Harrison v. Burlingame

55 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 212, 17 N.Y. St. Rep. 905
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedApril 15, 1888
StatusPublished

This text of 55 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 212 (Harrison v. Burlingame) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harrison v. Burlingame, 55 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 212, 17 N.Y. St. Rep. 905 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1888).

Opinion

Martin, J.:

"While this was an action to foreclose a mortgage, still the proceedings therein were such as to result in leaving the question whether the mortgage was owned by the respondent, or whether it was owned by the appellant, as the principal, if not the only question to be determined in the action.

The mortgage wras for $2,000. The mortgagee assigned it to the plaintiff as security for the payment of $1,500 and interest. The assignment was in writing and attached to the mortgage. The transaction, which resulted in such assignment, was had between the mortgagee and one Crozier, who acted as plaintiff’s agent. Crozier afterward detached the assignment and returned the mortgage to the mortgagee to enable him to sell it to the appellant. The mortgagee then sold it to the appellant, who purchased it in good faith, without knowledge that the respondent had, or had ever had any interest in it by assignment or otherwise. The appellant paid for this mortgage its face value and interest, less fifty or seventy-five dollars. It was assigned to him by the mortgagee by an assignment in writing, and the mortgage was delivered to and retained by him up to the time of the trial. The assignment to the respondent was not recorded until after the appellant had purchased and paid for such mortgage. The assignment to the respondent was, however, recorded before the assignment to the appellant was recorded. An important question, and one upon which the correctness of the judgment appealed from greatly depends, is whether Crozier had authority from the respondent, either express or implied, to surrender up to the mortgagee the mortgage in question, and thus deprive her of [215]*215the rights which she had acquired under and by virtue of such assignment.

The learned trial judge has found that Crozier was and had for many years been the plaintiff’s agent in the management of her financial affairs in loaning money, doing business upon and manageing her real estate, in collecting interest and payments upon notes, mortgages, stocks “ and such like securities,” and in giving receipts for such payments, but that he was never authorized or permitted by the respondent to cancel or surrender, without consideration, any security or unpaid or uncanceled obligations. The court also found that the mortgagee knew that this mortgage was surrendered up to him by Crozier without the respondent’s knowledge or consent, and found that no other security was given or agreed to be given when this mortgage was thus surrendered. "We think the evidence was sufficient to sustain these findings.

There was no proof that the respondent had ever given Crozier any express authority to surrender this mortgage, or to surrender any unpaid mortgage or security without her consent; but on the contrary, she testified that she had given him no such authority. Hence the question arises, whether such surrender was within his apparent authority. Authority to an agent to transact any business or perform any act carries with it or includes in it as an incident all the powers which are necessary, proper or usual as means to effectuate the purpose for which it was created. In this respect there is no distinction whether the authority given is general or special, or whether it is express or implied. In each case it embraces the appropriate means to accomplish the desired end. (Story on Agency, § 97.) It is a general rule of the law of agency that the principal will be bound by such acts as he permits to be done with his knowledge, and without objection on his part, when they affect the rights of innocent third persons; but if the agency arises by implication from previous acts of the agent with the tacit consent or acquiescence of the principal, such agency will be limited to acts of like nature. In this case the proof was that Crozier had been employed and permitted by the respondent to manage her financial affairs to the extent of loaning money for her, collecting interest and payments on notes, mortgages, stocks and other securities. From this proof can it be implied that he also possessed the power to' [216]*216surrender the plaintiff’s securities without payment? In other words, is the act of surrendering up securities without payment so far an incident to the business of collecting or loaning money, that the power to do the former will be implied from an employment to do the latter ? The authorities seem adverse to such a doctrine.

In Stilwell v. Mutual Life Lnsurance Company (12 N. Y., 385), it was held that authority to make a contract for another was insufficient to authorize its cancellation or surrender. In that case the husband, as her agent, applied for and secured a policy for the plaintiff, and the court held that he had no power or authority to surrender or rescind it without her consent. In Doubleday v. Kress (50 N. Y., 410), where the payee of a note payable to his order and not indorsed by him, delivered it to an agent with authority to receive the interest thereon and to take a new note with an indorser, and the maker paid principal and interest to the agent, it was held that the agent was not authorized to receive payment of the principal in money. In Smith v. Kidd (68 N. Y., 130), it was held that the fact that an attorney was employed by one proposing to loan money on bonds and mortgage, to draw the papers, and that the money was advanced upon the securities through the attorney, is nd proof of authority upon his part to collect the principal where he has not been intrusted with the custody of the security; nor can it be inferred that the attorney was authorized to receive the principal from the fact that he had authority to collect the interest. In Brewster v. Carnes (103 N. Y., 556), it was also held that authority to an attorney to collect interest on a mortgage does not authorize him to collect the principal.

In Crane v. Evans (1 N. Y. State R., 216) the plaintiff empowered one Baker to collect and receive the interest as it accrued on defendant’s mortgage, which was to run five years. ■ The money-was loaned through Baker’s agency, and the bond and mortgage was left with him for a time. The plaintiff afterward took it. Baker received a part of the principal before the plaintiff took the mortgage, and the balance afterward, but all before it was due. The mortgagee received none of the principal from Baker and did not know of its payment. It was held that defendant was bound to know the extent of Baker’s agency; that a mortgagor who pays principal upon a mortgage to any one but the mortgagee does so at his peril; that in [217]*217order to hold the principal to such payment he must be prepared to prove express authority. In Von Wien v. Scottish Union and National Insurance Company (32 Alb. Law Jour., 488), it was said that “ authority to make a contract for another does not carry with it by implication authority to cancel that contract,” and the cases of Hodge v. Security Insurance Company (33 Hun, 583); Stilwell v. Mutual Insurance Company (supra); Van Valkenburgh v. Lenox Fire Insurance Company (51 N. Y., 469), and Grace v. American Central Insurance Company (109 U. S., 278), were cited as sustaining that proposition. (See, also, Story on Agency, §§ 98, 99.)

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Related

Grace v. American Central Insurance
109 U.S. 278 (Supreme Court, 1883)
Van Valkenburgh v. . Lenox Fire Ins. Co.
51 N.Y. 465 (New York Court of Appeals, 1873)
Booth v. . Kehoe
71 N.Y. 341 (New York Court of Appeals, 1877)
Brewster v. . Carnes
9 N.E. 323 (New York Court of Appeals, 1886)
Doubleday v. . Kress
50 N.Y. 410 (New York Court of Appeals, 1872)
Smith v. . Kidd
68 N.Y. 130 (New York Court of Appeals, 1877)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
55 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 212, 17 N.Y. St. Rep. 905, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harrison-v-burlingame-nysupct-1888.