Cable v. Iowa State Savings Bank

197 Iowa 393
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedOctober 24, 1922
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 197 Iowa 393 (Cable v. Iowa State Savings Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cable v. Iowa State Savings Bank, 197 Iowa 393 (iowa 1922).

Opinions

Per Curiam.

The material facts are not in dispute and, briefly summarized, are substantially as follows: 0'n or about July 3,1920, appellants consigned 46 head of steers to the Ward Commission Company, a corporation located, and engaged in the live stock commission business, at Sioux City, Iowa, for sale upon the market, with directions to remit the net proceeds derived therefrom to the Hudson State Bank, of Hudson, South Dakota, the point at which the shipment originated. The steers [395]*395were sold to one Birmingham for $7,561.25, who gave his cheek for that amount to the Ward Commission Company, payable to its order. The Ward Commission Company, on July 6th, deposited the cheek in the appellee bank, to the credit of its general account. On July 3d, the Commission Company drew a check, payable to the Hudson State Bank, for $7,452.11, the proceeds of the sale, less commissions, yardage, and freight, and forwarded the same by mail to the payee, as directed by appellants. July 4th was Sunday, and Monday was observed as a legal holiday. The check of the Ward Commission Company, which was received by the Hudson State Bank in due course of mail, was presented to appellee on July 7th for payment. Payment was refused by the bank upon the ground that there were not sufficient funds in the bank to the credit of the drawer to pay the same. The books of appellee on said date showed a tentative balance of something in excess of $10,000; but it is claimed by the bank that the balance was made up, in large part at least, of checks that had been deposited in the bank by the Ward Commission Company and sent out for collection, but which had not yet been paid. W. M. Ward, the president of the Ward Commission Company, was indebted to appellee upon a note for $3,000, upon which there was a balance due of $2,500, and the Ward Commission Company was indebted to the bank upon a note for $4,000, upon which there was a balance due of $2,313.67.

Some time before the close of business on July 7th, the bank charged the account of the Ward Commission Company with $4,897.41, the amount due on the notes, and issued a cashier’s check to itself for $2,338.03, the balance then remaining in the account. The cashier’s check was still held by appellee at the time of the trial.

It is not claimed by appellee that the beneficial owner of a fund deposited in a bank by a factor or commission merchant to his own credit may not maintain an action in equity against the bank to impress a trust on such fund and to recover the same from the bank, if it has acquired no equitable fight thereto, without notice of the claim of such beneficial owner, nor that, if any portion of the proceeds of the sale of the steers in question is now in the possession of the appellee bank, appellants [396]*396are not entitled to a decree in tbeir fayor for whatever amount the evidence shows remains therein; but it is contended by ap-pellee that the Birmingham check was received by it and credited to the general account of the Ward Commission Company without knowledge or notice of appellants’ claim thereto or ownership thereof, and that same was fully paid out and dissipated on July 6th upon checks drawn by the Ward Commission Company and presented for payment and paid in the usual course of business, and that if, upon any theory, any portion of such deposit was in the possession of the bank on July 7th, and applied by it to the payment of the indebtedness of either’ W. M. Ward or the Ward Commission Company, it was so applied in good faith, for a valuable consideration, and without notice of any claim or right of appellants’ thereto, and that, therefore, the bank is not liable.

The law is well settled that the title to property consigned to a factor or commission merchant for sale remains in the consignor, and that such factor or commission merchant holds the proceeds derived from the sale of such property in a fiduciary or trust capacity, and that its character is not changed by being placed to his credit in the bank (Union Stock Yards Nat. Bank v. Gillespie, 137 U. S. 411 [34 L. Ed. 724]; Central Nat. Bank v. Connecticut Mut. Life Ins. Co., 104 U. S. 54 [26 L. Ed. 693]) ; that the owner may maintain an action in equity against a bank, to impress a trust upon any portion of the funds deposited therein by such factor or commission merchant to his own credit and remaining in said bank, unless it has acquired an equitable right thereto without notice of the true claims of the owner (Smith v. Des Moines Nat. Bank, 107 Iowa 620; Packer v. Crary, 121 Iowa 388; Shotwell v. Sioux Falls Sav. Bank, 34 S. D. 109 [147 N. W. 288]; Fidelity & Dep. Co. of Maryland v. Rankin, 33 Okla. 7 [124 Pac. 71]; Union Stock Yards Nat. Bank v. Gillespie, supra; Central Nat. Bank v. Connecticut Mut. Life Ins. Co., supra; Clemmer v. Drovers’ Nat. Bank, 157 Ill. 206 [41 N. E. 728]; Hewitt v. Hayes, 205 Mass. 356 [91 N. E. 332]); that a bank may appropriate a general deposit of a debtor to the discharge of a matured indebtedness (Smith v. Sanborn State Bank, 147 Iowa 640); that a cestui que trust cannot recover trust funds which were deposited in a [397]*397bank by the trustee in his own name, and which, without notice of its trust character, the bank has applied to the payment of a matured indebtedness, surrendering to the trustee the evidence of the indebtedness (Smith v. Des Moines Nat. Bank, supra; Kimmel v. Bean, 68 Kan. 598 [75 Pac. 1118]); and conversely, that the owner may maintain an action in equity against the bank if such trust fund has been applied by it with notice of the claim of the cestui que trust to the payment of a matured indebtedness of the trustee (Smith v. Des Moines Nat. Bank, supra; Allen v. Puritan Trust Co., 211 Mass. 409 [97 N. E. 916]; Fidelity & Dep. Co. of Maryland v. Rankin, supra; Clemmer v. Drovers’ Nat. Bank, supra; Union Stock Yards Nat. Bank v. Gillespie, supra); that, if the trust fund be withdrawn by the trustee in the usual course of business, so that the same has been entirely dissipated, an action against the bank cannot be maintained (Hanson v. Roush, 139 Iowa 58; Smith v. Des Moines Nat. Bank, supra; Stilson v. First St. Bank, 152 Iowa 724; Officer v. Officer, 120 Iowa 389; Jones v. Chesebrough, 105 Iowa 303; First State Bank v. Oelke, 149 Iowa 662); that it will be presumed, where a trustee has deposited trust funds in a bank to his general credit^ with funds belonging to himself, that withdrawals made by him will be of his own, and not of the trust, funds (Hamm Brewing Co. v. Flagstad, 182 Iowa 826; Importers & Traders’ Nat. Bank v. Peters, 123 N. Y. 272 [25 N. E. 319]).

1. Banks and banking: deposits : funds of person other than depositor. The decision of this ease must be rested upon the foregoing-general principles. The bank is solvent, and no rights of creditors are involved.

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Bluebook (online)
197 Iowa 393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cable-v-iowa-state-savings-bank-iowa-1922.