Sumitomo Bank of Hawaii, Ltd. v. Hawaii Nosan Shokwai, Ltd.

26 Haw. 517
CourtHawaii Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 5, 1922
DocketNo. 1354
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 26 Haw. 517 (Sumitomo Bank of Hawaii, Ltd. v. Hawaii Nosan Shokwai, Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sumitomo Bank of Hawaii, Ltd. v. Hawaii Nosan Shokwai, Ltd., 26 Haw. 517 (haw 1922).

Opinions

[518]*518OPINION OF THE COURT BY

PETERS, C. J.

This is a suit in equity by the Sumitomo Bank of Hawaii, Limited, an Hawaiian corporation, as mortgagee, to foreclose a chattel mortgage given to it by the Hawaii Nosan Shokwai, Limited, as mortgagor. The debt described in the conditions of the mortgage is “all such sums of money, whether evidenced by promissory notes or by open account, not exceeding in all the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) as the Mortgagee may have advanced or shall hereafter advance to the said Mortgagor, within one year from the date hereof on the security of this mortgage or any subsequent extension thereof, or which may become owing by the Mortgagor to the Mortgagee ⅜ ⅜ The mortgage is dated December 20,-1919.

The mortgagor denied that the mortgagee, either prior to the execution of the mortgage or since, had made any advances to it or on its behalf, or that there were any sums of money owing from it to the mortgagee at the time suit was filed.

The mortgagee claimed upon the trial that it had advanced to or on behalf of the mortgagee in all the sum of $10,611.19, and in support of its claim offered, and there were admitted in evidence, seventeen foreign bills of exchange drawm upon the mortgagor and accepted by it but [519]*519dishonored when due, and which the mortgagee claimed it, as holder for collection by indorsement of the payee, had,. at the request of the mortgagor, failed to protest. The drawers were exporters in Japan and the drafts were for goods sold by them to the mortgagor and were drawn against documents attached, including bills of lading for the goods. The Sumitomo Bank, Limited, of Hiroshima, Japan, was the payee of all of the drafts and had discounted them for the drawers. The bill of lading in each case was delivered to the mortgagee upon acceptance of the draft to which it was attached.

The trial court held that the drafts did not constitute advances by the mortgagee to the mortgagor and that there were not any sums of money owing by the mortgagor to the mortgagee at the time the suit was filed and dismissed the bill. On appeal this court held that the drafts having been drawn against bills of lading attached for goods consigned by the drawers to the drawee, and the bills of lading delivered to the drawee, the drafts constituted advances. (See 25 Haw. 646.)

Pending appeal the mortgagor was adjudicated a bankrupt and the trustee in bankruptcy, upon leave thereto first had and obtained, intervened on its behalf.

Upon remand to the trial court, further proceedings were had consistent with the opinion of this court resulting in a decree finding that the mortgagor upon the date of the institution of the foreclosure proceedings was indebted to the mortgagee in the sum of $10,000 and ordering a foreclosure of said mortgage to satisfy such indebtedness together with interest, expenses and costs. -

For reasons that will become obvious as the opinion progresses the respective dates of the drafts, the dates of their acceptance, their due dates, amounts and exhibit numbers are .set forth as follows:

