Deitsch v. George R. Gibson Co.

155 F. 385
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJuly 10, 1907
DocketNo. 2,447
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 155 F. 385 (Deitsch v. George R. Gibson Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deitsch v. George R. Gibson Co., 155 F. 385 (8th Cir. 1907).

Opinions

SANBORN, Circuit Judge.

M. F. Donohue recovered a judgment against John Derham, the indorser of a certificate of deposit issued by the First National Bank of Faribault, and the defendant sued out this writ of error to reverse it.

The first alleged error specified is that the court permitted the plaintiff to amend his amended complaint at the trial when the certificate and indorsement were offered in evidence by inserting in the copy of the certificate set forth in the pleading the words, “With interest at 3 per cent, per annum, no interest after 6 months,” which had been omitted from the complaint, and received the certificate and indorsement in evidence. But the statutes of Minnesota provide that:

[386]*386“No variance between the allegation in the pleading and the proof is material, unless it has actually misled the adverse party to his prejudice in maintaining his action or defense upon the merits. Whenever it is alleged that a party has been so misled, that fact shall be proved to the satisfaction of the court, and it shall be shown in what respect he has been misled; and thereupon the court may order the pleading to be amended upon such terms-as may be just.” General Statutes of Minnesota 1894, § 5202.

The Supreme Court of Minnesota has declared that:

“When the disagreement between the facts alleged and the facts proved or sought to be proved is so slight that it is perfectly obvious that the adverse party could not have been misled in his preparation for trial, the variance is deemed immaterial, and the court will either disregard it altogether or order an immediate amendment without costs.” Wilcox Lumber Co. v. Ritteman, 88 Minn. 18, 92 N. W. 472.

The case in hand falls under this rule. The certificate of deposit was set forth correctly in the original complaint and its execution was admitted by the answer; but the words “with interest at 3 per cent, per annum, no interest after 6 months,” were omitted from the amended complaint. • It is obvious that the defendant could not have been misled by this omission in his preparation for the trial, and it was the duty of the court below to permit the amendment and to receive the certificate and indorsement in evidence under the United States statute of jeofails. Rev. St. § 954 [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 696]; Gen. St. Minn. 1894, §§ 5262, 5266.

The second error specified is that the court rejected evidence that Stateler agreed with Derham to take the certificate of deposit as an absolute payment of its face value for a part of the purchase price of his farm. Stateler sold his farm to Derham about December 16, 1904. Donohue had a mortgage on the farm for $4,599. Derham signed this indorsement, “Pay to the order of M. F. Donohue,” upon the certificate, and delivered it to Donohue, and the latter released his mortgage and paid over to Stateler $401, the difference between the principal of the debt evidenced by the certificate and the amount due on his. mortgage. The agreement between Donohue and Stateler was made at the time of the sale of the farm before the certificate was indorsed and delivered to Donohue and was not communicated to the latter. Counsel argue that this agreement constituted a defense to this action under section 5157 of Statutes of Minnesota 1894, which reads:

“In tbe ease of an assignment of a thing in action, the action by the assignee is without prejudice to any set-off or other defense existing at the time of, or before notice of, the assignment; but this section does not apply to a negotiable promissory note or bill of exchange, transferred in good faith and upon good consideration, before due.”

They cite in support of their contention La Due v. First National Bank, 31 Minn. 33, 16 N. W. 426. In that case the payee of a draft indorsed it to one Edison, against whom the drawer, the defendant bank, had an offset. After the draft became due Edison indorsed it and it passed by subsequent indorsements to the plaintiff. The court held that fiie indorsers subsequent to Edison took it subject to the same offset to which it was subject in his hands. But the action in that case was [387]*387upon the draft, and that draft had passed by indorsement through Edison to assignees of the plaintiff. In the case in hand the action is not upon the certificate of deposit which Derham once owned, but upon Derham’s indorsement of it. That indorsement was made directly to the plaintiff Donohue. Whatever the relations of Stateler and Derham may have been, there never was any contract of indorsement of this certificate between Derham and Stateler, and as Stateler was never a party to, or the owner of, such a contract, he was never the owner or assignor of the thing in action here in hand, the indorsement to Donohue, which is the subject of this action, and the statute invoked has no application to this case. The evidence of the agreement between Stateler and Derham was immaterial and inadmissible.

About the 16th day of December, 1904, in the negotiations for the indorsement of the certificate and the satisfaction of the mortgage Derham informed Donohue that if he would hold the certificate, which was dated January 25, 3904, and which by its terms drew interest for only six months, until January 25, 1905, the bank would pay a year’s interest upon it. Thereupon they went together to the bank, and it promised to pay this year’s interest if the certificate was held until January 25, 1905. Donohue agreed with Derham to hold it until that time, and that Derham should have the interest which the bank would then pay, and Derham indorsed the certificate. Counsel argue that the effect of this agreement was to- substitute Donohue for Derham in the latter’s relation to the bank, so that, if the bank failed to pay the certificate, the loss was Donohue’s, and not Derham’s. The position is untenable, because the transaction was concluded by the execution of the indorsement, the written contract by Derham to pay the certificate on due demand and notice, if the bank did not, and the delivery of this contract and the certificate to Donohue by Derham. That indorsement is utterly inconsistent with the theory that Donohue took the chance of the failure of the bank. It is in writing, its terms and legal effect are certain, and it must prevail.

Nor is the contention that since Donohue did not demand the payment of the certificate until January 25, 1905, Donohue assumed the risk of the insolvency of the bank meanwhile and thereby released Derham from his indorsement, more persuasive, because Donohue delayed his demand at the request of Derham and for his benefit, and Derham is thereby estopped from taking advantage, to the detriment of Donohue, of the delay which he caused.

Finally, counsel insist that the judgment should be reversed because in the notice of protest its date was January 25, 1904, when it should have been January 25, 1905, the date of the certificate was recited January 25, 1905, when it should have been recited January 25, 1904, and the notice failed to state that the certificate contained the words, “No interest after 6 months.” They cite the following authorities in support of their argument that this notice did not inform Derham of the demand and refusal of payment of the certificate on January 25, 1905, when it fell due: Townsend v. Lorain Bank of Elyria, 2 Ohio St. 345, 353, 360, in which a note fell due on June 4, 1849, and a notice dated June 2, 1849, that it was presented and dishonored on that day, was held insufficient. Ransom v. Mack, 2 Hill (N.

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155 F. 385, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deitsch-v-george-r-gibson-co-ca8-1907.