Fifth Ward Savings Bank v. First National Bank
Fifth Ward Savings Bank v. First National Bank
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This is an action of trover for the alleged conversion of certain bonds. The essential features of the case are these: One Boice was the treasurer and secretary of the plaintiff, the savings bank, and in these capacities transacted its usual business, and assuming an authority he did not possess, he fraudulently obtained a loan of the defendant in the name of the plaintiff and ostensibly for its use; to secure the repayment of the moneys thus borrowed he pledged to the defendant the bonds in dispute. The funds thus realized were appropriated by Boice to his own use, that being his design when he obtained them. The fact of the fraud of Boice was not in dispute, the only point now in question being, whether he had either apparently or actually been clothed with authority to borrow moneys for the plaintiff and ■ to place its securities as collateral.
At the trial the judge presiding held that such authority was not incident to the offices held by this man. It is clear
As it was clearly shown that Boice acted knavishly in this affair, and had not been clothed with any express power to obtain the loan in question, or to pledge these bonds, the only open point of inqxiiry on this subject was, whether or not the plaintiff had put its treasurer in such an attitude before the public or before this defendant, as to have warranted a reasonable inference that he was its general agent and had the right to execute the transaction in question. This part of the case was left to the jury as a matter of fact, and the verdict was in favor of the plaintiff.
After a careful study of the testimony, no ground has been found that will justify this court in disturbing this finding of the jury. It is true that a large control over the business of the plaintiff had been confided to Boice. He had been paid a. salary and had been allowed to select his subordinate. One-of the witnesses said he had been employed for “ so much money to run the bank,” but this merely meant that he carried on for the institution its every-day affairs, such as receiving deposits, investing its moneys, receiving interest money and paying depositors. For such purposes he was undoubtedly the general agent of the plaintiff with regard to the ordinary transactions incident to its business; but such authority, standing by itself, would not have warranted even an inference as a matter of fact that this treasurer had been capacitated to obtain loans for the institution. But in addition to this practice of the treasurer, there was testimony showing that on two or three occasions, in times of panic, when there had been runs upon the savings bank, the treasurer, without
Under these conditions of the proofs, the question was properly left to the decision of the jury.
The verdict must, therefore, stand.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- THE FIFTH WARD SAVINGS BANK, OF JERSEY CITY v. THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF JERSEY CITY
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published