Glass v. Nebraska State Bank
Glass v. Nebraska State Bank
Opinion of the Court
This is an action by the plaintiff against the defendant bank for the recovery of $4,238.82, part of the bank deposit made in the defendant bank by the plaintiff. After trial, the court entered judgment for the defendant bank and the plaintiff appeals. The sole question involved in this case is whether the bank was legally authorized to debit the plaintiffs account with two checks. The two checks were drawn by another party, Francis L. Sherlock, against his own account and in which account there were insufficient funds to pay said checks in the amounts of $2,184.59 and $2,054.23. The question may be otherwise stated generally as to whether the deposit
From an examination of the evidence in this case, the following facts appear: On August 18, 1960, the plaintiff opened an account with the defendant Nebraska State Bank in the name of Glass Land Company by Oris Glass, a trade name under which the plaintiff did business. This account was opened by the deposit of a check in the sum of $4,500 executed by Eugene Russell, president of The Paddock, Inc. It was payable to Francis L. Sherlock and Glass Land Company and bore a notation in the lower left-hand corner, “Escrow account on Sherlock Farm & Bar.” This check was unrestrictedly endorsed by the payee, Francis L. Sherlock, and delivered to the plaintiff. There is dispute in the evidence, which will be discussed later, as to what happened on August 17, 1960, in an alleged conversation between Russell, the plaintiff, and the bank teller, James G. Melvin. On August 18, 1960, the plaintiff came to the bank to make a deposit of the check, and the transaction was handled on behalf of the bank by James G. Melvin, a teller. This transaction was in the customary form in making a general deposit. Melvin made out a deposit slip which was introduced in evidence'as exhibit 1. This deposit slip was in the usual form without any special notations. At the same time, the plaintiff was also given an account number in the usual form for a general account in the bank. A signature card was completed and executed. The signature card is on a printed form and captioned, “Signature Card,” and immediately beneath this appears the notation, “A - Checking Account - Individual.” Following the filling in of the name of the depositor, this signature card contains a number of detailed printed stipulations and agreements to which the depositor agrees by making a1' deposit. The details of these recitals on the signature card are not
On the following day, August 19, 1960, two checks drawn by Francis L. Sherlock against his own individual account, one in the sum of $2,184.59 and the other in the sum of $2,054.23, were debited by Melvin, a teller, against the' account of the plaintiff and transferred to the Sherlock account. There were insufficient funds in the Sherlock account to pay the checks. It is undisputed that there was no written check or written authorization for this debiting or for a transfer transaction. Both of the Sherlock checks referred to above were in the bank in the usual course of business on the morning of August 18, 1960, and were there before the plaintiffs account was opened on that same date. Sherlock is not a party to the case; and he was not called nor did he testify at all.
We go now to the defendant’s evidence. It is all oral in nature and consists of an attempt to show that the deposit made by Glass was for a special purpose, that the money deposited was for a trust deposit, and that the bank was authorized and directed to debit the money in the plaintiff’s account to the Sherlock account. Sherlock did not testify, but it is undisputed that there were insufficient funds in Sherlock’s account to cover the two checks written by him. The defendant’s testimony, in substance, is that on the afternoon before the deposit was made, August 17, 1960, an oral conversation was had between Eugene Russell, the maker of the deposited check, the plaintiff, and Melvin. Melvin, the teller, testified that Glass and Russell asked him if there was some way they could open up an escrow account to take care of the checks of Francis L. Sherlock. He
The evidence here shows that this was a general deposit. The presumption is that a deposit is general and not special. When Glass deposited the money, as between Glass and the bank, it ceased to be the money of the depositor and became the money of the bank to which the depositor became a creditor of the bank to the extent thereof. Nichols v. State, 46 Neb. 715, 65 N. W. 774; Board of County Commissioners of Seward County v. Cattle, 14 Neb. 144, 15 N. W. 337; State ex rel. Davis v. Farmers & Merchants Bank, 114 Neb. 378, 207 N. W. 666. In this case, what was the nature of the contract of deposit between the plaintiff and the bank? A bank is authorized to pay only to the person designated according to the terms of the contract. A bank,
