Barker v. Scandinavian-American Bank

166 P. 618, 97 Wash. 272, 1917 Wash. LEXIS 1058
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 17, 1917
DocketNo. 13712
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 166 P. 618 (Barker v. Scandinavian-American Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barker v. Scandinavian-American Bank, 166 P. 618, 97 Wash. 272, 1917 Wash. LEXIS 1058 (Wash. 1917).

Opinion

Mount, J.

This appeal is from a judgment of nonsuit, entered upon the defendant’s motion at the close of the plaintiff’s evidence. The action was brought for the recovery of damages alleged to have been sustained by reason of false representations made by the defendant to the plaintiff in [273]*273reference to the financial condition of the Nelson-Johanson Mill Company, on July 7, 1910.

The facts, as shown by the evidence on behalf of the plaintiff, are substantially as follows: In the month of April, 1910, the appellant was engaged in logging operations, and the Nelson-Johanson Mill Company, a corporation, was operating a saw mill near Tacoma. In April of that year, the appellant received an order for some logs from the NelsonJohanson Mill Company. On receiving this order, he visited the Scandinavian-American Bank, and had a conversation with Mr. E. C. Johnson, who was the cashier of that bank at that time. The appellant testified to that conversation as follows:

“I told Mr. Johnson (Cashier of Scandinavian-American Bank) I had been requested by the Nelson-Johanson Mill Company, or Mr. Nelson, to ascertain the financial condition of the Nelson-Johanson Mill Company. I told Mr. Johnson I would like to know what it was; Mr. Nelson had asked me to come there. Mr. Johnson said they were in splendid financial condition at the present time; some time previous to that they had been in - close quarters, but he said that they had just put in $50,000 of fresh capital or new capital. I remember distinctly that he added to that, he says, ‘I know that they have done it because they put it through our bank.’ I asked Mr. Johnson if he would take the note without recourse and he says: ‘Now, Mr. Barker, I have conferred with my associates, and we will take that note without recourse, provided you deposit the money here, open an account and do business with us.’ ”

After that conversation, the appellant sold a raft of logs to the mill company on April 5th of that year. He sold another raft on April 26th, another about the middle of May, and another about the last of May, 1910. For all of these sales, he received his pay. About the 5th or 6th of July, 1910, he received another order from the mill company, and again went to the bank to inquire into the financial condition of the mill company. He-testified to that conversation as follows:

[274]*274“I. went to the (Scandinavian-American) bank to see Mr. Johnson, and I told him that I was there again about the Nelson-Johanson credit. Mr. Johnson had referred me,—he said, ‘Just a minute; Mr. Pringle is here and I will introduce you to him. Step right around the corner.’ I stepped around the corner and Mr. Johnson went to the door. He opened it and Mr. Pringle came out and Mr. Johnson introduced us. I said to Mr. Pringle, ‘Mr. Pringle, I am here at the request of the Nelson-Johanson Mill Company; they want the logs and I will not extend credit unless I know the note will be taken care of.’ He pulled his watch out of his pocket and he says, ‘I am in a great hurry, I will have to catch a car in five or ten minutes,’ he says. I says, ‘This is a very important matter to me; they want the logs and I would like to sell them and I have come over to see about it. I won’t sell-—’ He says, ‘There is no question about their financial standing now.’ He says, ‘You are running no risk.’ I says to him, ‘Will you take the note without recourse?’ And he says, ‘No, I do not want to do that.’ He says, ‘This is a good time to get business; we don’t want to put all of our eggs in one basket. We are now carrying them for their lumber shipment, which is a large amount, and we don’t feel like putting any more money into the business. They are in good condition. Mr. Johanson is now managing the company, and there is no question about their taking care of it.’ ”

Appellant then testified:

“I had further inquiries made in reference to the financial condition of the mill. I immediately telephoned to Mr. C. S. Harley, cashier of the Mercantile Bank at Seattle and told him of my conversation with Mr. Pringle. I wanted it verified. I says, ‘This is a very important thing to me; I cannot extend credit unless I am verified, and I want you to telephone. I will stay right here.’
“I heard from him (Mr. Harley) in about an hour or two in reference to this inquiry, as to the financial condition of the mill. Then I let them have the logs.
“After receiving the telephone communication from the Mercantile National Bank of Seattle, Mr. Harley, in reference to this matter I let the Nelson-Johanson Lumber Company have the raft of logs.”

[275]*275In payment of the raft of logs, the appellant took a promissory note for $3,878.31 from the Nelson-Johanson Mill Company. This note was dated July 14, 1910. It was never paid. On the 12th of August, following, the mill company went into insolvency, and was adjudged a bankrupt on the 29th day of August, 1910. On July 7, 1910, the mill company was indebted to one Gawley in the sum of $40,000 on promissory notes secured by a mortgage upon the mill property. At that time, the respondent bank held a mortgage of $100,000 upon the entire mill plant, and the Nelson-Johanson Mill Company, in addition to these amounts, owed the bank $68,000 of unsecured notes. On May 31, 1910, the mill company had furnished a statement of its resources and liabilities to the respondent bank, showing the total resources to amount to $388,000, in round numbers, and the liabilities, $272,000, leaving an excess of resources over liabilities amounting to $115,000. At the time of the bankruptcy, the liabilities of the mill company amounted to $323,000. Of that amount, it owed the bank $232,000. All of the property of the mill company was consumed in paying the obligations secured by the mortgages, so there was nothing left to the unsecured creditors.

Upon this state of facts, the trial court was of the opinion that there was no liability of the bank to the appellant in this case. In Raser v. Moomaw, 78 Wash. 653, 139 Pac. 622, 51 L. R. A. (N. S.), 707, we stated the rule, with reference to cases of this character, as follows:

“The essential elements necessary to constitute actionable fraud and deceit are, in the main, well settled. These elements are correctly set forth in 20 Cyc. 13. It is there said that ‘it must appear: (1) that the defendant made a material representation; (2) that it was false; (3) that when he made it he knew it was false, or made it recklessly, without any knowledge of its truth, and as a positive assertion; (4) that he made it with the intention that it should be acted upon by the plaintiff; (5) that the plaintiff acted in reliance upon it; and (6) that he thereby suffered an injury.’ ”

[276]*276See, also, to the same effect: Simons v. Cissna, 52 Wash. 115, 100 Pac. 200, and Northwestern S. S. Co. v. Dexter-Horton & Co., 29 Wash. 565, 70 Pac. 59.

We think the evidence fails to show that Mr. Pringle, the vice-president of the Scandinavian-American Bank, knew the representations were false which were testified to by the appellant, or that such representations were made recklessly, without knowledge of the truth, or as a positive assertion, if the representations were made by Mr. Pringle with the intention that they should be acted upon by the appellant, it is plain that the appellant did not act in reliance upon such representations.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Keuffel & Esser v. International Ass'n of Machinists
116 A. 9 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1922)
Johnson v. Holderman
167 P. 1030 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1917)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
166 P. 618, 97 Wash. 272, 1917 Wash. LEXIS 1058, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barker-v-scandinavian-american-bank-wash-1917.