Merchants' Nat. Bank v. National Bank of Commerce

ruled, that in the absence of instructions or consent expressed or implied by the plaintiff bank, the defendants were not authorized to surrender the bills of lading upon acceptance of the drafts by Green & Travis, but should have held them for payment; that the agreement of the vendors of the cotton and drawers of the drafts (Mul-ford & ' uderson) that the bills of ladiug should be delivered up upon acceptance of the drafts would not be obligatory upon the p’aintiff bank unless they were informed of it, and directed the jury to find upon and answer two questions: First, whether there was an agreement between Green & Travis and Mul-ford & Anderson that the bills of lading should be surrendered upon their acceptance; second, whether this was known to the plaintiff bank.

The jury found, under the instructions of the court, a general verdict for the plaintiff for the value of the cotton surrendered, and found also that there was an agreement with Green & Travis by Mulford & Anderson for the surrender of the bills of lading upon acceptance of the drafts, but that the agreement was not known to the plaintiff bank.