Comer v. Hayworth

65 N.E. 595, 30 Ind. App. 144, 1902 Ind. App. LEXIS 236
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 10, 1902
DocketNo. 4,242
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 65 N.E. 595 (Comer v. Hayworth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Comer v. Hayworth, 65 N.E. 595, 30 Ind. App. 144, 1902 Ind. App. LEXIS 236 (Ind. Ct. App. 1902).

Opinion

Black, P. J.

The complaint of Margaret A. Comer, appellant, against John R. Hayworth, appellee, consisted of two paragraphs. In the first it was alleged that the appellant about April 1, 1894, was the owner and entitled to the possession of a certain draft for $800, issued in payment for her farm, and made payable to William R. Jones, for her use; that Jones assigned the draft to the appellee, who drew the money thereon, and, without her knowledge or consent, wrongfully and unlawfully converted the money t'o his own use, to her damage in the sum of, etc., for which she made demand on the appellee before suit, but he refused [145]*145to pay, etc. In the second paragraph it was alleged that in the year 1894 the appellant was the owner of a tract of land in Jasper county, Indiana, which she sold and conveyed to William A. Rhinehart, who paid the money arising therefrom to William R. Jones, who, without her consent, or authority from her, paid $800 of the money so received from Rhinehart for the appellant to the appellee, who received the same without any right thereto, and, though she demanded the same from the appellee, he still retained it, and wholly failed to pay it to the appellant, wherefore, etc.’

It is assigned here that the court erred in overruling the appellant’s demurrer to the third paragraph of answer. In that paragraph, addressed to the entire complaint, it was alleged that in the year 1890 the appellee and the appellant’s husband, William Comer, with W. R. Jones, entered into partnership for the purpose of buying and selling cattle and other live stock, and continued until June, 1892, when Jones retired from the firm, and thereafter the appellee and the appellant’s husband continued in partnership, and continued to carry on that business until they finally dissolved partnership, the date of dissolution not being stated; that when these persons went into partnership; in 1890, William Comer was the owner of the land mentioned in the complaint, which the appellee then knew; that on December .24, 1891, William Comer, his wife, the appellant, joining him, — conveyed the land to their daughter and her husband (named), without consideration," and these grantees on the same day, without consideration, conveyed the land to the appellant; that appellee was never informed and did not know of this transaction until long after it had taken place, and was not informed and did not know that the appellant owned or claimed to own the land; that the appellee, while admitting that he received the sum of $800 of William R. Jones, substantially as alleged in the complaint, says that the same was received by him under [146]*146the following circumstances: At the time he received the money he was treasurer and custodian of the funds of the firm of Hayworth & Comer, doing business as aforesaid, and the money was paid in by order of appellant’s husband, to be used by the firm as partnership money, and when appellee received the money it was placed to the credit of appellant’s husband on the boohs of the firm, and was used by the firm in carrying on and conducting their said business, and the appellee received the money in no other manner and for no other purpose than as above stated; that at the time he received the money, and gave Comer credit therefor on the partnership account, he was not informed and did not know that the appellant was the owner or claimed any interest in the money, or that she was the owner or claimed to be the owner of the land for the sale of which the money was received by the said Comer; that the money was paid out by the firm in buying and dealing in stock, and when this firm was dissolved, “Comer was and had received credit for said funds,” and the money was never used or expended by the appellee as his own separate money or in his private business.

The case presented by this answer .in connection with the complaint is, briefly, that Hayworth received from Jones $800, of which Mrs. Comer was the owner; it being the proceeds of the sale of her land, held as such by Jones in money, or in the form of a draft made payable to Jones. The money so received by appellee was paid in by order of William Comer, — to whom addressed is not stated, — to be used as partnership money of a firm composed of Hayworth and William Comer. When Hayworth received it from Jones it was credited to William Comer on the partnership books, and was used by the firm in the partnership business; Hayworth not being informed when he received the money, and gave his partner credit therefor, that it was Mrs. Comer’s money, or that she owned or claimed the land from the sale of which it was derived.

[147]*147It does not clearly appear from the answer whether the appellee received the draft, o'r the amount thereof in money. What- he received, he obtained from Jones. It is not shown that any consideration passed to the appellant or to Jones, or that appellee’s partner,- — appellant’s husband,- — was indebted to appellee upon a balancing of partnership accounts, and that the sum so received was paid in for the purpose of paying off any obligation to the appellee as a partner. It was credited to appellant’s husband on the books of the firm, but it was paid in as partnership money, to be used in the partnership business-; that is, as money belonging, with all other partnership property, to the partnership, and therefore to all the members' of the firm, as their interests, upon an adjustment of partnership matters, might disclose.

It is alleged that appellee did not know that the money belonged to the appellant, or that she owned" the land from the sale of which the money was derived; but it is not alleged that he did not know of the sale of the land, or that he did not know that the money was derived therefrom, or that he had been informed that the money belonged to his partner, or that he believed it to belong to his partner, or that he made any inquiries or investigation concerning the ownership of the draft or the money. The draft or the money was in the possession of Jones, who held it as tho property of appellant. It passed from the possession of Jones, not to the possession of appellant’s husband, but di-N rect'ly to the appellee. It never was in the possession of appellee’s partner, except as it' may be said to have been in his possession as a partner after it had been appropriated as partnership money. The money belonging to the appellant was thus appropriated without her knowledge or consent.

Where one person appropriates the money or property of another, without the knowledge or consent of the owner, the appropriation is wrongful, and an action may be maintained for its recovery without previous demand. Armacost v. Lindley, 116 Ind. 295, 296.

[148]*148Where one person has received money fpr the use of another, with the knowlege and consent' of the latter, and after its receipt has wrongfully converted the money to his own use, or to the use of himself and a third person, an action will lie for the recovery of the money without a demand before suit. Terrell v. Butterfield, 92 Ind. 1.

Where a husband takes possession of the corpus or principal of the separate property or money of his wife, he is presumed, under our law, to hold it for her use and benefit, until this presumption is overcome by proof of her intent to make a gift of the property to him. The burden is upon him to show that his appropriation of the property was in accordance with her direction, or that she gave it to him.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
65 N.E. 595, 30 Ind. App. 144, 1902 Ind. App. LEXIS 236, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/comer-v-hayworth-indctapp-1902.