Graton & Knight Manufacturing Co. v. Redelsheimer
Graton & Knight Manufacturing Co. v. Redelsheimer
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
— The appellant brought this action to recover the amount of three certain bank checks drawn in its favor and payable to its order, which checks, it alleges, were wrongfully and without its authority indorsed in its name by one G-. H. Bynon, and delivered to the respondent, who collected the same and refused, on demand, to turn the proceds thereof over to it. The respondent, for answer, admitted receiving the checks described, but denied that they were indorsed and delivered to him by Bynon without authority from the appellant; further alleging a state of facts tending to show an apparent, if not an actual, authority on the part of Bynon to indorse the same. He also denied that he had collected the checks, averring that on receipt of them he regularly indorsed and delivered them to a national bank doing business at Seat-tie, and that the same were collected, if collected at all, by the bank named. The action was tried by the court and a jury, and resulted in a verdict and judgment for the respondent
The respondent moves to1 strike from the records the statement of facts and the appellant’s briefs, and dismiss the appeal.
The motion to strike the statement is based upon the grounds that the action was tried by one W. K. Bell, judge
It is first assigned that the court erred in refusing to take the case from the jury and enter judgment for the appellant. Prom the record it appears that the appellant is a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, having authority under its charter to engage in the business of “the manufacture of leather belting and the leather, for the same, and buying and selling and tanning hides and skins, and buying and selling and making leather and all products of tanning, and belting of all kinds, and lacings, and all belting and factory supplies, and counters and soles and all shoe manu
This evidence was sufficient to authorize the court to submit the question of the respondent’s liability to the jury. While it is true a principal may limit the authority of its agent in any manner it pleases, and while such limitations are obligatory as between the principal and agent, and the principal and any person dealing with the agent with knowledge of the limitations upon his authority, as between the principal and one having no knowledge of any sncli limitations the agent’s authority is such as is properly inferable from the nature of his employment. In other words, a principal is responsible for the- acts of his
We have not overlooked the contention to the effect that the corporate powers of the appellant, as shown by its •charter, does not authorize it to deal in goods other than a particular kind, and lienee it had no authority to make such purchases as were made of the respondent even had it directly authorized its agent so to do. But this cannot aid the appellant. A corporation has sometimes been permitted to disavow an unexecuted contract which it has ■attempted to enter into, because beyond the scope of its •charter powers; but the doctrine of ultra vires, so far as we are aware, has never been invoked successfully when the purpose was to permit a corporation to recover money paid by it for the purchase of goods which it had received and ■appropriated to its own use.
The court gave to the jury the following instruction:
“You are further instructed that the laws of the state ■of Washington prescribe the liability of an intermediate indorser upon a check, and such laws provide as follows: Every indorser who indorses without qualification war*378 rants to all subsequent holders in due course that the instrument is genuine, and in all respects what it purports-to be; that ho has a good title to it; that all prior parties-had capacity to contract; that -on due presentation it will, be accepted or paid, or both; and that if it be dishonored, he will pay the amount thereof to the holder, or to any-subsequent indorser who may be compelled to pay it.
“If you find from the evidence in this case that the-checks upon which this action is founded ivere regularly delivered to an agent of the plaintiff, no matter wdiat the-authority of that agent was; that such checks were transferred to the defendant in the regular course of business, no matter whether the indorsement thereon was genuine or forged; that the defendant, in the regular course of business, indorsed such checks and delivered them to some person, corporation, or bank, other than the one upon which drawn, and received either money -or credit thereon, in the-regular course of business, and indorsed said checks for the-purpose of transferring them, and such other person, corporation, or bank afterwards indorsed the same to another person, corporation, or bank, then you are instructed that the defendant, Kedelsheimer, became an intermediate indorser of those checks, and is liable only to subsequent holders in due course, and is not liable to prior holders or indorsers, even though the prior indorsement may have been forged. Under the laws of this state, tlie contract of' the indorser is only with the subsequent holders in due course of business, and the contract is that which I have-heretofore stated to you, and there is no contract betw-een the intermediate indorser and the holder or indorser next prior to him; that in this case it is conceded that the plaintiff, Graton & Knight Manufacturing Company, is not a subsequent indorser of these cheeks in the due course of business.”
