Murray v. Grover
Murray v. Grover
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
On April 9,1919, Joseph A. Murray & Co., Inc., made its promissory note for $500, payable to the order of B. J. Murray on demand, at 621 Widener Building, Philadelphia, with interest at six per cent. It was endorsed by Joseph A. Murray and Edwin A. Grover.
The payee, Bernard J. Murray, brought suit against the endorser Edwin A. Grover to enforce payment, averring a demand for payment on March 7, 1921, with refusal and protest.. On the trial the note was put in, and the endorsement, demand, nonpayment and protest were proved as averred. No evidence was offered by defendant. The court instructed the jury to find for the plaintiff and declined to direct a verdict for defendant. He appealed and now contends that the court erred in deciding, that presentment for payment nearly 23 months after the note was issued was within a reasonable time under the Negotiable Instruments Law, 1901, P. L. 194.
As the record contains nothing excusing presentment for payment under section 80, presentment was necessary under section 70 to charge the endorser Grover. Section 71 provides “......where it [the instrument] is payable on demand, presentment must be made within a reasonable time after its issue......” Section 193 provides: “In determining what is a ‘reasonable time’ or an ‘unreasonable time’ regard is to be had to the nature of the instrument1, the usage of trade or business, (if any), with respect to such instruments, and the fact's of the particular case.”
Judgment reversed with a venire facias de novo.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.