First National Bank of Pukwana v. Brule National Bank of Chamberlain

161 N.W. 616, 38 S.D. 396, 12 A.L.R. 1079, 1917 S.D. LEXIS 34
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 5, 1917
DocketFile No. 3905
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 161 N.W. 616 (First National Bank of Pukwana v. Brule National Bank of Chamberlain) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
First National Bank of Pukwana v. Brule National Bank of Chamberlain, 161 N.W. 616, 38 S.D. 396, 12 A.L.R. 1079, 1917 S.D. LEXIS 34 (S.D. 1917).

Opinion

SMITH, J.

The facts material to a determination of the rules of law applicable in this case are undisputed, and are substantially as fellows: One George Kost, a Greek laborer, was employed as one of a track gang on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway near Pukwana in Brule county. On July 21, 1913, Kost made a deposit of $200 in the First National Bank of Pukwana. He was klentied by the foreman of the track gang-; said 'he could not write. The bank entered the deposit in the ordinary bank passbook and delivered the. book to Kost. On [401]*401August 20, 1913, Kost. made another deposit of $170 which the bank also entered in the passbook. On September 9, 1913, two men appeared a't the Brule National Bank of Chamberlain and talked with Pilger, the cashier. One of them had in his possession the passbook containing the deposit entries above mentioned. The man who accompanied him said his name was Albers; that he was foreman of the gang; that the man with him was George Kost; that Kost could not speak or write the English language; that the men were not going back to Bukwana, and Kost wanted to gelt his money from the bank there. Pilger told them he could not give Kost the money then, but would take Kost’s check and put it through, and) if the Pukwana bank paid it, Kost could get the money in a few days. Pilger, the cashiet. then wrote a check which was filled up as follows

“Pukwana, S. Dak. 9-9-1913.
“First National Bank of Pukwana.
“Pay to the order of Brule National Bank, $370.00, three hundred seventy and no 100 dollars.
His
X George Kost.
mark
“Witness to mark George F. Pilger.”

This check was indorsed “Brule National Bank, Chamberlain, S. D.,” and delivered to the Whitbeck National Bank of Chamberlain which was used as a clearance bank for other banks. The check was marked

“Paid, Sep. 1913,” and the Brule National Bank given credit therefor in clearance.

The check was indorsed by the clearing- bank:

“Pay any bank or banker, or order. The Whitbeck National Bank, Chamberlain, S. D. A. C. Whitbeck, Cashier.”
'The check was credited to the Brule county bank, and changed in clearance against the Pukwana bank. It was stamped by • the latter bank as follows:
“The First National Bank, Pukwana. Paid Sept. 10, 1913.”

The amount of' this check was paid by the Brule National Bank of Chamberlain, on September 12, 19x3, to the person who signed the check by mark, and represented himself to be George [402]*402Kost. The check was a forgery. In October, 1913, the true George Kost demanded payment of the amount of his deposit, which was refused by the First National Hank of Pukwana. He thereupon instituted suit, and in June, 1914, recovered judgment against the Pukwana bank. This judgment was for $370., the amount of the deposit, with 7 per cent, interest from October 27, 1913, the date of the demand, and with costs added, amounted to $415.62, which sum was paid by the First National Hank of Pukwana, on July 29, 1914, in full satisfaction thereof. In October, 1913, about the time the Pukwana bank learned of the forgery, it tendeled to the Brule National Bank of Chamberlain the forged check, and demanded repayment of the $370 which was refused. The First National Bank of Pukwana thereupon instituted this action against the Brule National Bank of Chamberlain* and on April 16, 1915, recovered judgment in the sum- of $417.97, the amount of the judgment paid to Kost by the Pukwana bank, with interest, together with the sum of $56.35, paid f'or costs and attorney’s fees by the Pukwana bank in defending that action. From this judgment and an order denying a new trial, defendant appeals.

Appellant assigns as error the allowance as damages of the amount expended by plaintiff for costs and attorney’s fees in the case of Kost against the Pukwana bank, in the reception and exclusion of certain evidence, and insufficiency of the evidence to sustain the decision and judgment. It is appellant’s contention that under the facts disclosed the plaintiff is not entitled to recover amffhing whatever. Appellant founds this contention upon what it concedes to be an exception to a general rule. The exception -as stated , in appellant’s brief is that:

‘'Where a bank pay-s money on an instrument, purporting to be signed by one of its own customers, it is not entitled to recover t'he money so paid, because it is held that it is in a better position than any one else to' know -the genuineness of its customer’s signature.”

[1] Appellant, however, concedes that this exception, thus broadly stated, is not generally recognized at the present time. The courts generally take cognizance of a distinction between forgeries, commonly so called, of indorsements on instruments otherwise valid, or cases in which a genuine instrument lias been [403]*403raised in a-mbunt by means of a forgery, and those cases in which the signature to the original instrument is a forgery. As pointed out in the note appended to the case of First National Bank v. Bank v. Wyndmere, 15 N. D. 299, 108 N. W. 546, 10 L. R. A. (N. S.) 49, 125 Am. St. Rep. 588, 'the two -classes of cases first named are said to 'be governed by the rales of law permitting recovery of money paid- under mutual mistake, while the latter class is controlled by the rule relating to commercial paper. In the absence of statute establishing a different rule, recovery by the negotiator and indorsers upon the implied warranty of genuineness of a negotiable instrument is held, in many cases, to be limited or controlled by the doctrine of estoppel. And it has been held in a variety of -cases ‘that the -drawee, who by payment or acceptance -or other act has induced the original indorser to change 'his position to his prejudice, is estopped to recover upon the implied warranty as first indorser or negotiator. On -the other hand, it has been held that the original payee or indorser, who by his act has induced the drawee to relax his vigilance in his duty to satisfy -himself of the genuineness -of the signature of his -own depositor, is estopped when he seeks to defend an action by the drawee to- recover the -amount paid upon a forged draft or -check purporting to be signed' by his own depositor. In some cases h has been held that the mere act -of -payment by the -drawee estops him from recovering” in an acti-o-n upon the implied warranty of genuineness. But in many of these cases this general rule has been limited" by applying it only to forged checks or> drafts ;n the hands of innocent holders in due course, for value, holding that such warranty did not apply to indorsements merely for collection or to transfer -title. First National Bank v. Northwestern National Bank, 152 Ill. 296, 38 N. E. 739, 26 L. R. A. 289, 43 Am. St. Rep. 247. The great -diversity in rulings, principles, and reasoning in ifche decisions of the -courts o-f the various states has finally resulted in the adoption, in- a great majority of states, -of what is known a-s the Uniform- Law of Negotiable Instruments. This law was -adopted in this state as chapter 279, Laws 1913. Section 65 of ¡that act declares that:

“Every -person negotiating an -instrument by delivery or by qualified indorsement, warrants:

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Bluebook (online)
161 N.W. 616, 38 S.D. 396, 12 A.L.R. 1079, 1917 S.D. LEXIS 34, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/first-national-bank-of-pukwana-v-brule-national-bank-of-chamberlain-sd-1917.