Kellogg v. Suher

109 N.E.2d 169, 329 Mass. 544, 1952 Mass. LEXIS 619
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court·Decided December 3, 1952·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

Ronan, J.

This is an action of contract by the holder and payee of a note made by The Lawton Inn, Incorporated, and indorsed by the five defendants, Suher, Zimmerman, Philip Small, Saul Small, and Fried, stockholders in the corporation, for its accommodation. The judge found for the plaintiff against all the defendants for the balance due on the note. The defendants excepted to the denial of certain of their requests for rulings and to the granting of certain of the plaintiff’s requests.

The maker of the note conducted a small hotel in Connecticut and was in need of $4,000, and the plaintiff agreed to lend it this sum if Suher and Zimmerman and the stockholders living in Springfield or vicinity indorsed the note. The plaintiff sent his check to the attorney’for the hotel with instructions to exchange the check for the note when it was executed by the maker and the indorsers. The attorney drafted the note, had it executed by the hotel corporation, and then sent it to Zimmerman to have it indorsed by the defendants. At the top of the back of the note appeared the typewritten legend “Waiving demand, notice and protest,” and under this legend were two light lines extending across the width of the note. After the note was indorsed by Suher, Zimmerman, Philip Small, Saul Small, and Fried in that order, it was returned to the attorney who sent it to Connecticut where it was indorsed by Sullivan and Newton, the treasurer and president of the maker respectively, in that order upon the two light lines. It was returned to the attorney who sent it to the plaintiff and gave the plaintiff’s check to the maker. The note was payable at a Connecticut bank. The note was never pre *546 seated for payment at maturity and no notice was given to the defendants. Failure of presentment, demand, and notice is the only ground of defence.

The judge found that the defendants knew that their indorsements were necessary to enable the maker to obtain the loan; that each indorser intended to be bound on the same basis as every other indorser; that each indorsed before delivery; and that each impliedly adopted the waiver of presentment, demand, and notice as his own.

The findings made by a judge in an action at law must stand unless they are unwarranted by any reasonable view of the evidence together with all rational inferences that may be drawn therefrom. His general finding is conclusive if there is any evidence to support it. Codman v. Beane, 312 Mass. 570. First National Stores Inc. v. H. P. Welch Co. 316 Mass. 147, 149-150.

Notice of dishonor may be waived before or after the time for giving notice has arrived, and the waiver may be express or implied. G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 107, § 132. Section 133 of this chapter provides, "Where the waiver is embodied in the instrument itself it is binding upon all parties; but where it is written above the signature of an endorser it binds him only.” We do not understand that any contention is made that the typewritten waiver is embodied in the instrument. The last clause of § 133 is relied upon to show that the waiver did not extend to the indorsements made by the defendants. In Mooers v. Stalker, 194 Iowa, 1354, interpreting a statute identical with our § 133, it was held that, where the waiver of notice was not expressed in such form as to include subsequent indorsers, one who indorsed after an indorsement next to the waiver was not bound by the waiver. Such an indorser is not affected by a waiver unless he makes it himself or unless in some manner he adopts it as his own. In the course of the opinion it was said (perhaps by way of dictum), at page 1360, "The language of the waiver may be such as to obviously bind each and every indorser on the note, without having it specifically repeated above the signature of each indorser. *547 This happens, for example, where a group of accommodation indorsers sign together under one waiver obviously intended to bind all.” In support of this statement is cited Central National Bank v. Sciotoville Milling Co. 79 W. Va. 782, holding a second indorser bound by a waiver in these words, “The within note is hereby indorsed and demand, notice of non-payment and protest waived,” where it appeared that all five indorsers executed the note at the same time with knowledge that the waiver was printed thereon and that it was one of the conditions of acceptance by the payee. The Central National Bank case was followed by Confidential Finance Co. v. Monastersky, 106 N. J. L. 14. It appeared in the case last cited that all three indorsers signed at the same time before delivery of the note under a waiver which read, “Protest and notice of non-payment of this note is hereby waived. ” It was held that the meaning of the statute “is that it was never intended to require a separate waiver clause for every endorser, but still recognize the fact of several signing under the clause with intent to be bound thereby. ”

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Kellogg v. Suher, 109 N.E.2d 169, 329 Mass. 544, 1952 Mass. LEXIS 619 (Mass. 1952).

109 N.E.2d 169 (Kellogg v. Suher) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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