Commercial Credit Co. v. Girard National Bank
Commercial Credit Co. v. Girard National Bank
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The Commercial Credit Company filed this bill in equity against the Girard National Bank, and the Emporium Iron Company, to determine the ownership of certain moneys in the hands of the bank. The controversy is between the Commercial Credit Company and the Emporium Iron Company. The Girard National
“Third — Sales. The said ‘Agent’ agrees to prosecute diligently the sale of all iron manufactured by the said ‘Company’ and to secure for it the very best price possible, and the ‘Company’ also agrees to refer all inquiries for the purchase of iron that it may receive direct from time to time directly to the ‘Agent.’ The price or prices at which said iron shall be sold shall be mutually agreed upon between the ‘Company’ and its said ‘Agent’ at least once a month, or oftener if necessary.
“Fourth — All pig iron manufactured by the said ‘Company’ shall be billed by it to said ‘Agent’ and payments therefor shall be made by said ‘Agent’ on all orders furnished by them to said ‘Company’ on or before the twenty-fifth day of each month for all shipments made during the preceding month.”
“Seventh — Commissions. The ‘Company’ does hereby agree to pay to the said ‘Agent’ a commission of two and one-half per cent, on the selling price on all iron manufactured by the said ‘Company’ f. o. b. cars furnace.”
The practice under the agreement was as follows: Dimmick & Co. would send an order to the Emporium
The case turns upon the question, whether or not Dim-mick & Co. were properly regarded as purchasers of the iron. If they were, the ownership of the accounts was in them, and their assignment of the bills and accounts, passed a good title to the plaintiff. If not, plaintiff having taken the assignment with notice of the contractual relations between the assignors and the iron company, could not assert title as against the latter. Counsel for appellant contend that Dimmick & Co. were agents of the Emporium Iron Company with a del credere commission. In Black’s Law Diet. (2d Ed. 1910), 347, del credere is defined as follows: “A phrase borrowed from the Italians, equivalent to our word ‘guaranty’ or ‘warranty,’ or the Scotch term ‘warrandice’; an agreement by which a factor, when he sells goods on credit, for an additional commission called a ‘del credere commission,’ guaranties the solvency of the purchaser and his performance of the contract. Such a factor is called a del credere agent. He is a mere surety, liable only to his principal in case the purchaser made default.” In the present case there was nothing in the agreement which made Dimmick .& Co. guarantors of the sales to their customers, nor did their liability to the Emporium Iron Company depend upon any default by the purchaser of
The assignments of error are overruled and the decree of the court below is affirmed, and this appeal is dismissed at the cost of appellant.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Commercial Credit Company v. Girard National Bank
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- Syllabus
- Contracts — Sales—Factors—Bel credere factors — Principal and agents — Vendor and vendee — Construction of contracts — Intention. ’ 1. There is no magic in the word “agency”; persons may suppose that their relationship is that of principal and agent when in point of law it is not. If the contract in its terms really constitutes one of the parties a purchaser from the other, the'use of words implying' that such purchaser was an agent does not change the relationship. ■ 2. A. del credere factor is one who sells goods on credit and who for an additional commission, called a “del credere commission,” guarantees the solvency of the purchaser and his performance of the contract. Such factor is a mere surety liable only to his principal in case the purchaser make default. 3. In a proceeding in equity to determine the ownership of certain funds, resulting from the collection of accounts for iron sold, which accounts had been assigned to the plaintiff by a third company, the fund was properly awarded to the assignee of the accounts, as against the company which had manufactured the iron, where it appeared that the assignor had sold the iron in question under a contract with the iron company which provided, inter alia, that the iron company “does hereby appoint (the assignor) as its exclusive sales agent;......the said agent agrees to prosecute diligently the sale of all iron manufactured by the said company, and to secure for it the very best price possible, and the company also agrees to refer all inquiries for the purchase of iron that it may receive direct from time to time, directly to the agent; the price or prices at which said iron shall.be sold shall be mutually agreed upon between the said company and its said agent at least once a month or oftener if necessary;......all pig iron manufactured by said company shall be billed by it to the said agent, and payments therefor shall be made by'said company on all orders furnished by them to said company on or before the 25th day of each month for all shipments made during the preceding month; the company does hereby agree to pay to the said agent a commission of two and one-half per cent, on the selling price of all iron manufactured by the said company f. o. b. cars furnace,” and that the iron company had the right to demand payment of 95 per cent, of its invoices at any time prior to the 25th of the month following shipments, paying interest on such advances up to the regular settlement date, and that the iron company had the right to demand advance payment on iron not sold hp to a stipulated amount, and that such iron was to be stored and become the property of the assignor; and in accordance with the practice under this agreement, the assignor had sent orders for the iron in question to the iron company with shipping directions; that the latter shipped the iron direct to the consignee and' charged the same to the assignor, sending with the bill a.duplicate bill of lading; the assign- or sent a bill for such iron to the consignee in their firm name and not as agent; but that the iron company’s dealings were entirely with the assignors, and that it had no contractual relations with the consignees of the iron; and that the assignors, or their assignees, did not collect the price of the iron for the manufacturing company, but on their own account and were bound to pay the company the price of the iron shipped whether or not the consignee paid for it. 4. In such case the ■ assignors of the claims were not merely guarantors to the iron company of the accounts of the persons purchasing from them, but on the contrary they were in fact and in law purchasers'of the iron, and therefore the iron company had no interest in their claims against the parties to whom they sold the iron.