Despite the complete and unambigous terms of this transaction and the reduction of the agreements with reference to the deposit in a clearly understandable form used in the usual course of business, the defendant contends that this deposit was for a special purpose. It introduced evidence, to- which there was objection, to show that the real nature of the deposit was for a special purpose and that prior to and contemporaneous' with the actual transaction made, there was an agreement that this money was to be deposited and used only for the purpose of paying the Sherlock checks. We think applicable here are the following pronouncements that we have made with reference to the introduction of parol evidence to vary, to alter, or to contradict by prior or contemporaneous oral testimony the terms of a written contract or transaction. In Theno v. National
In Master Laboratories, Inc. v. Chesnut, 157 Neb. 317, 59 N. W. 2d 571, we stated as follows: “The correct rule is set out in Telluride Power Transmission Company v. Crane Company, 208 Ill. 218, 70 N. E. 319, as follows: ‘The rule is, that when the writings show, upon inspection, a complete legal obligation, without any uncertainty or ambiguity as to the object and extent of the engagement, it is conclusively presumed that the whole agreement of the parties was included in the writings. The fact that a point has been omitted which might have been embodied therein will not open the door to the admission of parol evidence in that regard. * * * The rule is too well recognized to require citation of authorities that all preliminary negotiations, whether oral or written, are merged in the written contract.’ ”
We conclude, and it seems obvious, that there was neither ambiguity nor omission within the meaning of the foregoing rules as applied to the writings and the written evidences thereof in this general deposit transaction. The undisputed writings in evidence in this case not only declare the nature of the deposit and the terms and the agreements with respect to withdrawal, but it is clear that they comport and comply with the very conditions imposed and required by the bank itself to open a general deposit account. The bank, by the terms of the declaration and the agreement entered into itself, agreed to be bound by and agreed to honor withdrawals only upon the signature of that person who signed the signature card. Contemporaneous or prior oral agreements to the contrary would be inconsistent with and would deny the very thing that the parties here themselves did. At the time Melvin opened the account for Glass, the Sherlock checks which he sub
The defendant’s theory is that the sum deposited here was a deposit for a special purpose and that when a person makes a deposit for a specific purpose it constitutes a trust deposit and must be treated by the bank as such. The defendant concedes that the burden of proving that a trust deposit existed rests upon the defendant and in order to meet such a test, it must be made by clear and satisfactory evidence. The general rule is well stated in 7 Am. Jur., Banks, § 419, p. 294, as follows: “* * * the burden devolves on the party who claims that the deposit is a special one to show that it was received by the bank with the express or clearly implied agreement that it should be kept separate from the general funds of the bank and that it should remain intact.” (See note 13 citing approximately 22 cases.) See, also, Annotations, 86 A. L. R. 375, 16 L. R. A. 516; Ann. Cas. 1913E 45. Two Nebraska cases are cited by the defendant in support of its position. They are State ex rel. Sorensen v. Bank of Otoe, 125 Neb. 530, 251 N. W. 111; State ex rel. Sorensen v. Farmers & Merchants
This follows the general rule that a fiduciary or trustee may, as a general rule, deposit trust funds in a bank as a general deposit, and with full knowledge of the bank, and the fact that the funds so deposited are trust funds does not destroy the character of the deposit as being a general one, subject to the withdrawal of the trustee depositor, and does not make the deposit a special one. 7 Am. Jur., Banks, § 421, p. 295; Annotation, 53 A. L. R. 564.
Under the evidence in this case and the law applicable thereto, the judgment is hereby reversed and the cause remanded to' the district court with directions to render judgment for the plaintiff’ in the sum of $4,238.82 together with interest.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
Concurring Opinion
concurring in this dissent.
I am unable to agree with the majority opinion. I find no fault with the conclusion that the deposit involved was a general deposit and that its terms could not be modified by a contemporaneous oral agreement not embraced in the written contract. That, however, is only one phase of the case.
The majority opinion entirely disregards the fact that a written contract may be subsequently modified by parol. 12 Am. Jur., Contracts, § 428, p. 1006.
