Red Ball Motor Freight, Inc. v. Bailey

332 S.W.2d 411, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 1812
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 7, 1959
Docket6928
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 332 S.W.2d 411 (Red Ball Motor Freight, Inc. v. Bailey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Red Ball Motor Freight, Inc. v. Bailey, 332 S.W.2d 411, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 1812 (Tex. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinion

CHAPMAN, Justice.

Appellant, Red Ball Motor Freight, Inc., instituted this suit against Ann Bernard Bailey (formerly Ann Bernard Myers) and her husband, D. W. Bailey, First National Bank of Dallas, Republic National Bank of Dallas, Texas Bank and Trust Company of Dallas, Mercantile National Bank of Dallas, and Titche-Goettinger Company to recover the sum of $51,116.97 representing the total amount of 161 negotiable instruments made out by Ann Bernard Myers to fictitious persons while an employee of appellant, the endorsements to which she forged and the funds from which she collected and converted to her own use without the knowledge or consent of appellant.

For convenience and brevity and to conform to the briefs Red Ball Motor Freight, Inc., will be hereinafter referred to either as Red Ball or appellant, Ann Bernard Myers Bailey will be referred to as Mrs. Bailey, First National Bank of Dallas will be referred to as First National; Republic National Bank of Dallas will be referred to as Republic, Texas Bank and Trust Company of Dallas will be referred to as Texas Bank, Mercantile National Bank of Dallas will be referred to as Mercantile and Titche-Goettinger Company will be referred to as Titche except where the banks are referred to as collecting banks, endorsing banks or depository banks.

Texas Bank and Mercantile were sought to be held as drawees and First National, Republic and Titche were sought to be held liable on their respective endorsements of the 161 claim drafts. Upon trial to the court judgment was rendered for Red Ball against Mrs. Bailey for $51,116.97 and the recovery denied Red Ball against all other defendants. From the trial court’s judgment for the four banks and Titche appellant perfected its appeal to the Court of Civil Appeals of the Fifth Supreme Judicial District at Dallas and the case was transferred to us by the Supreme Court of Texas for determination. In its first point appellant asserts error of the trial court in refusing to permit it to recover from Texas Bank the amount of money represented by those instruments drawn on it bearing forged endorsements, and collected by said “drawee bank.” In its second point appellant asserts the same alleged error as to Mercantile. Its points 3 through 8 seek to invoke the no evidence, insufficient evidence and great weight and preponderance of the evidence rules which it says the trial court violated in refusing to give judgment in favor of Red Ball against the two depository banks on the 161 instruments because any agreement between it and such banks as to liability concerning such instruments was not any different than would the liability of such banks be on checks drawn on its account.

The facts are relatively simple. Mrs. Bailey, then Ann Bernard Myers, became an employee of Red Ball initially in 1936, filling different positions through the years with them until she was finally placed in charge of the Loss and Damage Claim Department sometime prior to September, 1953. The record indicates it was her duty to inspect and verify claims made for freight loss and damage and present the instruments to Mr. O. B. English, or others of Red Ball having authority to execute and sign the claim drafts to pay their losses. After obtaining the signature or signatures of proper officers or forging Mr. English’s signature on the drafts and then endorsing the names of fictitious persons Mrs. Bailey negotiated them at First National, Republic and Titche. Seventy-eight of the instruments were made payable to E. D. Stevens, Bowie, Texas, and endorsed by the names E. D. Stevens and Mrs. E. D. Stevens. Sixty-seven instruments were made payable to A. L. Allen, Jasper, Texas, and endorsed by the names A. L. Allen and Mrs. A. L. Allen. Sixteen such instruments were made payable to L. S. Hardin, Longview, Texas, and endorsed by the names L. S. Flardin *413 and the name Mrs. A. L. Allen. The period of time covered by this fraudulent conduct on the part of Mrs. Bailey was from September 3, 1953 through November 15, 1957. Mrs. Bailey wrongfully obtained $51,116.97.

On October 5, 1953, Mrs. Bailey opened a savings account in Republic with a cash deposit in the name of Mrs. E. D. Stevens, General Delivery, Dallas, and on November 21, 1953, opened a checking account in the same bank by the same name. On May 15, 1954, she opened a savings account in First National by a $20 cash deposit in the name of Mrs. A. L. Allen, Jasper, Texas, and on December 4, 1954, she opened a checking account with the same bank in the same name by transferring $250 from her savings account. Six of the instruments made payable to L. S. Hardin were presented to Titche, for which Mrs. Bailey received full value. Titche endorsed its six. All the 161 instruments were presented to the collecting banks, First National and Republic, and endorsed by them as follows;

“Pay to the order of any bank or trust company. Prior endorsements guaranteed.”

Typical of the 161 instruments is that shown in the footnote. 1

During the times involved Red Ball had not shipped to anyone with the names and addresses used on the claim drafts and was not indebted to any such persons.

From 1942 to January 1, 1955, appellant did its banking business with Texas Bank. From January 1, 1955, through November 15, 1957, it did its banking business with Mercantile. In 50 of the instruments in the total amount of $17,440.47 Texas Bank was named as the drawee bank. The other 111 totaling $33,676.50 Mercantile was named as the drawee bank.

The record shows that prior to 1945 all loss and damage claims were paid by check. During that year while Texas Bank was *414 their depositor bank, Red Ball’s accounting firm set up for them the “claim draft system,” which was continued with Mercantile under an almost identical procedure when Red Ball started doing business with it. The only difference was that Texas Bank, at the time of delivery and at the request of Red Ball stamped the claim drafts “paid” while Mercantile did not. The claim draft system consisted of an arrangement by which four classes of drafts including the type of the 161 drafts here ■ involved were drawn by Red Ball to be picked up daily by them at the bank whose name was imprinted on the draft. Each draft type had its distinct color and content. As they came to the depository banks through the various banking channels they were picked up daily by an officer or employee of appellant who came physically to the respective depository banks and paid for the drafts by checks drawn on Red Ball’s deposit account. That arrangement was handled by oral agreement between the depository banks and Red Ball and it is uncontradicted that it was initiated by and at the request of the latter.

Upon receipt of such items they were taken back to the office of appellant and passed out to employees responsible for the particular type draft. The claim drafts here involved were passed to Mrs. Bailey, who, during all the period here involved, had charge of appellant’s claim department with power and authority to approve the payments of claim drafts.

The question to be here determined in the first eight points of appellant is whether a banker-depositor relationship existed whereby Texas Bank and Mercantile were simply cashing checks for their customer-depositor or whether the banks were merely • receiving the drafts for Red Ball, who “bought” the claim drafts each day.

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Bluebook (online)
332 S.W.2d 411, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 1812, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/red-ball-motor-freight-inc-v-bailey-texapp-1959.