This was error. It is doubtless true that the respondent'is liable as indorser only to the subsequent holders "in due course, but the appellant’s right of action is founded upon an entirely different principle. The appellant’s action is founded upon the claim that the respondent re
The court withdrew from the consideration of the jury certain oral evidence tending to show what the authority given Bynon was with reference to the indorsement of checks,1 for the reason that it was not shown that it had been communicated to, or that the respondent had knowledge thereof. This was error. ' The extent of Bynon’s actual authority was one of the issues in the case, and the appellant was entitled to show its extent by any competent evidence.
It is claimed that the court erred in admitting in evidence certain advertisements of the appellant’s business contained in the city directory of the city of Seattle, set in display type, in one of which Bynon was described as appellant’s local manager. It was shown that this particular one was inserted by Bynon shortly after he was employed by the appellant; one of the appellant’s witnesses, who
We have examined the other errors assigned and do not find them of merit sufficient to require special discussion. For the errors above mentioned, however, the judgment must be reversed and a new trial had, and it is so ordered.
Reavis, C. I., and Dunbar, Anders, Mount, Hadley and White, JJ., concur.
Reference
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- Graton & Knight Manufacturing Company v. J. Redelsheimer
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- APPEAL-STATEMENT OE FACTS-CERTIFICATION BY JUDGE PRO TEM-PORE AFTER SUCCEEDING TO OFFICE. The fact that a statement of facts was certified hy one of the judges of the superior court, while the action was tried by such judge as a judge pro tempore, before he succeeded to the office, would not he ground for striking the statement, since it fully meets the requirement of having been certified by the judge who tried the cause. SAME-CONTENTS OF BRIEFS. The failure of appellant to comply with the requirements of rule 8 of the supreme court respecting the contents of briefs may be cured by the filing of new briefs fully complying therewith. PRINCIPAL AND AGENT — APPARENT AUTHORITY OF AGENT — QUESTION FOR JURY. Where an agent is put in charge of the business of a principal, with power to sell its goods, collect for the same, make purchases of other dealers when it is necessary to fill orders calling for goods that may not be in the stock of which he has charge, it is a question for the jury to determine, in an action by the principal to recover the amount of checks claimed to have been wrongfully negotiated by such agent, whether or not the agent had apparent authority to pay for the goods so purchased, even by indorsing for that purpose checks payable to his principal. CORPORATIONS-ULTRA VIRES-WHEN CANNOT BE INVOKED. The doctrine of ultra vires cannot be invoked for the purpose of permitting a corporation to recover money paid by it for the purchase of goods beyond the scope of its charter powers, when it had received and appropriated such goods to its own use. CONVERSION OF BANK CHECKS-INSTRUCTIONS. In an action for the recovery of the amount of certain bank checks payable to the order of the plaintiff, and alleged to have been wrongfully indorsed in its name and delivered to defendant, who in turn indorsed them and collected the proceeds, an instruction that the defendant’s liability was limited by the rule of law applicable to intermediate indorsers, was erroneous. SCOPE OF AGENT’S AUTHORITY-EVIDENCE. Where the extent of an agent’s authority is one of the issues in an action, it may be shown by any competent evidence, although the party sought to be charged had no knowledge thereof. SAME-ADVERTISEMENTS OF PRINCIPAL’S BUSINESS. In such a case, certain advertisements of the principal’s business contained in a city directory, set in display type, in which the agent is described as the local manager of the principal, is admissible in evidence, not as showing the agent’s actual authority, but as a circumstance tending to show that the principal had permitted him to hold himself out to the public as possessing the authority usually given to agents occupying similar positions.