McPherson v. Boudreau
McPherson v. Boudreau
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Defendant claims that the" note sued upon represented the purchase price of the interest of one Martial Oasse in a partnership between Oasse and himself; that that sale was very shortly after it was made rescinded, and the note declared by Oasse to have been destroyed. That he was under the belief that this was so until it was presented to him for payment nearly five years after its maturity by the sister-in-law of Oasse as the holder. He contends that plaintiff did not acquire the note until March, 1895. That although the note was payable on demand, and no demand had been made until after she became the owner, her acquisition at that late date threw open for inquiry the equities between Oasse and himself. Plaintiff testified that although she acquired the note in full ownership in March, 1895, she had held it as collateral security from some time in July, 1890, for a note given by Oasse to herself at that time for money loaned to him, which note was renewed in 1894, and the collateral note still held until 1895. Defendant calls our attention to the fact that plaintiff shows by her own testimony that after Oasse had given her the note as collateral, in 1890, she placed it, as she says, in the custody of her sister, the wife of Oasse, for safe keeping, in whose possession it continued until just before it was transferred in full ownership, in March, 1895. He says that if the pledge was
In reference to this last contention, this court said: “When, as in this case, the note drawn to the order of the maker is endorsed by him in blank and before maturity transferred for value to the plaintiff, the maker can not be heard upon a question which con - cerns only other creditors of the pledgor.” Citing Matthews vs. Rutherford, 7 An. 227.
Referring to the fact that the note had been originally held as collateral security, the court said: “It is further urged that the plaintiffs are not holders for value, because ;they received the note as collateral security only, but the contrary doctrine is well settled (Swift vs. Tyson, 16 Peters 20; Succession of Dolhonde, 21 An. 3).
In the case at bar, if, in point of fact, the plaintiff held the note as collateral security from July, 1890, until her holding was changed into one of absolute ownership in March, 1895, and during that period inquiry into the equities upon the note was cut off by reason of her having had the same transferred to her just after its issue, for a valuable consideration in due course of trade, and without notice, we do not think the mere change of the tenure by which she held the note, from holding it as security into holding it as owner, would open the equities as if her first dealings in connection with the note had commenced in 1895. Had the first connection with it begun with its acquisition as owner in 1895, possibly defendant’s contention that its staleness at that time was a matter sufficient to have placed her on inquiry as to the equities, even though it was a demand note, might be correct. Thompson vs. Hall, 6 Pick. 260 (referred to in Matthews vs. Rutherford, 7 An. 226), seems to have been a case where a demand note was raken as collateral “ six months after it was due, and under circumstances which might reasonably excite suspicion that it was affected by equities.” What the facts of that case were, however, we do not know, but in the present one the relations of parties originated within a few days after the collateral note was issued, and the protection against equities, which was the result of the first transaction, was not, as we have said, forfeited by the fact that by and through a later transaction she became the actual owner of the note. The fact that plaintiff turned over this note immediately after having herself received it, to her sister, the wife of Oasse (for safe keeping, as she says), and that she permitted it to remain so long in her hands, might be a circumstance going to throw doubt as to whether the note ever was held as collateral, but that fact itself' being established, we do not think the pledgee’s rights 'were injuriously affected by her placing it in her sister’s hands. There were no creditor’s rights involved.
In so far as the circumstances themselves under which plaintiff first took the note are concerned, the presumption resting from her holding the same would be that she acquired it in good faith before
There is but one single feature of the original transaction calculated to throw any suspicion about it, and that is a statement volunteered by plaintiff herself, in her testimony, that Casse told her when he gave her the note that he would never collect it himself. Plaintiff evidently attached no particular signifinance to the statement at that time or afterward. We do not think the circumstance sufficient to withdraw from the plaintiff the protection of the rule of the commercial law relative to the cutting off of the equities.
Defendant objected to evidence going to show that plaintiff ever held the note as collateral, on the ground that it was not admissible under the pleadings, as she said nothing in her petition on that sub - j'ect, but claimed to hold the note as owner. She did hold the note as owner at the time of the institution of the suit and therefore her pleadings were unobjectionable. When her good faith was attacked and the equities were sought to be opened she had the right to resist or repel the effort to do so by showing the facts connected with her holding the note prior to her acquiring the absolute ownership of the same.
Defendant has not established with any certainty the time at which the purchase by him of Oasse’s interest in the partnership was set aside; it was certainly not until after the note had been placed by him in Oasse’s possession, in a form such as would enable him to deal with it as strictly negotiable paper with third parties. It is not shown as a fact (even if that fact would have had any legal effect in the case) that this rescission took place prior to the transfer of the note to plaintiff as collateral. If defendant should suffer loss in this matter, it will be the result of his having so implicitly trusted
We think the judgment correct, and it is hereby affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mary Ella McPherson v. Edgar Boudreau
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published