As early as Erskine v. Johnson, 23 Neb. 261, 36 N. W. 510, this court, in an opinion by Judge Maxwell, held: “A provision in a building contract, that ‘no new work of any description done on the premises, nor any work of any kind whatsoever, shall be considered as extra
The phase of the case ignored by the majority opinion is whether the bank was subsequently orally authorized to transfer the funds from the account of the plaintiff to pay the two checks involved.
Plaintiff in his petition alleged that the defendant, without any authorization whatever, charged the checks to his account. The answer of defendant contained a general denial, which put the question of authorization in issue.
The plaintiff opened the account in the defendant bank on August 18, 1960, by depositing The Paddock, Inc., check in the amount of $4,500. The two checks written by Sherlock, in the amounts of $2,184.59 and $2,054.23 were received by the bank in the morning mail on August 18, 1960, and were in the bank at the time the account was opened. The custom and practice of the bank was to post all items on the day following their receipt. Consequently, it was not until August 19, 1960, that the bank determined that the Sherlock account was insufficient to pay the two checks which had been received in the mail on August 18, 1960.
On August 19, 1960, the bank teller in charge of returned checks brought the two Sherlock checks to James G. Melvin, another teller of the bank, and the officer who had talked with the plaintiff and had acted for the bank at the time the plaintiff had opened the account.
Melvin then attempted to call the plaintiff by telephone but was unable to reach him. Later that day, at about closing time, the plaintiff called Melvin and, according to Melvin, authorized the transfer of funds from the plaintiff’s account to pay the two Sherlock checks.
The fact that the two Sherlock checks were in the bank at the time the plaintiff opened the account is not im
The evidence on the specific authorization embraced in the second phase of the case is Melvin’s testimony about the telephone call from the plaintiff to the bank. He testified that the plaintiff had left his telephone number with him with instructions that as soon as the checks from Sherlock came into the bank, that he was to notify the plaintiff. Melvin then testified in substance that on August 19, 1960, he telephoned the plaintiff and could not contact him. He left his telephone number, however, and the plaintiff called back and gave him oral authorization to transfer money from the account that had been opened on August 18, 1960, to cover the checks of Sherlock. Melvin’s testimony in this respect is as follows: “Q The number you had left for him to call, was that the regular bank business number? A Yes. Q Did you then talk to Mr. Glass at 3:00 pan-as stated? A Yes. Q What did he say and what did you say? * * * A He said, ‘Hello Jim, this is Oris Glass’. I said, ‘Yes’. He said, ‘This is Oris Glass. You called me?’ And I said, ‘Yes’. And I proceeded to tell him about the two checks and asked him to come in at the time he could come in to transfer some money. He said he couldn’t get away right at that time and it being 3:00 o’clock, our hour for closing of business I had to either have him do that or send the checks back or transfer the money, which I told him I had to do one of the three, and he asked me could I do the transferring of the money and I said yes I could. Q . Did you then transfer the money? A Yes, I did. * * * Q Was that transfer accomplished by debit memo to the account of Glass Land Company in which the $4500 was placed? A Yes.”
Melvin transferred from Glass’ account to Sherlock’s account an amount sufficient to cover the two insufficient fund checks of Sherlock. Glass denies absolutely all of the testimony with reference to both the original
It is my position that the trial court’s judgment may be sustained on the basis of the testimony of Melvin that he held a telephone conversation with Glass on the afternoon of August 19, 1960, the day after the final deposit, by which conversation he received direct oral authorization to transfer these funds. Under the terms of a contract of general deposit with the bank, is the bank bound to pay only upon the authorized written signature, or may it rely upon subsequent oral authorization? So far as I have been able to determine, there is no law applying a different rule to bank contracts than to any other type of contract. The rule is that a bank may require, under the terms of a general deposit, the authority of a written signature on a check, but may honor or may disburse or transfer funds upon an oral authorization of the depositor.
