Port of Seattle v. Fidelity & Deposit Co.

24 F. Supp. 434, 1938 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1957
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedJuly 27, 1938
DocketNo. 21038
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 24 F. Supp. 434 (Port of Seattle v. Fidelity & Deposit Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Port of Seattle v. Fidelity & Deposit Co., 24 F. Supp. 434, 1938 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1957 (W.D. Wash. 1938).

Opinion

BOWEN, District Judge.

The original bond dated February 21, 1922, was conditioned to save the Port harmless from any and all loss which it might sustain by reason of (1) failure of the employee to faithfully perform the duties required of him by the Commissioners; (2) failure of the employee to account for all funds which might come into his possession belonging to the Port; and (3) a fraudulent or unlawful deed committed by the employee. That original bond [435]*435had attached to it on its effective date a schedule bonding Gormley in the sum of $20,000.

Another condition of that bond was that “this insurance on any employee may be increased or decreased by the surety without .impairing the continuity thereof, provided that the surety’s aggregate liability under all its bonds and engagements, on any one employee, shall not exceed the largest bond or engagement on such employee”. This provision is referred to as the “aggregate liability clause”.

On April 30, 1934, which was 8 days prior to the discovery of loss by the Port and the failure of Gormley to account therefor, there was attached to the original bond and made retroactive to April 1, 1934, a new schedule which increased the coverage on Gormley from $20,000 to $50,000. This new schedule contained a stipulation, to the same effect as that in the original bond, that continuity of protection under the original bond should not be impaired by the. conditions of the $50,000 schedule, but provided that defaults under the different schedules should not be cumulative.

Plaintiff contends that under the provisions of the bond and schedule in effect at the time of the failure of Gormley to account on May 8, 1934, defendant is, in respect to funds for which Gormley did not on that date finally account, liable for the full amount of the $50,000 coverage in effect on that date under the “account for all funds” condition of the bond, whether or not the funds were embezzled by Gormley and lost to the Port before or after April 1, 1934, the effective date of the $50,-000 schedule. ■

The defendant, however, contends in effect that the bond is nothing more than an embezzlement bond; that the “account for all funds” provision does not of itself constitute an obligation on the surety to pay; that the original bond and $20,000 schedule on the one hand, and the original bond and $50,000 schedule on the other hand, so far as fixing the time and amount of the surety’s obligation is concerned, constitute separate contracts and that plaintiff cannot recover more than $20,000 for any embezzlement or loss actually sustained during the coverage of the $20,000 schedule ; that plaintiff has failed to prove what specific sums, if any, Gormley embezzled after the effective date of the $50,000 schedule; that by reason thereof plaintiff should not be allowed any recovery on account of the $50,000 schedule; and that in no event should plaintiff recover in respect of the $50,000 schedule any sums other than those actually embezzled after the effective date of that schedule.

Most (in fact all except relatively small sums the exact amount of which is greatly in doubt) of Gormley’s peculations in Port funds occurred before the effective date of the $50,000 schedule. Both sides agree that the total amount of Gormley’s embezzlements during the periods of coverage under both the $20,000 and the $50,-000 schedules far exceeded the maximum coverage under the $50,000 schedule.

The question, therefore, is whether the surety is liable, up to the maximum amount of the $50,000 schedule under the “account for all funds” provision, for all the funds lost to the Port by Gormley’s defalcations occurring during the period from the effective date of the original bond to the date when Gormley finally failed to account. That question involves the meaning of the term “account for” and the further determination of whether the obligation to “account for” was an obligation continuing until Gormley finally failed to account for and pay over the Port funds.

What then is the meaning of the 'condition “to account for all funds * * * which may come into his possession belonging to the Port” ? Does it mean merely an obligation to make up a formal statement of account or to advise or explain what became of such funds, and, if they were embezzled or lost, who benefited ? Or does that condition of the bond obligate the surety in case the employee fails to pay over such funds even though the employee may have made a statement explaining what became of them? This “account for all funds” provision must have been intended to afford some other or different protection, in addition to the two other bond conditions as to unlawful deeds and faithful performance of duty; otherwise it would be difficult to assign any reason for the “account for all funds” provision.

In U. S. v. Rehwald, D. C., 44 F.2d 663, a criminal proceeding charged the defendant with failing to account for farm products under a criminal statute making it a misdemeanor to “fail truly and correctly to account therefor”. The defendant received the products and rendered an account of receipts and sales but did not remit the proceeds. ■ The court said, at [436]*436page 663: “The term ‘account for’ has been in various state adjudications interpreted to mean paying over the money to the person entitled thereto. See State ex rel. McKown v. Williams, 77 Mo. 463, Cushman v. Richards, 100 Mass. 232. And in Thomas v. Mahan, 4 Me. 513, 4 Greenl. 513, the court said: ‘The expression “hold-en to account for” means, not merely to “render an account of,” but, “to be responsible for;” it stands in opposition to the right of appropriation to one’s own use and benefit.’ ”

In Moody v. Pacific Surety Co., 41 Cal. App. 287, 182 P. 802, there was involved an administrator’s bond to “faithfully execute the duties of the trust according to law” and a complaint that the administrator had never accounted for the money, and the court there said: “The phrase ‘to account for’ means more than the mere filing of a paper statement of account which is referred to as an exhibit in the preceding section. In State ex rel. McKown v. Williams, 77 Mo. 463, the contention was made that the condition of a guardian’s bond ‘that he would well and truly account for’ the moneys received by him, was satisfied when the guardian charged himself with the ward’s money in the annual settlement. And, as in the instant case, the breach assigned in the petition was the failure ‘to account for’ the moneys of the' estate. But the court (77 Mo. page 471) said: ‘This is not all that is embraced in this term “account for.” It is a condition not satisfied short of paying over the trust fund to the cestui que trust.’ ”

In Cushman v. Richards, 100 Mass. 232, construing a contract for the purchase of stock in a bank owning a mortgage of uncertain value, in which contract the purchaser agreed to account to the seller for one-half of the avails of the mortgage, the court said: “There can be no doubt that this contract imports an obligation to pay, and that this is included in the - phrase ‘to account.’ ”

The condition “to account for all funds” in the bond in suit means, therefore, to pay over the funds as well as to render a statement of account for them, and that condition is not fully complied with until the funds are actually paid to the Port of Seattle.

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Bluebook (online)
24 F. Supp. 434, 1938 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1957, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/port-of-seattle-v-fidelity-deposit-co-wawd-1938.