48 Wash. 587 | Wash. | 1908
On December 4, 1904, a person, representing himself to be James Crosson, attempted to negotiate with the South Bend Banking Company a $500 draft issued in favor of one James Crosson by the First National Bank of Grand Rapids, Michigan, upon the National Bank of Commerce of New York City. As it afterwards developed, the person
With the endorsement of Neubert & Cooper, the bank took the draft for collection for them and sent it to its correspondent in New York for that purpose. On the 22d day of December, 1906, the respondents received advice from New York that the draft had been paid, and immediately notified Neubert & Cooper, by telephone communication, of their advices from New York; whereupon Neubert & Cooper purchased a draft for $375 on the National Bank of Commerce at Ta
This is an unusual case. It is not the ordinary case of a forgery of a draft or of the irresponsibility of the parties. The draft was properly paid by the correspondent of the respondents, but the money represented by the draft was paid to the wrong man. The findings of the lower court were set forth in the form of an opinion. This opinion of the court, it seems to us, covers the equity of the case, and we endorse it by
“The only question that bothers me so far as the plaintiffs are concerned is whether or not the bank was guilty of negligence or carelessness which resulted in getting Neubert into trouble in the way of taking that $375 draft. On the other hand, the bank probably would never have heard anything in the ordinary course of business beyond what they already heard, that they had received credit. No doubt in the ordinary course of banking business they acted upon the information they had at the time, that they had received credit from their New York correspondent. Here was this endorsement of Neubert & Cooper on this commercial paper, and that should not be considered a light matter. Banks could scarcely be able to make collections for people if they could not rely upon these endorsements in cases of an unusual occurrence such as this here. Both the bank here and Neubert & Cooper were honest in their intentions in wanting to do what was right, and it is unfortunate that such occurrences as this can happen. But it does not seem to me that the bank should be compelled to suffer because it hardly can be called negligence or careless or improper banking for these people to do what they did, they having warned both these people about this draft, they apparently having had suspicion, warned both of the persons who signed it that they were liable to get into trouble, and certainly if it had not been endorsed by these people, if it hadn’t been for their anxiety the bank would not have anything to do with it at all. It is only by reason of the fact of these endorsements and the insistence more or less of Neubert that the bank did take the draft for collection. They acted upon the advice of their correspondent that they had received credit for it. It does not appear affirmatively that they did actually tell either Neubert or Cooper that the thing had actually been paid. There is no testimony contradicting the cashier as to what he told Neubert, and in view of the fact that he was acting with circumspection himself and had warned these people about this draft, I think that it is not justice to hold the bank liable to suffer this loss.”
We think the claim by the appellants that a settlement was made between these parties, that the appellants should be re
Under all the circumstances of the case, we think it would be inequitable to hold the bank responsible for the amount of the draft, and the judgment of the lower court is therefore affirmed.
Hadley, C. J., Crow, Mount, and Root, JJ., concur.