Huffer v. First National Bank

242 Ill. App. 111, 1926 Ill. App. LEXIS 85
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJuly 1, 1926
DocketGen. No. 7,925
StatusPublished

This text of 242 Ill. App. 111 (Huffer v. First National Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Huffer v. First National Bank, 242 Ill. App. 111, 1926 Ill. App. LEXIS 85 (Ill. Ct. App. 1926).

Opinion

Mr. Presiding Justice Niehaus

delivered the opinion of the court.

In this case an appeal is prosecuted hy the First National Bank of Shelbyville, from a judgment rendered against the bank in the circuit court of Shelby county, in favor of the appellee, Mary E. Buffer, for the sum of $3,208.83. Mary E. Buffer was a depositor in the appellant bank, and on January 7, 1919, had a balance to her credit, in the account, of $33.40. Ber claim in this case is for the balance referred to, and additional deposits and credits, amounting in all to the sum of $6,693.81. It is admitted that her account should be charged with the sum of $872.50, which is the sum total of checks drawn by her on the account, which leaves the sum of $5,821.31 as the subject of the controversy in this suit. There is little dispute about the main facts, about the figures, or about the summaries and calculations relating to the items embraced in the deposit account. The proofs show that the appellee in January, 1913, when she was living at Shelby-ville, came into possession of $4,700, realized from the sale of a farm of her deceased husband, which was located near Shelbyville, and this money was loaned by her to Morris T. Robison, upon a note secured by mortgage on January 18, 1913. It was ai three-year loan, but afterwards extended to five years, and it finally matured January 18, 1921. Shortly after the loan; had been made, appellee removed from Shelby-ville to Danville, and thereafter made her home at the latter place with her daughter, Mrs. B. B. Martin. Upon her removal to Danville, she left the matter of looking after the Robison loan and taking care of her deposit account in the appellant bank to her son, Lewis J. Buffer, who was a resident of Shelbyville. And the evidence shows that in connection with her deposit account she signed a signatured card for the appellant bank, by which she authorized the bank to pay checks signed for her by her son Lewis. It also appears from the evidence that her son Lewis was also a depositor in the appellant bank, and had various and continued financial transactions of his own with the bank during the entire period in which he acted for his mother. The evidence also discloses that during the period of the agency referred to, the appellee at various times became indebted to the bank on notes which she signed at the instance of her son Lewis for various amounts, and that the notes so given were renewed and sometimes increased; and that in this way, at one time, she was indebted to the bank in the sum of $701.90. It also appears that her son Lewis during the period of his agency, in connection with his own financial transactions, also became indebted to the bank in various amounts, and at different times, and that this indebtedness on April 25, 1922, amounted to the sum of $2,276.83, and was represented in the amount of the principal of promissory notes held by the bank, and accrued interest. The evidence also shows that the appellant bank, under the authority given it on the signature card, to pay checks signed for her by her son Lewis, had honored a large number of checks drawn by Lewis, by signing his mother’s name, which were payable to himself; and by this means transferred at different times various amounts of the funds standing to the credit of his mother in her account, to his account; and these amounts were made use of for his own purposes in his own business transactions, and to pay his own debts and obligations. The amount withdrawn by Lewis from his mother’s account in this manner was $1,642.25. The evidence also shows that on several occasions, when Lewis brought in checks belonging to his mother, and payable to her order, which represented payments of interest or part payment of the principal of the Eobison loan, the appellant bank accepted these checks for deposit for her account on Lewis’ indorsement of his mother’s name, and made out a deposit slip showing the deposit and amount thereof, and thereupon allowed Lewis to withdraw a part of such deposits in currency or cash, which cash or currency was turned over to Lewis without any checks drawn therefor; and that then the mother’s deposit account was credited only with the difference between the amount of the deposit according to the deposit slip and the amount of currency or cash turned over to Lewis. Thus on January 19, 1920, Lewis brought to the bank a check for $282 payable to the mother for deposit, and indorsed the mother’s name thereon; and the check was received by the appellant ' bank for deposit in the way referred to, and then $65 of the deposit was returned to Lewis in currency, and the balance of $217 was credited to the mother’s account. In the same way Lewis brought to the appellant bank for deposit at another time a check for $1,282, payable to the order of the mother, which was for part payment of principal, and interest due on the Eobison note. This check was accepted in the same way by the bank for deposit to the credit, of the mother’s account, with Lewis’ indorsement of the mother’s name thereon ; and then the appellant bank allowed Lewis to withdraw from this deposit before it was entered in the account, and without any check being drawn therefor, the sum of $417, and the mother’s account was given credit for the balance of $865. On another occasion when the balance of the Eobison loan was paid off, April 25, 1922, a check was given in payment, amounting to $4,027.32 which was made payable to the order of the appellant bank, and was received by the bank. After the appellant bank had received the same on the mother’s account, there was deducted from the amount of the deposit, without any check being drawn therefor, not only the amount of a note which the mother had signed, upon which she was apparently indebted to the bank, and amounting to the sum of $450, but also the amount of Lewis’ indebtedness to the bank, amounting to the sum of $2,276.83; then after deducting the latter amount, which the bank received the benefit of, the balance of $1,300.49 remaining was credited in the mother’s deposit account as the correct amount of her deposit on that day. There is no proof in the record to show that the mother ever at any time gave her son Lewis authority to indorse her name upon any checks payable to her, which he had collected for her. But it is contended by the appellant bank that Lewis had such authority because he must be regarded as her general agent, and that therefore the bank had the right to deal with him as a general agent, and that the indorsements of the mother’s name made by Lewis on the checks mentioned came within the scope of a general agency. We cannot agree with this contention. The appellee was not engaged in any business requiring the services of a general agent, and moreover the evidence clearly shows that the appellant bank was fully cognizant of the purpose and scope of Lewis’ agency and familiar with the matters pertaining thereto. It is true, the mother had authorized the appellant bank to pay checks signed for her by her son Lewis, but this authority had reference to the mother’s business matters which involved her deposit account, and cannot properly be considered as including authority to honor checks drawn for the personal use and benefit of Lewis, or the joint purpose and use of Lewis and the appellant bank. McAllister v. Oberne, Hick & Co., 42 Ill. App. 287; Merchants & Manufacturers Nat. Bank v. Ohio Valley Furniture Co., 57 W. Va. 625, 70 L. R. A. 312; Rochester & C. Turnpike Road Co. v. Paviour, 164 N. Y. 281, 52 L. R. A. 790.

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Bluebook (online)
242 Ill. App. 111, 1926 Ill. App. LEXIS 85, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/huffer-v-first-national-bank-illappct-1926.