State ex rel. Ridge v. Shoemaker
State ex rel. Ridge v. Shoemaker
Opinion of the Court
Respondent James B. Shoemaker was elected Circuit Clerk of Jackson County, Missouri, at the general election in November, 1910, and took charge of that office on January 3, 1911, having, on December 19, 1910, given an official bond, with his co-respondent, the Globe Surety Company, as surety, in the sum of $40,000, conditioned as. required by law. This action was brought by relator against said respondents on the above bond, and is based on alleged breaches thereof as follows, to-wit: 1st. That respondent Shoemaker
The alleged arrangements aforesaid with the First National Bank are set out in paragraph three of the second amended petition, which alleges in substance that this fund had previously been deposited by Oscar Hochland, Shoemaker’s predecessor in office, with said First National Bank, and that before this money was turned over to Shoemaker, as successor of said Hochland, the attorney for Tebeau had made arrangements with said First National Bank, by which the’ latter would pay three per cent per annum on said fund, for the benefit of the, fund, if said Shoemaker would permit said arrangement, and that said Shoemaker refused to accede to said arrangements, and deposited the same on an open current checking account to his credit as clerk, in said Commerce Trust Company; that the same remained there for the period, aforesaid, and that no interest was accumulated thereon for the benefit of the fund.
The fund in controversy was deposited by Oscar Hochland, as clerk aforesaid, under an arrangement made by the attorney for Tebeau; with the First National Bank, and made solely for the benefit of Tebeau. That bank agreed to pay Tebeau interest at the rate of two per cent per annum on the amount thereof. Shortly after the election of Mr. Shoemaker, Senator'Cooper, acting for Tebeau, approached respondent Shoemaker and requested him to keep the Tebeau money on deposit with said First National Bank, advising him that he had some talk with Mr. Swinney, president of that bank, about paying some interest to Tebeau on the
Senator Cooper testified that, in his conversation with Mr. Swinfiey, of the First National Bank, and with Mr. Kemper, of the Commerce Trust Company, and with respondent Shoemaker, about the matter, he was undertaking to get interest for Tebeau, and not for Ridge and so stated to all of them.
Respondent Shoemaker assigned as a reason for keeping the money on deposit in the Commerce Trust Company and in the National Bank of the Republic, the fact that the officers of these institutions were his particular friends. He further testified that there- was no understanding that the Commerce Trust Company and the National Bank of the Republic were to pay for his bond, and that the taking care of the same was not pursuant to any previous understanding or arrangement. He further testified that he never received one cent of interest personally from any Kansas City Bank, on any personal or other account.
Mr. W. T. Kemper, president of the Commerce Trust Company, testified that the premiums on the surety bond, which was given prior to the time that Shoemaker became clerk, were paid by the National Bank of the Republic and the Commerce Trust Company, and these payments were made at his suggestion. He stated further that he had suggested to Mr. Huttig that he thought, inasmuch as Mr. Shoemaker had told him he was going to give the two banks his deposit, it would be a nice thing for them to pay the premium on the bond for him. He testified that the furnishing of the bond by his bank and Mr. Huttig’s bank was merely a voluntary matter without any suggestion or requirement on the part of Mr. Shoemaker, and that there was no condition attached to the paying ofHhe premiums on the bona that' the money should be put in the two banks, and that nothing was said upon that subject. Mr. Kemper stated that the Commerce Trust Company paid interest on some checking accounts, but did not pay interest on many of them..'
Mr. Huttig testified there was no suggestion or arrangement with Mr. Shoemaker about the deposit made in his bank, and that Mr. Shoemaker simply “brought us over a deposit;” that no interest was paid to Mr. Shoemaker on the deposit and that he received
There was some evidence tending to show that exchange was charged Shoemaker by the Commerce Trust Company, but Shoemaker said this was of no benefit to him as he would have taxed same against the parties who sent him checks. Protest fees were charged on Shoemaker’s account several times, but he declined to pay the same. The accounts in both of the above banks were kept in Shoemaker’s name as clerk of the circuit court.
At the time the money was paid over to relator Ridge, nothing was said about interest. Neither relator, nor any party to said, suit, in which the deposits had been made, ever suggested that-the court make an order directing that the money in the hands of the clerk be loaned out. There is no testimony in the case tending to show that respondent Shoemaker ever received any interest from either of said banks on the respective deposits made with them.
At the close of the evidence, the trial court entered judgment in due form in favor of defendants. Relator filed his motion for a new trial in due time, which was overruled, and the cause duly appealed by him to this court.
This case was tried .without a jury and judgment rendered for defendants. The motion for a new trial contains but a single assignment of error, as follows: “That the finding and the judgment are contrary to the law and to the evidence.”
Section 4557, Bevised Statutes 1909, reads: “No officer appointed or elected by virtue of the Constitution of this State, or any law thereof, . . . shall loan out, wfith or without interest, any money or other valuable security received by him, ... by virtue of his office, agency or service, or under color or pretense thereof; and any such officer, agent or servant só loaning such money or valuable security, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary not less than two years or by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars.”
Ns the parties to the original litigation declined to obtain an order from the court for the loaning of such fund, and as the above statute absolutely forbade the clerk to loan the same or to receive interest thereon, upon wffiat principle of laAv can it' be contended that relator is entitled to interest on said fund?
