27 Kan. 728 | Kan. | 1882
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Plaintiff in error alleges that the action brought by defendant in error against him cannot be sustained, because, as he contends, he is not liable upon the bill of exchange as indorser, guarantor, or otherwise. He also alleges that if he was the indorser of the bill, he is not liable, as the bill was paid upon presentment, and if it had not been, no recovery could be had against him, as no steps were taken to charge him as indorser. He further submits that he is not liable for the money paid to the false and spurious payee, as he received no benefit from it. He claims he went to the' bank merely to identify W. W. Owen; that at the request of the cashier he wrote his name on the back of the bill, for the purpose of identifying Owen; that he had no interest in the bill, did not negotiate it, and was not informed and did not understand he was signing as an indorser. The positions taken by plaintiff in error are untenable. His contract was a written one, and he became liable to all its terms. An indorsement of a bill by a third person regularly, following that
Counsel for defendant suggest that as “Owen,” not “ Owens,” indorsed his name on the back, that Atchison was guilty of negligence in taking the bill without the indorsement thereon of the name of the payee. Atchison and Cochran seem to have regarded the bill payable to W. W. Owen, and in this neither was guilty of negligence, because the difference in pronunciation between “Owen” and “Owens” is so slight as not to amount to a variance. The two names might be taken promiscuously to be the same in common use. (Stevens v. Stebbins, 3 Scam. 25.)
The judgment of the district court will be affirmed.