The rule is stated in 5A, Michie, Banks and Banking, § 43a, p. 105: “The relation between a bank and a depositor being that of debtor and creditor, the bank can justify a payment out of the depositor’s account only upon the actual direction of the depositor, which may be oral as well as written. It is sufficient if the bank practically carries out the instructions of a depositor as to paying his deposit to the third person; but it is liable for payment of a deposit upon the direction of a person who was unauthorized to give it.” The rule seems to be that a check is. only a written order, and a verbal direction from a customer to a bank to pay a sum, or transfer a credit, is sufficient authority for the bank in so doing. Whitsett v. Peoples Nat. Bank, 138 Mo. App. 81, 119 S. W. 999; Lind v. Porter, 46 Idaho 50, 266 P. 419, citing 2 Michie on Banks and Banking, p. 927; Ellis v. First Nat. Bank, 22 R. I. 565, 48 A. 986; Petty v Gacking, 97 Ark. 217, 133 S. W. 832, 33 L. R. A. N. S. 175.
In the case of Blose Estate, 374 Pa. 100, 97 A. 2d 358,
In Annotation, 2 A. L. R. 176, the rule is stated as follows: “But a bank may, if it so desires, waive its right to a written order, and is authorized to pay out a fund on deposit or transfer the deposit to the name of another on the oral order of the depositor. Rice v. Bank of Camas Prairie (1896) 5 Idaho, 39, 47 Pac. 856; Neff v. Greene County Nat. Bank (1886) 89 Mo. 581, 1 S. W. 747; Whitsett v. People’s Nat. Bank (1909) 138 Mo. App. 81, 119 S. W. 999; Ellis v. First Nat. Bank (1901) 22 R. I. 565, 48 Atl. 936. See also First Nat. Bank v. Hall (1898) 119 Ala. 64, 24 So. 526.”
A further statement of the rule is in 7 Am. Jur., Banks, § 504, p. 359: “A bank may, however, if it so desires, waive its right to a written order and pay out a fund on deposit or transfer the deposit to the name of another on the oral order of the depositor.”
It is clear, therefore, that under the principles applicable to the authority of a bank arising out of a contract of general deposit with a depositor it may justify a transfer of funds or a payment on the basis of an oral authorization from the depositor. This presented a factual question for determination by the trial court. The testimony in this case revolved around a dispute as to
It therefore appears, applying the principles of law applicable thereto, that the plaintiff entered into a general deposit contract with the bank. Under the law applicable thereto, the bank was entitled to withdraw or transfer the funds to cover these two checks on the oral authorization of the plaintiff Glass. The trial court’s judgment in this respect should have been affirmed.
Concurring Opinion
concurring.
It appears necessary to point out in the instant case that the issues contained in the pleadings do not include any contention that there was a modification of the deposit agreement made in writing at the time the deposit was made. The sole issue as shown by the pleadings and the briefs was whether or not the deposit was one for a special purpose which authorized the bank to charge the amounts of the two Sherlock checks to plaintiff’s account. The holding of the majority that the deposit was a general deposit, with which the minority takes no exception, disposes of the issues correctly.
The evidence shows that the two checks were in the bank for payment when plaintiff made his deposit. The account on which they were drawn did not contain sufficient funds for their payment. If they were to be unconditionally paid from plaintiff’s account, it would seem that authorization could have been obtained at that, time. But instead, a written contract for a general deposit was entered into. All negotiations were merged in the deposit contract. The evidence of the bank’s employee that he obtained oral authorization by telephone, which was unequivocally denied by plaintiff, to pay the checks from plaintiff’s deposit account is indicative of no intention to modify the deposit agreement. That no such intention existed is supported by the fact that neither the pleadings nor the briefs allege any such facts. The rule has always been that a judgment must be supported by allegations in the pleadings and proof by evidence. Hallgren v. Williams, 146 Neb. 525, 20 N. W. 2d 499; National Fire Ins. Co. v. Evertson, 153 Neb. 854, 46 N. W. 2d 489; Miller v. City of Scottsbluff, 155 Neb. 185, 50 N. W. 2d 824.
The position taken in the dissenting opinion is not supported by pleadings or proof. The statement in the dissenting opinion that the majority opinion disregards the fact that a written contract may be subsequently
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Oris Glass, Doing Business as Glass Land Company, Appellant, v. Nebraska State Bank, a Corporation, Appellee
- Cited By
- 14 cases
- Status
- Published