In Snyder v. Cowan, supra, the defendant had in his hands certain funds which had been paid to him as damages due the plaintiff in a condemnation proceeding in the circuit court. The defendant loaned the money in his hands and actually received therefor interest thereon to the amount of $723.50. Plaintiff sought to recover from the clerk the above sum, and was successful in maintaining his action therefor. It will be observed, that in the above ease, no mention is made of the criminal statutes relating to the duty of the clerk in respect to such funds held b'y him as a public officer. In said cause, there was paid into the hands of the clerk for the benefit' of the landowner, $14,910. “Thereafter the defendant deposited the money in the bank, and for the use thereof received in the way of interest the amount here in controversy, $723.50, which plaintiff claims was received by defendant on his, plaintiff’s, money as and for his use and benefit.” On page 395, Burgess, J., in discussing the question, said: “Then, when the money had been paid into court by it for plaintiff and no exceptions had been filed by the railroad company to the report of the commissioners, the money thus paid in was his, and he had the right to demand and receive it from the clerk at any time he chose. ... To whom, then, did it belong? Not the railroad company, nor the clerk, but as a matter of course, it belonged to the plaintiff, for whose use and benefit it was paid into court.”
On page. 396, Burgess, J., in quoting from Bassett v. Kinney, 24 Conn. 267, used the following language: “The defendant was under no obligation to place the funds deposited with him as clerk of the court upon interest. ‘Had he locked them up in his chest, or merely deposited them in the bank for safe keeping, and re
We do not consider this case any authority for the recovery of interest by plaintiff upon the fund in controversy here. In the case before us, the clerk had on hands at all times sufficient funds to pay the relator the full amount of his demand when called upon to do so. On the day judgment was rendered in favor of relator for the $65,337, the same was paid to him by the defendant Shoemaker. The. money deposited by Tebeau was never loaned by Shoemaker at any time, as heretofore stated, nor did he ever receive any interest thereon. If he had received from the banks in which the deposits were made, interest on the funds aforesaid, then the authority above mentioned might be considered as relevant under such circumstances as are detailed in the Snyder-Cowan case.
In Railway Co. v. Clark, 121 Mo. l. c. 187, the same question arose as in the Snyder-Cowan case. Macearlane, J., in behalf of the court, on page 187, said: “It appears from the judgment of the court that the money paid to the clerk for defendants has, by order of the court, been loaned part of the time. Defendant being entitled to the money would be entitled also to what has been earned and added thereto by way of interest, but not to interest on the amount assessed by the jury.” The principle announced in this decision is in accord with the law as declared in the Snyder-Cowan case, supra.
The case of Railway Co. v. Fowler, 142 Mo. l. c. 687, follows the rule announced in the Snyder-Cowan case, supra, and only allows interest where the fund in controversy has been loaned or deposited by the clerk
We do not find anything in either of the cases relied upon which authorizes the recovery of interest on the fund in controversy here. The defendant Shoemaker, under the law as enunciated by this court, had the right to deposit the moneys received by him from Hochland in the banks aforesaid, in his name as clerk. [State v. Rubey, 77 Mo. l. c. 620-21.] As heretofore suggested, he kept, on hand sufficient funds at all times to meet the demand of relator in case the latter should elect to - accept the money deposited in his behalf. The relator, having taken no steps to have the fund loaned, and the clerk having received no interst thereon, we are not favorably impressed with the claim made, that relator is entitled to recover interest on the funds held by the clerk under such circumstances.
Having reached the conclusion heretofore that no part of the funds belonging to relator were loaned, and as he received all that was due him promptly on the day of the rendition of the judgment in his behalf, we are at a loss to understand why he should be permitted to recover the above sum when the clerk was forbidden to loan the money belonging to him, and which •he had not sought to have loaned during the litigation. If the clerk received the benefit by reason of an alleged improper arrangement made with these banks, as .above mentioned, the right to recover, on account of such acts, rests alone with the State.
Assuming for the purposes of the case that the $560 paid by the above banks was a benefit, and improperly received by defendant Shoemaker, yet, it was not received as interest on the fund held by him belonging to relator, and under the expressed provisions of Section 4558, Eevdsed Statutes 1909, supra, the State alone was given the right to recover from the banks the amount received by the defendant Shoemaker as a benefit on account of the deposit made by him as clerk of all the funds in his hands. The succeeding section, however, in express terms, provides the remedy against the clerk on account of his action, if wrongful, in receiving a benefit in violation of the law. Section 4559, Eevised Statutes 1909, reads as follows: “Any officer, agent or servant mentioned in Section 4557 who shall make any contract or agreement such as is described in the preceding sections, or who shall receive any benefit or advantage for the deposit of money or valuable security held by him as such officer, agent or servant, or over which he may have supervision, care or control by virtue of such office, agency or service, shall, upon convic
This section provides the remedy against the clerk for improperly deceiving a benefit on account of funds in his hands loaned to the banks. If he is guilty of a violation of law in receiving a benefit, suffice it to say, that no right of action has been given relator to recover therefor. The latter received every dollar that was due him on the very day the judgment was rendered in his behalf. No money belonging to him had been loaned by the clerk and no interest paid therefor. The clerk was prohibited by the statutes aforesaid from loaning relator’s funds, without an order of court authorizing same. We are, therefore, clearly of ’the opinion, that relator is not entitled to recover any interest on the funds aforesaid, nor has he any legal right to recover the $560 alleged to have been received by defendant Shoemaker as a benefit under the circumstances aforesaid.
The foregoing opinion in division is adopted by the Court in Banc.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- THE STATE ex rel. THOMAS S. RIDGE v. JAMES B. SHOEMAKER and GLOBE INSURANCE COMPANY
- Status
- Published