[520]*520Plaintiff’s Date of
Exhibit No. Date of Draft Acceptance Due date Amount
3 Aug. 21,1919 Sept. 3,1919' Nov. 2,1919.$ 105.09
4 Aug. 13,1919 Aug. 26,1919 Oct. 25,1919. 978.86
5 Aug. 15,1919 Aug. 25,1919 Oct. 25,1919. 862.03
6 Oct. 1,1919 Oct. 15,1919 Dec. 4,1919. 1,194.76
7 Oct. 2,1919 Oct. 15,1919 Dec. 14,1919. 882.46
8 Oct. 2,1919 Oct. 15,1919 Jan. 13,1920. 356.77
9 Oct. 11,1919 Oct. 23,1919 Dec. 22,1919. 1,172.13
10 Oct. 21,1919 Nov. ..,1919 Jan. 4,1920. 1,664.55
11 . Oct. 16,1919 Oct. 30,1919 Jan. 28,1920. 550.42
12 Oct. 16,1919 Oct. 30,1919 Dec. 20,1919. 222.90
13 Nov. 7,1919 Nov. 17,1919 Feb. 15,1920. 337.06
14 Nov. 22,1919 Dec. 6,1919 Feb. 4,1920. 223.69
15 Nov. 23,1919 Dec. 6,1919 Feb. 4,1920. 470.79
16 Aug. 25,1919 Sept. 3,1919 Nov. 2, 1920. 460.39
17 Nov. 7,1919 Nov. 17,1919 Jan. 16,1920. 237.71
18 Nov. 22,1919 Dec. 6,1919 Feb. ..,1920. 355.62
19 Dec. 10,1919 Dec. 22,1919 Feb. 20,1920. 535.96
$10,611.19

All of the drafts bore the indorsement of the payee and, with the exception of petitioner’s exhibit 11, were in the following form: “Pay to the order of the Sumitomo Bank of Hawaii for the Sumitomo Bank, Ltd.” and signed by the manager of the Sumitomo Bank, Limited. Some included the word “Ltd.” after the name “Sumitomo Bank of Hawaii.” The indorsement on petitioner’s exhibit 11 was similar except that the words “Pay to the order of the Sumitomo Bank of Hawaii” were omitted, rendering the indorsement simply “For the Sumitomo Bank, Limited.” Further, none of the drafts was at sight. All were on time, payable sixty days after sight, except petitioner’s exhibits 8, 11 and 13, which were payable ninety days after sight. Exhibits 3, 6, 9, 10 and 15 bore instructions, plainly stamped on their face: “Documents against acceptance.”

To hold that these drafts “at the time the mortgage was executed,” amounting “in all to the sum of-$10,611.19” were “past due” and “indorsed ⅜ * ⅜ in blank;” that “the [521]*521bills of lading represented tbe merchandise and that tbe consignee’s obligation for tbe merchandise was to tbe legal bolder of tbe drafts” (meaning tbe Sumitomo Bank of Hawaii, Limited) ; that “tbe local bank by failing to duly protest the drafts for nonpayment rendered itself liable to tbe bank in Japan;” that “tbe bank here delivered tbe goods to tbe consignee and thus accepted its credit for tbe price thereof and of course bolds a valid and enforceable claim against tbe consignee for tbe purchase price of tbe goods as represented by tbe draft;” that “tbe Sumi-tomo Bank of Hawaii, bolding as it did drafts duly indorsed to it in blank and accepted by tbe drawee, could have maintained an action thereon in its own name;” and “if it could have done so then tbe relation of debtor and creditor must necessarily have existed between tbe parties to this suit at tbe date of tbe execution of tbe mortgage,” and finally that “if tbe appellant bad an enforceable claim against tbe appellee its right to take security to protect that obligation in tbe form of the mortgage now in suit cannot be questioned” is to disregard both tbe facts of tbe case and tbe plain provisions of our negotiable instrument act.

Not all of tbe drafts were due at tbe time of tbe execution of tbe mortgage. On tbe contrary only five were due aggregating $4246.10. Moreover,- tbe uncontradicted evidence in tbe case is that these drafts were sent to tbe Sumitomo Bank of Hawaii, Limited, for collection. Whatever tbe indorsements on tbe drafts tbe instructions of tbe indorser to tbe local bank, as between them, were controlling and tbe latter bad no greater property in tbe drafts than such instructions implied. But tbe indorse-ments were restrictive. They certainly were not in blank.

Section 3484, R. L.

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Bluebook (online)
26 Haw. 517, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sumitomo-bank-of-hawaii-ltd-v-hawaii-nosan-shokwai-ltd-haw-1922.