59 Wash. 1 | Wash. | 1910
Fred Blumberg, now deceased, was elected auditor of Skagit county in November, 1902, and on December 20, 1902, he, as principal, and the American Bonding Company of Baltimore, Maryland, a corporation, as surety, executed and delivered to Skagit county an official bond in the sum of $10,000, containing the following condition:
“The condition of the above obligation is such that whereas the above bounden Fred Blumberg was on the 4th day of November, 1902, duly elected to the office of County Auditor in and for Skagit county, State of Washington:
“Now therefore, if the said Fred Blumberg shall well and truly perform all of the duties required of him by law as county auditor of Skagit county, Washington, aforesaid, and shall faithfully discharge all duties which may be required of him by any law enacted subsequent to the execution of this bond, then this obligation shall be void, otherwise to remain in full force and effect.”
Blumberg took possession of his office, entered upon its duties, and served as auditor for the full term ending in January, 1905. This is an action upon his official bond against the bonding company, and Allen Blumberg, as administratrix of his estate, to recover for his defalcations and embezzlements. Upon findings made, a final judgment for $7,756.19 was entered in favor of the county. The bonding, company has appealed.
The numerous items included in this judgment may be classified as follows: (1) Fees collected and not accounted for; (2) warrants fraudulently issued without authority or consideration, and paid by the county; (3) warrants raised by Blumberg after their authorized issue, and paid by the county; (4) a liquor license fee paid by one Nixon and appropriated by Blumberg to his own use.
blumberg’s first term expired in January, 1905. When he 'd upon his second term he gave a new bond, and again certified as auditor. The two terms were separate and dis-it might well be held that, as to all causes of action "d upon wrongful acts occurring during his first term, statute of limitations began to run at its expiration in January 1905. A county official might be guilty of number distinct acts of embezzlement or misappropriation of
There is nothing here to disclose when many of Blumberg’s embezzlements actually occurred, although the dates of others are shown. Appellant contends that, because Blumberg should have turned over all moneys received by him as soon as collected, he at once became a defaulter, and that the causes of action immediately accrued so as to start the running of the statute. The difficulty with this contention is that none of the defalcations were actually discovered by
Appellant has excepted to a number of the findings made by the trial judge. Without discussing the evidence, which is largely documentary, we conclude that they must be approved, and that they sustain the final judgment. Further contention is made to the effect that, even on the findings made, the appellant is not liable as surety for Blumberg? that the wrongful acts alleged, proven, and found, were not of such a character as to constitute any violation of Blumberg’s official duties; or rather that they were not official acts, but were acts which he performed as an individual in his capacity as a private citizen. It appeared that on June 4, 1903, Blumberg presented to the board of county commissioners the application of one Frank Nixon, for a retail liquor license, accompanied by a written receipt of the county treasurer dated May 19, 1903, for $300, the cost of the license ; that the license was thereupon issued; that Nixon had paid the money to Blumberg instead of the county treasurer; that Blumherg appropriated it to his own use; that he wrongfully and fraudulently changed the date of a previous receipt given by the treasurer for a former liquor license, and presented it to the commissioners with the application of Nixon made in 1903, thus procuring the license; that the money
It further appears that Blumberg issued many warrants on road funds and other funds of Skagit county to various persons therein named; that he indorsed the names of the payees thereon by himself as county auditor; that they were paid by the county treasurer; that no county indebtedness existed as a consideration for such warrants, and that they were never authorized by the board of county commissioners. It further appeared that in many instances warrants were lawfully issued for indebtedness actually due from the county to the payee; that Blumberg procured the indorsement of these warrants by paying their face value to the holder; that he thereafter raised them so that they called for larger sums than when originally issued, and that the warrants as thus raised were paid by the county. The appellant now contends that these various acts were not done by Blumberg as county auditor; that when Nixon paid the $300 to Blumberg instead of making payment to the treasurer, he, Nixon, constituted Blumberg his agent to pay the treasurer; that Nixon, therefore, has never paid the license fee to the county, and that respondent’s claim is against him instead of Blumberg.
Appellant further claims that the fraudulent and unauthorized issue of the warrants without consideration was not the act of Blumberg as county auditor, and that when he raised the other warrants he had in fact purchased them in his individual capacity, and that his acts in so raising them were not official acts, but forgeries. There is no question but that the various acts performed by Blumberg of which the respondent now complains were unauthorized; that they were not contemplated as a part of his official duties, and that they were illegally performed for his personal and private benefit. The appellant, however, executed a bond on his behalf, to secure the faithful performance of his duties as county auditor in every respect. The acts complained of were a violation of his duties as county auditor. Had he been a private
The judgment is affirmed.
Rudkin, C. J., Dunbar, Parker, and Mount, JJ., concur.