States v. First National Bank
States v. First National Bank
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Jacob States, Sr., the father of plaintiff, died September 21, 1892, and his will was admitted to probate October 7, of the same year. The testator bequeathed $1,000 to his daughter, Rebecca Vincent, to be paid to her by the plaintiff, his executor, within one year after his death. She died June 16, 1892 —three months before her father — and, under the statute, the legacy passed to her seven children. After the death of his father, plaintiff received letters purporting to have been written by his sister, of whose death he had no knowledge, the letters having really been written by Maud H. Vincent, a daughter of his deceased sister, at the dictation and under the direction of her father, Benjamin Vincent. The plaintiff supposed he was dealing with his sister, all letters received by him having been signed “ Rebecca Vincent ” or “ Ben and Rebecca to Jacob.” These letters and plaintiff’s replies to them resulted in a compromise, by the terms of which he was to pay Rebecca Vincent $900 in full payment of the legacy of $1,000. On March 23,
Through actual fraud and imposition practiced upon the plaintiff, he was led into the perpetration of a fraud upon the bank. No moral culpability, however, attaches to him, for he thought his sister was living when he purchased the draft from the bank for $900, payable to her order; and the cashier who drew it, it must be assumed, believed the payee was living, for banks do not deal with dead persons. It need hardly be argued that, if the bank had known or been told by States that his sister was dead, it would not have issued the draft to her order,
The duty of the plaintiff, when he discovered the fraud practiced upon him, was to promptly notify the bank, upon which he had innocently imposed, that it might take steps to protect itself against the consequences of what is now alleged to have been a payment upon a forged indorsement. That this was his clear duty rests upon reason and authority: Rick v. Kelly, 30 Pa. 531; Bank v. Bank, supra. If he had given such notice, the defendant could have notified its correspondent, the Chase National Bank, which paid the draft, that it would be held, and it, in turn, could have had recourse to J. B.Trimble & Company and Benjamin Vincent. But, if the bank should now be required to pay, and afterwards attempt to hold its correspondent, answer will be made that notice had not been given it, such as the law requires. On June 18, 1893, States knew that a fraud had been practiced upon him in March preceding, and though, to relieve himself from the consequences of it, he tried, in the following year, to secure releases from his sister’s children, he gave no notice to the bank of Vincent’s deception. If he had done so then, Trimble & Company being still in business and Benjamin Vincent living, recourse might have been had to them. Subsequently Trimble & Company failed, and his brother-in-law died, and not until January, 1897 (so far as we can learn from the record), was any notice given to the bank that its draft had been paid on a forged indorsement. To recover from it, he was bound to give it notice as soon as he discovered the fraud practiced upon him, and the burden was upon him, on the trial below, to show that he had given such notice. Not having done so, he cannot recover; and the judgment of the Superior Court, reversing the court below, is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- States v. First National Bank of Montrose
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Banks and banking — Fraud—Two innocent parlies — Forged draft — Impersonation — Notice. As between two innocent parties he who by first acting makes loss possible by inducing the other to act, must bear it. An executor received letters purporting to be signed by a legatee. As a matter of fact the legatee was dead, and the letters were written and signed by her daughter at the dictation and under the direction of her father. The executor bought a draft for the amount of the legacy to the order of the legatee, and sent it in a letter addressed to her. The husband received it and procured the daughter to forge the name of his deceased wife, and secured the money. The executor did not until nearly four years after he discovered the fraud notify the bank that its draft had been paid on a forged indorsement. Held, that no recovery could be had against the bank.