62 Minn. 457 | Minn. | 1895
Plaintiff brought this action on two negotiable promissory notes made by defendants to the order of Sawyer & Wilkins, who, it is alleged in the complaint, “sold, assigned, transferred, and
It is urged by appellants that it was error to receive the indorsements of the notes in evidence. No such indorsements were pleaded, and it is contended that under the pleadings the plaintiff could not claim the protection of a bona fide indorsee for value before maturity as against their defense to the notes. Conceding, without deciding,, that this is true, it does not follow that the indorsements were not admissible for the purpose merely of proving a transfer of the notes to plaintiff as alleged in the complaint. The possession by a third party of a negotiable promissory note payable to order, but not indorsed by the payee, is not evidence of ownership by such third party. Van Eman v. Stanchfield, 13 Minn. 70 (75). Then, instead of proving such a transfer by oral evidence, plaintiff could prove it by the indorsements of the payee on the notes. So that for this purpose at least the indorsements were admissible in evidence under the pleadings. Whether, under the pleadings, plaintiff could, by these indorse
Order affirmed.