Albright v. Griffin

78 Ind. 182
Indiana Supreme Court·Decided November 15, 1881·No. No. 8108·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

Woods, J.

Over the exception of the appellants, the court gave judgment upon a special verdict in favor of the appellee, who was the plaintiff in the action. Errors and cross errors are assigned upon various rulings upon demurrers to [184]*184.the pleadings, but the questions thus presented seem to be all involved in the ruling upon the verdict. We therefore confine our consideration to that.

The verdict was as follows:

“1. We find that, on the 20th day of October, 1874, John Albright, with Silas Metzger and George Hartman as his sureties, gave a note, payable in the First National Bank of Shelbyville, Indiana, to plaintiff, Charles Griffin, due one year after date, without relief from valuation or appraisement laws, with ten per cent, interest after maturity, and attorney’s fees if suit be instituted on the same, for the sum of $448, and that the amount of money loaned at the time by the plaintiff to John Albright was $400.
“2. We further find that, on the 20th day of October, 1875, John Albright, in the absence of the defendants Silas Metzger and George Hartman, went to the residence of the plaintiff, and paid plaintiff the sum of $96, and gave plaintiff a note, payable in the First National Bank of Shelbyville, Indiana, dated October 20th, 1875, for $400, due one year after date, with ten per cent, interest after maturity, and without relief from valuation or appraisement laws; and that the names of John Albright, Silas Metzger and George Hartman were signed to said note; and that, as to the defendants in this action, the names of Metzger and Hartman, upon said note, were forgeries, and had not been signed by them, or for them with their knowledge and consent; and that the plaintiff, without any knowledge of the forgery of said signatures, received the note from said John Albright, with his genuine signature thereto, and, on receipt of the $96 aforesaid, gave up to John Albright the note for $448, after tearing the signatures to the same almost off, so that there was but one-half inch of paper by which the names were attached to the note; and John Albright gave the note to Silas Metzger soon after the 20th of October, 1875, who has kept and still has it; and' that said Metzger or Hartman had no knowledge of the execution of the $400 note, or the payment of the $96 by Al-[185]*185bright to Griffin, until the 20th of October, 1876, when the $400 note was presented to them for payment, when they each notified the plaintiff that the note, as to each of them, was a forgery, and they Avon Id not pay it.
3. There have been no payments on either note except the $96, paid by Albright October 20th, 1875, when the second note was delivered to the plaintiff.
“4. We find that on the 20th of October, 1875, Avithout the knoAvledge or consent of either Metzger or Hartman, the plaintiff did extend the time of payment of the $400 loaned to Albright by the plaintiff, in which transaction Metzger and Hartman were the sureties of Albright only so far as the first, note for -$448 was concerned, on the payment of $48, the interest past,due, which was included in the $448 note, and the further sum of $48 as interest in advance on the $400; and that the time for the payment of the $400 note was fixed definitely between the plaintiff and Albright at the time, as. one year, to Avit, from October 20th, 1875, to October 20th, 1876. •
5. Before the commencement of this suit, to Avit, March. 29th, 1878, the plaintiff demanded of Silas Metzger the note' of October 20th, 1874, which was refused by Metzger; and that at the time of the demand the plaintiff did not offer to return to Mr. Metzger, or to Hartman or Albright, the $96-in money Avhich he had received, or the $400 note of October 20th, 1875, which he still retains in his possession.
“ 6. A reasonable attorney’s fee in this case is $50.
“7. This suit was commenced May 6th, 1878.”

Upon these facts the jury found that the amount due the plaintiff, if anything, was $511.36, and for that sum the court, rendered judgment on the 10th day of April, 1879.

The counsel for the appellants urge several reasons against the right of the plaintiff to a judgment on the verdict. They say that no fraud is shoAvn on the part of Albright; that he made no representation that the signatures of Metzger and Hartman were genuine, and, so far as the verdict shows, did [186]*186not know that they were not genuine; and that the plaintiff therefore took the note at his own risk. But that, if fraud were conceded, the plaintiff, after notice of the facts, had kept the note and money paid him, and by so doing, and by delaying to bring his action, had lost the right, which otherwise he might have had, of resorting to the original obligation.

These propositions involve to some extent, as we conceive, a misapprehension both of the facts found and of the law applicable to the case.

As to the facts, the complaint shows that the first note in question, whose genuineness is not disputed, was negotiable according to the law merchant; but neither the complaint, answers nor verdict show that the second note was of that character. The statute is, that notes payable to order or bearer in a bank in this State shall be negotiable as inland bills of exchange.” While it appears from the verdict, that both notes Avere made payable in a bank in the State, neither ■contained the words of negotiability, “ to order or bearer.”

As to the question of fraud on the part of Albright, it is ■enough to say, that, if he knew that the names of Metzger and Hartman Avere forged to the second note, he perpetrated an actual fraud in procuring the plaintiff to accept it and to surrender the original note; and, if he was ignorant of the fact that the names were forged, his presentation of the note to the plaintiff with those names upon it was, under the circumstances, equivalent to a representation by him that the signatures were genuine, and operated to the plaintiff^ prejudice as much as if a wilful misrepresentation had been made. And even if it were conceded that Albright acted in good faith, believing the signatures all genuine, the result would be the same. In that case, the deÜA'ery and acceptance of the renewal note came about through the mutual mistake of Albright and the plaintiff, and the transaction was no more binding on the latter than if he had been drawn into it by fraud.

It necessarily folloAvs that there was no such agreement for [187]*187the extension of time as operated to discharge the sureties. The receipt of the $596, to be applied one-half to the principal debt and the remainder as interest for the ensuing year, was not a separate transaction, unaffected by the fraud or mistake connected with the receipt of the note. The entire debt was •due to the plaintiff, and, upon learning the deception practiced upon him, he had a right to disregard the terms of his agreement with Albright, and treat the whole sum received as a payment on the debt at the date when he received it, and was equally free to bring an action upon the original note. It is only a valid contract for the extension of time, which restricts the creditor’s right to sue, that discharges the surety. Lemmon v. Whitman, 75 Ind. 315.

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