United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Citizens State Bank

161 N.W. 562, 36 N.D. 16, 1917 N.D. LEXIS 162
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 30, 1917
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 161 N.W. 562 (United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Citizens State Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Citizens State Bank, 161 N.W. 562, 36 N.D. 16, 1917 N.D. LEXIS 162 (N.D. 1917).

Opinion

Grace, J.

This case is appealed from a judgment of the district court of Cavalier county, in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant.

The complaint in the case is in effect as follows: That the plaintiff is a foreign corporation, licensed to do business in the state of North Dakota, and its business is that of furnishing surety bonds; that defendant is a banking corporation engaged in business at Langdon, North Dakota.

That F. W. Poppe was appointed guardian of Charles E'. Hommel, Izatta M. Hommel, Lee Roy Hommel, and Albert E. Hommel, minors, on January 26th, 1904, and of their estates, and on April 9th, 1914, duly qualified as such guardian and gave a bond in the sum of $6,500, executed by the plaintiff as surety, which bond was approved by the county court, and at all times mentioned was in full force and effect.

Charles E. Hommel was born March 21st, 1884; Izatta M. Hommel was bora February 17th, 1891, Lee Roy Hommel was bom November 29th, 1883, Albert Hommel was bom February 6th, 1897. Charles E. Hommel died at Langdon, North Dakota, October 3rd, 1907, unmarried and intestate, and his sole heirs were Grace Mellen, formerly Grace Hommel, Izatta Foote, formerly Izatta Hommel, Lee Roy Hommel, and [21]*21Albert H. Hommel. That certain assets of the estates of said minors came to the hands of Poppe as guardian; to wit, money in the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) and upwards; a portion of such, to wit, $1,220, was invested by him on May 21st, 1904, in a certain note and mortgage then purchased by him from the defendant for purpose of investment, and which was then assigned to him as such guardian by defendant. That thereafter, on November 14th, 1904, said Poppe resold said mortgage to defendant, and the defendant wrongfully retained, took, and applied one thousand sixty-one and 05/100 dollars ($1,061.05) of the purchase price of such mortgage, well knowing that same was then and there a part of such trust funds in the hands of Poppe, in payment of certain debts due- and owing from said Poppe individually to the defendant. That the defendant then and there well knew that the said funds were trust funds. That Poppe had mo right or authority to permit defendant to retain and appropriate same to the payment of Poppe’s individual debts. That the defendant then and there became indebted to the said minors, their legal representatives and assigns, and liable to repay and pay over the sum to them, together with interest thereon, from the time defendant so wrongfully retained, took, and applied the same.

That such proceedings were had on November 12th, 1912, in the guardianship matters of said Poppe as guardian aforesaid; that it was adjudicated in said county court that said Poppe was indebted as such guardian to the estate of said Lee Roy Hommel in the sum of one thousand twenty-one and 10/100 dollars ($1,021.10) ; to the estate of Albert Hommel in the sum of five hundred thirty-seven and 22/100 dollars ($537.22) ; indebted to Izatta Hommel, now Foote, in the sum of one thousand two hundred forty-six and 28/100 dollars ($1,246.28) ; to the estate of Charles E. Hommel in the sum of eight hundred seventy-four and 88/100 dollars ($874.88).

That said Poppe was removed as such guardian. That said Poppe is. now, and for a long time has been, insolvent. ' That he wholly neglected and failed to pay the sum due to said minors, and that by virtue of its liability so to do under the bonds executed by it, plaintiff paid to the several persons entitled thereto the sums adjudged to be due from said Poppe to Lee Roy Hommel, Albert Hommel, Izatta Hommel, now Foote, and the estate of Charles E. Hommel.

[22]*22That by reason of the premises and assignments, duly executed to it by said persons, plaintiff has become and is subrogated to all the rights of said wards, to have and recover of and from the defendant the moneys mentioned as wrongfully taken and appropriated by defendant to his own use.

That plaintiff has demanded payment and an accounting from defendant of the aforesaid moneys; and that defendant has neglected to pay over or account to the plaintiff for same.

Plaintiff demands an accounting against defendant and judgment for one thousand sixty-one and 05/100 dollars ($1,061.05) and interest from November 14th, 1904, and the costs, to which complaint the defendant answered, first interposing a general denial, and further answering the complaint, admits that on May 21st, 1904, the said Poppe purchased a certain note and mortgage from defendant of the value and for the agreed purchase price of $1,220, and further admits that on November 14th, 1904, this defendant repurchased aforesaid mortgage^ from said Poppe, and alleges the fact to be that the repurchase of said mortgage by this defendant was in good faith for a valuable consideration before maturity thereof, and without knowledge and notice of the rights or equities, if any, of the Hommel minors therein or thereof, or of the plaintiff herein.

Defendant further alleges that the plaintiff’s cause of action did not accrue within six years prior to the commencement of this action.

Statement of Facts.

In April, 1904, the plaintiff executed the bond in the sum of $6,-500 of one F. W. Poppe as guardian of Charles, Izatta, Lee Eoy, and Albert Hommel, minors, Poppe having been appointed by the county court of Cavalier county as guardian for such minors. Poppe deposited $2,500 of these guardianship funds in' the defendant bank May 10th, 1904. The account was opened as “F. W. Poppe, Guardian for Hommel Minors.” May 21st, 1904, Poppe purchased a note from defendant for $1,220, secured by real estate, which note and mortgage were purchased by said Poppe as such guardian as an investment for part of the funds of the Poppe wards. November 14th, 1904, said Poppe resold this mortgage to the defendant bank for $1,268, being the face of the .mortgage and accrued interest. Defendant, during the same day said [23]*23note and mortgage were resold to it by Poppe, received from Poppe tbe ■sum of $1,061.05 in payment of a private debt wbicb Poppe owed tbe bank.

Tbe court before whom tbis case was tried, being tbe Hon. Obas. M. Cooley, judge of tbe first judicial district, made certain findings of fact, numbered from 1 to 15, both inclusive, covering and including all tbe issues of fact in tbis case, and wbicb are too lengthy to be set out in this opinion.

Tbe defendant made due exception to all sucb findings of fact made by said court, and in turn proposed certain findings of fact on behalf •of tbe defendant, all of which were denied by tbe court, and which were numbered from 4 to 31, inclusive.

We bave carefully read and studied each and all of tbe proposed findings of fact submitted by tbe defendant, and bave concluded that tbe "trial court was not in error in denying such and all of defendant’s proposed findings of fact, for tbe reason that tbe substance of them, where material and proper, was included in tbe findings of fact made by tbe ■court, and where tbe substance of any of defendant’s proposed findings of fact was not included in tbe court’s findings of fact, sucb part was by tbe court properly excluded and denied. We bave examined with much care tbe findings of fact of tbe court, and they coincide with what we believe should be tbe true findings of fact in tbis case.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
161 N.W. 562, 36 N.D. 16, 1917 N.D. LEXIS 162, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-fidelity-guaranty-co-v-citizens-state-bank-nd-1917.