Brunswick County v. North Carolina Bank & Trust Co.

173 S.E. 327, 206 N.C. 127, 1934 N.C. LEXIS 131
CourtSupreme Court of North Carolina
DecidedFebruary 28, 1934
StatusPublished

This text of 173 S.E. 327 (Brunswick County v. North Carolina Bank & Trust Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brunswick County v. North Carolina Bank & Trust Co., 173 S.E. 327, 206 N.C. 127, 1934 N.C. LEXIS 131 (N.C. 1934).

Opinion

Clarkson, J.

The defendants made motions in the court below for judgment as of nonsuit at the close of plaintiffs’ evidence and at the close of all the evidence. C. S., 567. The motions were overruled and in this we can see no error.

The settled rule in this jurisdiction is that upon a motion as of non-suit, the evidence, whether offered by the plaintiff or elicited from defendants’ witnesses, is to be considered in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and he is entitled to every reasonable intendment thereon and every reasonable inference to be drawn therefrom. We think the evidence sufficient to show that the fund was a special deposit and trust fund.

The evidence is set forth above rather lengthy, but the amount involved is large and the controversy important. The testimony of I. C. Wright, that was in all material aspects, corroborated by W. B. Campbell and other witnesses and plaintiffs’ evidence was to the effect that: there were two drafts aggregating $57,035. “Check No. 40916 of Am. Surety Com. to Bd. of Com. of Bru. Co. N. C., $25,924. Check No. 40917 of same Co. & date to Bd. of Ed. $31,110. Both signed by E. P. "Watson, viee-pres. Chase National Bank, New York. 15 February, ’33.”

On 7 March, 1933, the following letter was written to North Carolina Bank and Trust Company at Wilmington, N. C., by Bryan and Campbell, J. W. Ruark, C. Ed. Taylor and I. O. Wright: “Gentlemen: You will recall that on 20 February, 1933, we and the representatives of the Brunswick County commissioners and board of education delivered to you checks on New York totaling $57,035 to be collected and held on special deposit, in trust, until we could settle with the board of county commissioners and the board of education and receive our shares of that money.

When the items were so handled it was anticipated that the settlement of the interested parties would be completed by this time. Such settlement not having been made, you are hereby so advised and notified to continue to hold separate, on special deposit, in trust, those funds until we get our part of them and so advise you.”

[140]*140Plaintiffs offer in evidence assignment, dated 19 March, 1933, amount $1,100, signed I. C. Wright, produced by defendants under notice, reading as follows: “$1,100. I hereby transfer and assign to the North Carolina Bank and Trust Company, as collateral security to my note of this date for that amount, eleven hundred dollars ($1,100) of the special deposit held in trust by the North Carolina Bank and Trust Company in the name of the Peoples United Bank of Southport, for $57,035, more than that part of the fund belonging to me. This 13 March, 1933. I. C. Wright.”

Plaintiffs offer in evidence letter from M. E. Allen to Peoples United Bank, dated 21 March, 1933, as follows:

“North Carolina Bank and Trust Company
Wilmington, N. C., 21 March, 1933.
Peoples United Bank,
Southport, N. C.
Gentlemen:
We don’t think we had the right to charge against special account set up in your name a part of the currency we shipped you on 3 March, amounting to $3,802.40. We are, therefore, charging your regular account with this amount and crediting the same back to the special account, restoring same to its original figures.
Trusting this meets with your approval, we are
Yours truly, M. F. Allen, cashier.”

I. C. Wright testified: “I had a conversation with Mr. Yates, in which he said: 'I want the Brunswick folks to have that money, and hope that they will get it, for it certainly was a special account for a specific purpose.’ This conversation took place when I went down to see if that money had been put in a special fund, if the cash had been segregated in the bank records.”

The affidavit of I. C. Wright as corroborative of his testimony on the trial, was in part: “And on that arrangement the checks were endorsed and turned over to Mr. Yates for collection, and he was to hold the money in a special deposit and for this specific purpose of being apportioned out as we agreed with the commissioners and board of education. I left and came back to my office.”

The defendants contend: “The principal questions in this case concern: (a) The refusal of the court to grant the defendant’s motion of nonsuit and (b) the action of the court in peremptorily instructing the jury to answer the issue in favor of the plaintiffs. Therefore, the exceptions relating to the admission of evidence are principally material as they reflect upon these two principal questions.”

[141]*141As to tbe admission of tbe letter and tbe declarations of M. E. Allen, cashier of tbe North Carolina Bank and Trust Company (Wilmington unit) to witness L. T. Yaskell we think competent.

In Pangle v. Appalachian Hall, 190 N. C., 833 (834) : “Tbe authorities in this State are all to tbe effect that what an agent says, relative to an act then being done by him within tbe scope of bis agency, is admissible as a part of tbe res gestee, and may be offered in evidence, either for or against tbe principal; but what tbe agent says afterwards, and merely narrative of a past occurrence, though bis agency may continue as to other matters, or generally, is only hearsay and not competent as against tbe principal. Johnson v. Ins. Co., 172 N. C., 142; Southerland v. R. R., 106 N. C., 100.” We think that this evidence is dum fervet opus.

“So too, if tbe declaration or admissions, though relating to something that is in mere point of time passed, yet have for any reason a present interest and weight, or from any combination of circumstances assume a still subsisting importance, they will then be admissible as constituting a part of the res gestee, without regard to the fact that the precise act itself to which they relate was strictly speaking, concluded some time before.” Morse on Banks and Banking, 6th ed., Yol. 1, pp. 286-287.

It is at least corroborative. The letter M. E. Allen testified to was written at Yates’ request. Under the facts and circumstances of this case, we think the evidence admissible.

The real controversy in this case: was the charge of the court below correct? “Gentlemen of the jury, if you find the facts to be as testified to by all of the witnesses it would be your duty to answer the issue Yes.” We think so.

In McIntosh, N. G. Practice and Procedure on page 632, we find: “If the evidence is all one way, and there is no conflict, the judge may say to the jury that, if they believe the evidence, they may find a certain verdict, but he cannot direct them that they must so find from the evidence. If the facts are admitted or established, and only one inference can be drawn from them, the judge may draw the inference and so direct the jury; but when the facts are not admitted, or more than one inference may be drawn, the case must be left to the jury to determine, with proper instructions from the judge as to the law. ‘A verdict can never be directed in favor of a plaintiff when there is any evidence from which the jury may find contrary to the plaintiff’s contention, or where there is evidence which will justify an inference contrary to such contention.’ ” Bank v. Noble, 203 N. C., 300 (302).

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Bluebook (online)
173 S.E. 327, 206 N.C. 127, 1934 N.C. LEXIS 131, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brunswick-county-v-north-carolina-bank-trust-co-nc-1934.