51 Ga. App. 496 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1935
1. “Before tlie presumption of the receipt of a letter by the addressee arises, the evidence must affirmatively show that the letter was written, properly addressed and stamped, and mailed.” Rawleigh Medical Co. v. Burney, 25 Ga. App. 10 (102 S. E. 358); Ailey v. Lindale Co-operative Store, 33 Ga. App. 63 (3), 64 (125 S. E. 717); Cheeves v. Ayers, 43 Ga. App. 454 (159 S. E. 299). Such a presumption is not conclusive, and “is entirely overcome by the uncontradicted evidence of the addressee that the letter was never received by him, unless there is aliunde evidence that it was in fact received.” Home Insurance Co. v. Head, 36 Ga. App. 779 (138 S. E. 275); Rawleigh Medical Co. v. Burney, supra; Union Brokerage Co. v. Beall, 30 Ga. App. 748 (3) (119 S. E. 533).
2. Where a debtor makes a payment to a supposed agent of a note creditor, without requiring the production of the note at the time of payment, so that by such production there null be an implication of the agent’s authority, the burden is upon the debtor to show: (1) that the payment actually reached the hands of the creditor; or (2) that the payee was a general agent of the creditor for the collection of such paper; or (3) that the payee had special authority from the creditor to collect the particular payment. Code of 1933, § 4-308; Bank of the University v. Tuck, 96 Ga. 456, 465 (23 S. E. 467); Dibble v. Law, 141 Ga. 364, 366 (80 S. E. 999); Star Furniture Co. v. Dubberly, 46 Ga. App. 178 (167 S. E. 207); Lane v. Bank of Thomasville, 23 Ga. App. 275 (97 S. E. 884).
3. The provision of the Code, § 4-301, that “the agent’s authority will be construed to include all necessary and usual means for effectually executing it,” has reference to both special and general agents. Bass Dry Goods Co. v. Gratiite City Mfg. Co., 119 Ga. 124, 126 (45 S. E. 980).
4. Under the rules stated above, the plea of the defendant that his payment to the alleged agent and attorney of the plaintiff actually reached the hands of the plaintiff was not sustained, since it was not shown that the letter in which, as the alleged agent testified, he .mailed the currency was either properly stamped or properly addressed, and since the evidence of the ■ addressee that no such letter and cash enclosure was in fact received was undisputed. However, under the principles stated, the contention of the defendant that the undisputed payment was made
5. The court charged as follows: “If the [plaintiff] by any express agreement or contract, or writing, or expression of any kind, made any expression of any kind of that nature in establishing [the attorney] as their agent, of course that would establish it.” Exception is taken to this language as too broad in stating what was necessary to create an agency. Exception is taken also to the instruction that, “if the insurance company has done certain acts which indicated, which imputed a knowledge to them of the full freedom of those acts, would impute and convey the idea and the fact that [the alleged agent] had been created the agent of the company, why, an agency may be created in that manner,” upon the ground that, in order to establish the agency, “the conduct of the alleged principal would have to do more than merely indi
Judgment affirmed.