Northwest Farmers Credit Ass'n v. Horswill

231 N.W. 908, 57 S.D. 208, 1930 S.D. LEXIS 93
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 12, 1930
DocketFile No. 6777
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 231 N.W. 908 (Northwest Farmers Credit Ass'n v. Horswill) 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
Northwest Farmers Credit Ass'n v. Horswill, 231 N.W. 908, 57 S.D. 208, 1930 S.D. LEXIS 93 (S.D. 1930).

Opinions

MISER, C.

The Northwest Farmers’ Credit Association, appellant herein, was engaged in the business of making loans to farmers. In 1924, it loaned to respondents Horswill $2,200, taking their note and chattel mortgage. In October, 192Ó, the Horswills required an additional $2,340 to buy cattle. They went to Pipe-stone, Minn., where the office of appellant was locatedi, signed notes for $4,800, and executed a chattel mortgage covering the property described in the mortgage of 1924, and the cattle to be purchased with $2,340 of the additional $2,600. The remaining $260 was to buy 26 shares of stock in appellant company, which the policy of appellant association required the borrowers to buy. The money was received by Farmers’ State Bank of Troy, S. D., herein called the Troy bank, through one Vaughn, vice president thereof, which bank a few days later was taken in charge by the superintendent of banks as insolvent. The trial court found that the Troy bank and its vice president, Vaughn, were the agents of appellant; that re[210]*210spondents had paid all of the $2,000 loan; that neither the 26 shares of stock nor the $2,340 had ever been turned over to respondents by appellant’s agent, and the notes for the additional $2,600 were without consideration and void. From the judgment thereon and from the order denying new trial, this appeal is taken.

Of the evidence favorable to appellant’s contention that the Troy bank and Vaughn, its cashier, were agents of respondents, the strongest is the draft for $2,340, signed by respondents Horswill, naming the Troy bank as payee and appellant credit association as drawee. By means of this draft, Vaughn obtained the money from appellant association, which paid the draft immediately on presentation thereof. Was this conclusive on the question of agency under the decision in Marland Refining Co. v. Penn Soo Oil Co., — S. D. —, 222 N. W. 594, 595?

The appellant in that case had for many years sold oil to the respondent. In collecting for it, appellant had sent its sight drafts with bills of lading attached to other banks than the 'Sioux Falls Trust & Savings Bank. Some time before the shipment in question, respondent requested appellant to send its drafts and bills of lading to Sioux Falls Trust & Savings Bank. Appellant did so, although how many collections were thus made is not clear. This court held that “the mere fact that the respondent requested appellant to draw through the Sioux Falls Trust & Savings Bank did not make that bank the agent of respondent. * * * The request did not make it obligatory upon appellant to select that bank as its agent, although 'it may have been done for respondent’s convenience.” The mere request of the customers did not relieve the drawer of the sight 'draft from the responsibility of selecting a safe bank as payee thereof.

In the case at bar, the evidence supporting the verdict and later finding of the court that the Troy bank and Vaughn, its officer, were the agents of Northwest Farmers’ -Credit Association, appellant, is in part as follows: S. B. Duea was the secretary of the appellant association, which was a subsidiary organization of the Federal Intermediate Credit Association of St. F'a-ul, Minn., organized by act of Congress to make loans to farmers. Vaughn, of the Troy bank, made a .number of loans for appellant in the vicinity of Troy, among these loans being one for $2,000 made to respondents in the fall of 1924. In 1926, D’uea said to- the Hors[211]*211wills that, if they wanted' to borrow from the Northwest Farmers’ Credit Association to buy cattle, they should go to the Farmers’ State Bank andi Vaughn would make the loan for them. The Horswills agreed to buy 44 head of cattle from one Petterson for $2,340, cash when cattle were delivered.

The Hors wills, accompanied by Vaughn, went to appellant’s office in Pipestone and made out application for a loan for $4,800 to take up the old note and to cover the new loan. Duea asked Vaughn if he had seen the cattle; Vaughn replied that he had and that they were good cattle. Respondents then signed a note for $4,800, and executed a chattel mortgage describing the property covered by the 1924 mortgage, to be thereupon satisfied, and describing by name and registry number the 44 head of cattle which they had agreed to buy from Petterson. One of respondents testified :

“I told Mr. Duea as soon as we got the money we would get the cattle, and that the purpose of the loan was to buy the 44 head of whitefaced cattle, which were specifically designated in the mortgage. * * *

“After the details of the loan had been completed and we were ready to go home, Mr. D'uea wanted to know when we would get the cattle; that Mr. Vaughn would fix up about getting the money when we got home. The way in which he said it was, Mr. Vaughn asked him if he had a sight draft blank; Mr. Duea said he did not have one; told him he should go home and fix one up. * * * Mr. Vaughn was there and helped with the papers, and one thing and another, and he [Duea] said Vaughn would take care of that.”

The following Monday morning, Vaughn appeared at respondents’ place with a sight draft already prepared by him, and at his request respondent Ralph H. Horswill signed the same. As to the conversation at that time, Ralph Horswill testified:

“Vaughn said he would fix the matter up in this way, by having us sign this sight draft. * * * He said as soon as this sight draft was paid he could get the cash; get possession of the cattle; turn the cash over to Mr. Petterson and get the cattle.”

Instead, Vaughn took the draft to’ his bank, credited Horswill’s account at once, but on Friday told the Horswills and Petterson, from whom they were buying the cattle, that the money had not yet come and that they could not expect it for three or four days [212]*212more. The draft had been paid 'by appellant on presentation. The day after Vaughn told the Horswills that the money had not yet come, the bank closed. The Horswills did not know their account had been credited, did not get the money, and consequently did not get the cattle which they had mortgaged to appellant.

From the foregoing and other evidence produced by respondents, the trial court found that the Troy bank and Vaughn, its vice president, were the agents of appellant association. In this case there is no clear preponderance against the finding; indeed the evidence amply supports it. The facts of this case are readily distinguishable from the facts in the Marland Refining Company Case. Here both appellant and respondents, as well as the owner of the cattle mortgaged, intended the transaction to he complete only when appellant’s money had gone to Petterson, Petterson’s title transferred to respondents, and respondents’ mortgage, theretofore executed, thereby had been made effective. The Troy bank and Vaughn, its officer, were the agents of appellant in carrying out this plan to keep control of the funds until the purchase of the cattle was complete, in order to accomplish the intended object of protecting the security of the lender.

Appellant stresses the fact that, after the Troy bank failed, respondents filed a claim with the superintendent of banks for the money credited to their account. Appellant does not state whether this created an agency by ratification, or whether this was merely an additional evidentiary fact. An agency may be created by a subsequent ratification, and this ratification may be made by accepting “the benefit of the act, with notice thereof.” Section 1250, Rev. Code 1919.

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

Related

Korte v. Lang
248 N.W. 253 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1933)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
231 N.W. 908, 57 S.D. 208, 1930 S.D. LEXIS 93, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/northwest-farmers-credit-assn-v-horswill-sd-1930.