Anderson's v. LeSueur

153 S.E. 799, 154 Va. 317, 1930 Va. LEXIS 215
CourtSupreme Court of Virginia
DecidedJune 24, 1930
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 153 S.E. 799 (Anderson's v. LeSueur) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anderson's v. LeSueur, 153 S.E. 799, 154 Va. 317, 1930 Va. LEXIS 215 (Va. 1930).

Opinion

Epes, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

Tais is a suit in chancery brought in the Circuit Court of Buckingham county by Mrs. Carrie A. Word, administratrix of James L. Anderson, deceased, late treasurer of Buckingham county, Virginia, against J. D. Ayres; W. A. LeSueur,' O. R. Jeffrey, A. H. Williams and J. B. Brown.

Jam.es L. Anderson was treasurer of Buckingham county from January 1, 1912, until his death in November 1926, and throughout the whole of this time J. D. Ayres served as his deputy for the Collection of taxes in Marshall Magisterial District. In 1922 he also collected 1921 tax tickets in Slate River District.

The purpose of this suit is to recover on two alleged bonds made payable to James L. Anclerson, treasurer of Buckingham • county, and conditioned' upon the [320]*320faithful discharge by J. D. Ayres of his duties as deputy treasurer, which are signed and sealed by J. D. Ayres as principal and by said W. A. LeSueur, O. R. Jeffrey, A. H. Williams and J. B. Brown as sureties. One of the alleged bonds, .dated May 13, 1920, is for the sum of $3,000.00 and is alleged to have been given to cover the acts of J. D. Ayres as deputy treasurer during the term of office for the years 1920-23. The other of said alleged bonds, dated February —, 1924, is for $6,000.00 and is alleged to have been given to cover the acts of J. D. Ayres as deputy treasurer during. his term of office extending from his reappointment in 1924 until the death of James L. Anderson in 1926. The $3,000.00 bond is also signed by H. M. White, who, it is alleged, has died insolvent. It is alleged and admitted that during both of his said terms of office J. D. Ayres collected a large sum of taxes which he has not paid over to either James L. Anderson or his administratrix; and before this suit was begun he confessed judgment in the clerk’s office of - Buckingham county in favor of either James L. Anderson or his administratrix (the record does not show which), for the sums which it is sought in this suit to recover.

Ayres is insolvent, and the real purpose of this suit is to recover of the sureties on said alleged bonds for the default of J. D. Ayres. J. D. Ayres has not appeared or pleaded in this proceeding though he was called and examined as a witness by the other defendants. The - defendants, other than J. D. Ayres, demurred to and answered said bill. - • The appellees all admit that they signed and sealed both of these bonds, and .that these instruments in the form in which they were executed by them were delivered by them .to1 J. D. Ayres and by him to James Anderson. Though several of the obligors, with what [321]*321appears to be a lack of frankness, attempt to leave the impression that they did not understand that they were executing a surety bond when they executed these papers; yet there can be no question that all the. obligors knew that the purposes for which these instruments were executed by them were that J. D. Ayres might give bonds with surety for the faithful performance of his duties as deputy treasurer for Mr. Anderson during the said several terms; and that said sureties in both instances intended that the instrument executed by them should be delivered by J. D. Ayres to Mr. Anderson as and for the surety bond of J. D. Ayres as his deputy treasurer.

The contention of the appellees is that neither of said alleged bonds is a valid instrument binding upon them, for the reason that in each case, when the instrument was executed by them and delivered to James L.- Anderson, it was merely a blank form for a bond, with blanks left for the amount, the names of the obligors and other material matters; and that thereafter material additions were made to the instrument by filling in these blanks with the names of the obligors, the amount of the bond, and other material matters and a material alteration was made therein by changing the name of the obligee from the Commonwealth of Virginia to James L. Anderson, treasurer of Buckingham county.

By decree entered October 9, 1928, the court adjudged and decreed that both said alleged bonds were invalid and not binding upon the parties whose names and seals áre affixed thereto; and dismissed the bill. The cause is here on an appeal allowed to the complainant, Mrs. Carrie A. Word, administratrix of James L. Anderson. The only questions presented to the court on this appeal are whether said bonds or either of them are valid and enforceable instruments.

[322]*322In the case of the alleged bond dated February —, 1924, for $6,000.00 the bill itself admits and the evidence is clear and without conflict that when the instrument was executed and delivered by the several obligors thereon it was nothing more than a blank form for a surety bond made payable to the Commonwealth of Virginia. The names of the obligors, the amount of the bond, and the date of the bond were all left blank. The condition of the bond was so filled put with a typewriter as to make it apparent that it was intended to be a bond conditioned upon the faithful performance by some person of his duties as deputy treasurer for James L. Anderson, but the name of the person for the performance of whose duties as deputy treasurer the bond was given was left blank.

In 1926, after the discovery of the fact that J. D. Ayres was in default, Mrs. Eldridge, a clerk in Mr. Anderson’s office, at the direction of Mr. James 'L. Anderson, completed the paper by inserting in the blanks left therefor the following matter: (1) the names of the obligors, “J. D. Ayres, J. B. Brown, O. R. Jeffrey, A. H. Williams and W. A. LeSueur”; (2) the words “February” and “and twenty-four” in the date; (3) the name “J. D. Ayres” and the words “Deputy Treasurer” in the condition of the bond, thereby naming the person for the performance of whose duties the bond was given. She also at this time struck out the name of the Commonwealth of Virginia as the obligee of the bond and inserted thereover the words “James L. Anderson, treasurer of Buckingham county,” thus making the bond payable to James L. Anderson instead of to the Commonwealth.

The appellant does not contend that there was ever any express authority, either verbal or written, given by the parties who executed said paper to any person [323]*323to fill in said, blanks and complete said paper, or to make any alterations therein, and the testimony of all the obligors is that no such authority was given. The appellant’s contention is that the execution and delivery of said paper, signed and sealed in blank, gave an implied authority to Mr. Anderson to fill in the blanks and complete the paper in accordance with the intention and purpose for which it was executed, and to change the name of the obligee from the Commonwealth of Virginia to James L. Anderson, treasurer of Buckingham county, and that it was filled up and completed in accordance with the intention of the parties.

The trial court held, both upon a consideration of the demurrer and upon a consideration of the matter upon the evidence, that said paper alleged to be a bond for $6,000.00 was not a valid instrument binding upon the parties whose signatures and seals are thereto affixed. The court in its judgment and decree in this particular was clearly right.

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153 S.E. 799, 154 Va. 317, 1930 Va. LEXIS 215, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/andersons-v-lesueur-va-1930.