Flowers v. Spears

190 N.C. 747
Supreme Court of North Carolina·Decided December 16, 1925·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinion

CoNNOK, J.

Tbe United Mercantile Company, a corporation, was organized on 2 April, 1921; thereafter, and until 24 July, 1922, when plaintiff, J. F. Flowers, was appointed receiver of said company, by tbe Superior Court of Cabarrus County, it was engaged in tbe mercantile business at Kannapolis, N. C.

There was evidence tending to show that on or about 14 April, 1921, said company bought from E. M. Housel a Ford truck, paying therefor $701.66. Mr. Housel testified that this sum was paid to him at the time he delivered the truck to the company. C. W. Swink, cashier of Cabar-rus Savings Bank, identified a sheet of paper handed him, while testifying as a witness for plaintiff, as the sheet from the bank’s ledger upon which the account of the United Mercantile Company was kept by the said bank. He was requested by plaintiff’s attorney to state whether or not said sheet showed that a check for $701.66 was charged on said account. Defendants objected. Before complying with said request, in answer to questions of defendants’ counsel, witness stated that he did not make the entries on said sheet; that they were made by a bookkeeper, employed by said bank at its branch at Kannapolis; that witness went occasionally from his office at Concord to Kannapolis and there examined the branch bank, and looked over its business; that the sheet shown was a part of the bank’s records. Defendants’ objection was overruled. The witness then stated that the sheet showed that a check for $701.66 was charged on 15 April, 1921, to the account of the United Mercantile Company. Defendant excepted. Plaintiff then offered the sheet in evidence for the purpose of corroboration. Defendants’ objection was overruled and defendants excepted.

Defendants’ assignments of error based on these exceptions cannot be sustained. E. M. Housel had testified that he received the sum of $701.66 at the time he delivered the truck to the United Mercantile Company. This testimony was offered as evidence that the United Mercantile Company paid the purchase price for the Ford truck. It was competent for that purpose. The issue submitted to the jury involved the ownership of the truck. The testimony was relevant as evidence upon the question of ownership. The testimony of the cashier of the bank was competent as evidence that the sheet exhibited to him was a part of- the records of the bank. See S. v. Hendricks, 187 N. C., 327.

The fact that the cashier did not make the entries in the account shown on the sheet did not render his testimony incompetent. The entries were made by a bookkeeper, employed by the bank, who was under the supervision of the cashier. The fact that the cashier did not [750] personally handle the check and that he had no personal knowledge of the transactions recorded in the account, as shown by the sheet, did not render his testimony incompetent as based upon hearsay. Ins. Co. v. R. R., 138 N. C., 42; Currie v. Davis (S. C.), 126 S. E., 119. In both these cases, a record containing entries made in the usual course of business on train sheets by a train dispatcher, who testified as a witness, from reports telegraphed to him by station agents as to the arrival and departure of trains at their stations, was held competent evidence for the purpose of showing the position of a train at a certain time. In the instant case while the entries were not made by the cashier, they were made by a bookkeeper under his supervision and were accepted as correct by both the bank and the United Mercantile Company in their dealings with each other.

Nor does the testimony violate the well established rule that a litigant cannot be affected by the words and acts of others with whom he is in no way connected, and for whose sayings and doings he is not legally responsible. 22 C. J., 741. The record was offered not as evidence against defendants, but in support of the testimony of witnesses for plaintiff. In Falls v. Gamble, 66 N. C., 455, this Court held that evidence in regard to entries on a school register, offered for purposes of corroboration, of testimony as to the age of the grantor in a deed, was competent, Chief Justice Pearson saying: “The rule, res inter alios acta, has no application.” 22 C. J., 743. S. v. Morris, 84 N. C., 756.

Defendants in their answer, by way of further defense to plaintiff’s cause of action, allege “that the officers and representatives of said United Mercantile Company and J. E. Flowers, the attorney and now receiver of said company, knew or by the exercise of due and reasonable care and diligence could have known of all the proceedings had in the said cases (i. e., the actions brought by defendants in which warrants of attachment under which the sheriff levied upon said truck as the property of Kannapolis Local Union No. 1238 and ~W. G. Walter were issued) of the time and place of sale of said Ford truck, since the time and place were widely and extensively advertised and that they at no time made and filed any protest or objected to the sale of the said Eord truck.”

Upon the trial, defendants tendered as issues, in addition to those submitted by the court, the following:

“1. Is the plaintiff, by reason of his conduct and the conduct of the officers and representatives of the United Mercantile Company, estopped from maintaining this action against the defendants?
“2. Did the plaintiff, by his own acts and conduct and the acts and conduct of the officers of the United Mercantile Company, waive any [751] claim be might have bad to maintain an action for damages for and on account of tbe seizure and sale of said truck?”

Tbe court refused to submit these issues and defendants excepted and assign such refusal as error.

Tbe warrants of attachment were issued on 7 July, 1922; on tbe same day defendant, C. L. Spears, sheriff, levied upon tbe Ford truck as tbe property of tbe defendants in said -actions, to wit, Kannapolis Local TJnion No. 1238 rand W. G. "Walter; on 10 July, 1922, J. E. Flowers wrote to tbe sheriff advising him that be represented tbe United Mercantile Company and that tbe truck which be bad seized was tbe property of said company and not tbe property of defendants in said action; be demanded tbe release of said truck from tbe levy and notified tbe sheriff that tbe United Mercantile Company would insist upon its rights as owner of tbe said truck.

Neither of tbe defendants in said actions filed answer, and on 4 September, 1922, judgment was rendered in each action in favor of tbe plaintiff therein and against 'the defendants for tbe amount claimed, it was further adjudged that tbe Kannapolis Local Union No. 1238, Textile Workers of America and W. G. Walter were tbe owners of tbe truck and other property attached by tbe sheriff; thereafter executions were issued upon said judgments and on 25 November, 1922, tbe sheriff under said executions sold tbe said truck at tbe courthouse door in Cabarrus County.

On 14 July, 1922, J. E. Flowers was appointed receiver of tbe United Mercantile Company by tbe Superior Court of Cabarrus County. Neither be nor anyone else representing tbe United Mercantile Company attended tbe sale of .the said truck on 25 November, 1922.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Flowers v. Spears, 190 N.C. 747 (N.C. 1925).

190 N.C. 747 (Flowers v. Spears) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State v. Carr
204 S.E.2d 892 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1974)
State v. Springer
197 S.E.2d 530 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1973)
Dairy & Ice Cream Supply Co. v. Gastonia Ice Cream Co.
61 S.E.2d 895 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1950)
State v. . Lippard
25 S.E.2d 594 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1943)
Breneman Co. v. . Cunningham
175 S.E. 829 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1934)
State v. . Breece
173 S.E. 9 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1934)
Core v. . McCoy and Company
167 S.E. 385 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1933)
R. R. v. . Hegwood
151 S.E. 641 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1930)
Fort Worth & Denver City Railway Co. v. Hegwood
198 N.C. 309 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1930)
McKinney v. . Sutphin
145 S.E. 621 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1928)
Williams v. . Perkins
134 S.E. 417 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1926)