91 Wis. 53 | Wis. | 1895
It may be conceded that the vendor of negotiable paper has the right of stoppage im transitu to the same extent as the vendor of other species of personal property. Here the La Crosse bank discounted the plaintiff’s draft on W. E. Coats & Co., and forwarded the same to< the defendant for collection. The defendant was under no obligation to pay that draft,— especially as the account of W. E. Coats & Co. at the defendant bank was .then considerably overdrawn. Nevertheless, the defendant, on the request of the jnanaging agent of W. E. Coats & Co., whose authority is not questioned, made its own draft on the'Chicago bank for the amount, payable to the cashier of the La Crosse bank, and sent the same in a letter by mail to the cashier of the La Crosse bank “ in payment of draft on W. E. Coats & Co.,” and that letter, with the draft inclosed, reached La Crosse in the regular course of mail. Undoubtedly, the defendant, in making its draft on the Chicago bank, gave a corresponding credit to W. E. Coats & Co. on the faith of their solvency; but it did so voluntarily and for their accommodation and without being induced to do so by any fraud or mistake of fact. While the defendant retained the actual or constructive possession of that draft, it could, un
In support of the views expressed, see Boylston Nat. Bank v. Richardson, 101 Mass. 287; Pacific Bank v. Mitchell, 9 Met. 297; Pratt v. Foote, 9 N. Y. 463; Whiting v. City Bank, 77 N. Y. 363; Eaton v. Cook, 32 Vt. 58.
By the Cowrt.— The judgment of the circuit court is reversed, and the cause is remanded with direction to enter judgment against the defendant for the amount of the verdict directed in favor of the plaintiff, with interest and costs.