Farmers & Merchants Bank v. Universal C.I.T. Credit Corp.

315 P.2d 653, 6 Utah 2d 413, 1957 Utah LEXIS 173
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 17, 1957
Docket8635
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 315 P.2d 653 (Farmers & Merchants Bank v. Universal C.I.T. Credit Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Farmers & Merchants Bank v. Universal C.I.T. Credit Corp., 315 P.2d 653, 6 Utah 2d 413, 1957 Utah LEXIS 173 (Utah 1957).

Opinions

COWLEY, District Judge.

[415]*415This is the second appeal in this case. The facts are set forth in detail in the first decision, Farmers and Merchants Bank v. Universal C. I. T. Credit Corporation, 4 Utah 2d 155, 289 P.2d 1045. Some of the facts will he repeated here and such other facts as are deemed necessary to this decision. In October, 1952, defendant corporation undertook to finance the operation of Harry Parsley, Inc., a Lincoln-Mercury dealer in Provo, Utah. It was orally agreed among the dealer, the plaintiff bank and the defendant finance company that Parsley would he permitted to deposit sight drafts with plaintiff bank, drawn on defendant finance company, and get immediate cash credit in its bank account on the strength of the deposited drafts, and defendant would honor and pay such sight drafts. Both retail and wholesale financing was provided for in the agreement.

As pointed out in the former decision, this financing continued unquestioned until December 24, 1952, when the bank was instructed by an officer of the C. I. T. not to treat sight drafts for wholesale financing as cash from that date forward. The evidence was in conflict as to the agreed means of distinguishing between a wholesale and retail draft, but, at any rate plaintiff bank continued giving immediate credit to the Parsley account upon receipt of drafts and allowing checks to be drawn against the credit. On January 6, 1953, an officer of C. I. T. instructed the bank that no more drafts drawn by Parsley would be accepted by the corporation. On the same day the plaintiff bank credited 13 drafts to the account of Parsley, totaling $29,223.65, claiming that the C. I. T. officer orally promised that all drafts in process up to the close of business January 6, 1953, would be honored and further contending that no mention was made in the oral promise as between wholesale and retail drafts.

Likewise on January 6, 1953, the C. I. T. presented and received payment for 10 checks drawn in favor of the corporation on the Parsley account in the amount of $24,668.03, which are the subject of this second appeal. On January 7, 1953, the bank contends that further representations were made by agents of the defendant corporation that the drafts would be paid, and on January 8, 1953, when the C. I. T. presented additional checks to the bank for cashing in excess of $20,000 and were refused because of insufficient funds in the Parsley account to pay this additional amount, and further because Parsley had issued directions to the bank not to pay any checks in excess of $300, the C. I. T. refused to honor the 13 drafts above mentioned.

The plaintiff bank later surrendered to Harry Parsley, Inc., four of the 13 dishonored drafts in exchange for a promissory note for $21,000, secured by a chattel mortgage and an assignment of accounts receivable.

[416]*416The first trial was based on the drafts •presented to the bank by Parsley as drawer on January 6, 1953, for which the bank .gave immediate cash credit to the Parsley account and were dishonored by the C. I. T. Corporation as drawee on January 8, 1953. ’The trial court rendered judgment to the plaintiff in the first action based upon the •outstanding drafts in the sum of $29,223.6$, less the sum of $7,792.57, which represented the balance in the Parsley account when it was closed out on January 10, 1953, and charged back to the account by the bank, :and the court subtracted the four drafts above mentioned, awarding a net judgment to the plaintiff in the sum of $17,876.81 against the defendant, together with interest and costs.

This court did not allow a recovery on “the basis of the outstanding drafts on the first appeal because of the bank’s dereliction of duty in continuing the practice of granting immediate credit on the drafts presented to the bank after December 24, 1952, when it was put on notice that Parsley’s Inc., was in financial difficulty, particularly as to wholesale financing. See Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank v. Universal C. I. T. Credit Corporation, above.

In reversing the trial court we remanded the case for further proceedings based upon the ten checks presented by the C. I. T. .and paid by the bank the same day as the •outstanding drafts were received by the bank from Parsley, in the following language :

“However, one of the allegations of the complaint in this action stated that at the time checks were presented to the bank for payment to C. I. T., that corporation knew or should have known that the only source from which said checks could be paid was the credits given to Parsley for the. drafts which the corporation later refused to honor. No specific finding was made by the trial court on this matter; although the court did make the finding that the checks were paid in reliance on the assurances of C. I. T. personnel that the drafts would be paid and a general finding of issues not specifically mentioned in plaintiff’s favor. * * * Since the judgment was rendered on the basis of outstanding drafts, rather than the checks whose payment was wrongfully induced by appellants, this case must be reversed and remanded for further proceedings.” Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank v. Universal C. I. T. Credit Corporation [4 Utah 2d 155, 289 P.2d 1049] above.

We further said in the previous appeal, “If the payee of a check has knowledge that there are no funds on deposit to meet it, and the bank pays the check in ignorance of that fact, there may be a recovery of the payment. Peterson v. Union National Bank, 52 Pa. 206, 91 Am.Dec. 146.”

[417]*417The only issue at the second trial and on this appeal is plaintiff’s contended right to recover on the ten checks in question totalling $24,668.03, which the bank paid to C. I. T. on January 6, 1953. The specific questions to be determined by the mandate of the Supreme Court in the former decision are (1) whether the payee of said checks, C. I. T., had knowledge that there were no funds on deposit in the Parsley account to meet the said checks; and (2) whether the plaintiff bank paid the checks in ignorance of the fact that there were no funds to pay them. The answer to these questions depends upon the alleged promises made by the officers and agents of the C. I. T. to the bank on January 6 and 7, 1953, that the 13 drafts would be honored and paid which Parsley presented to the bank on January 6, the same day the checks were presented by C. I. T. for payment, and the bank’s reliance on the promises in granting immediate credit on the drafts, which were later dishonored.

At the conclusion of the second trial the court made findings favorable to the plaintiff on the above questions and granted judgment to the plaintiff on the 10 checks in the sum of $24,668.03, less certain set-offs which constitute plaintiff’s cross-appeal and will be discussed later.

If the findings and judgment of the trial court are substantially supported by evidence the Supreme Court may not disturb them, since this is a case at law. Sine v. Salt Lake Transportation Co., 106 Utah 289, 147 P.2d 875.

At the outset it must be kept in mind that the uncontroverted evidence reveals that the bank had control of the checks in question through the day of January 7, 1953, and until nearly 8 p. m.

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Farmers & Merchants Bank v. Universal C.I.T. Credit Corp.
315 P.2d 653 (Utah Supreme Court, 1957)

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Bluebook (online)
315 P.2d 653, 6 Utah 2d 413, 1957 Utah LEXIS 173, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farmers-merchants-bank-v-universal-cit-credit-corp-utah-1957.