. The bank nowhere challenges Atwood’s truthfulness, but maintains it; nor is any attempt made to point out material error in the testimony contained in the deposition. Where the plaintiff in error asserts the truth of every statement which it contains, we cannot hold that material error -was committed in its admission. (C. K. & W. Rld. Co. v. Prouty, 55 Kan. 503.)
Error is claimed in the admission'of ■ the appraisement in the case of Parlin & Orendorff Company v. the bank, but we think it was properly admitted A part of it had been offered in evidence by the plaintiff, and Mr. Belisle, a competent witness, who was one of the appraisers, was called and testified that the value of the goods was correctly set down in the inventory.
We find nothing substantial in the objection to the testimony of Day with reference to his having written a letter to his house which was not read in evidence.
Complaint is made of the following portion of the instructions :
“Of course, if any material false representations were made by Atwood, and were known by him to be*447 false at the time, and were made for the purpose of concealing Bartlett’s true condition, and to enable him to purchase goods when he otherwise could not have done so, then such acts on the part of Atwood would amount to a fraud as to Bartlett’s creditors whose claims were thus created, and the hank would have no right to take a mortgage on goods thus obtained ; and, if it did take such mortgage under such circumstances, it would be void absolutely.”
It is contended that a mortgage taken under such circumstances would be voidable only, while the court charged that it would be void. We think the court correctly declared the law as applicable to this case. This was a contention between the bank, claiming under the mortgages, and the sheriff, who represented attaching creditors. As to such creditors, the mortgage was either valid or void. There was no question of voidability as to them, nor do their rights to rescind the sales of goods made to Bartlett on the ground of fraud on the part of the purchaser, and to recover the goods so sold, affect the question in any manner of the validity or invalidity of the plaintiff’s mortgages. The plaintiff cannot maintain a cause of action based on a mortgage taken for the purpose of perpetrating a fraud on Bartlett’s creditors. ( Wafer v. Harvey County Bank, 46 Kan. 597.)
Complaint is made of the form of the verdict, and of the judgment rendered thereon, but we find them sufficient. We have carefully examined the voluminous record brought to this court, and find in it abundant evidence to uphold the verdict and judgment. It is therefore affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
: I am constrained to dissent from the first point of the syllabus and the corresponding
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.