Wade v. Edwards

99 S.E. 160, 23 Ga. App. 677, 1919 Ga. App. LEXIS 286
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedApril 23, 1919
Docket10065
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 99 S.E. 160 (Wade v. Edwards) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wade v. Edwards, 99 S.E. 160, 23 Ga. App. 677, 1919 Ga. App. LEXIS 286 (Ga. Ct. App. 1919).

Opinion

Wade, C. J.

Julia Edwards brought suit against W. H. Wade, administrator of the estate of Isaac Waters. Her petition alleged that Wade administered on the estate of Waters at her request, and that “Isaac Waters, during his last illness, on or about the 2nd day of November, 1916, delivered to your petitioner, she being his sister, his bank-book on the Florida National Bank of Jacksonville, Florida, in the savings department of said bank, and told her that he wanted her to have the deposit which was to his credit in said bank, and gave to your petitioner said book, and made her a present of the deposit which was in said bank;” that “Isaac Waters ma'de said gift to your petitioner (in consideration of services she had previously rendered to him and was then rendering to him in his last illness.” She further alleged that Waters died on November 5, 1916, three days after the alleged gift, at which time there was on deposit in said Florida bank to his credit the sum of $1,448.31, and that after the payment by Wade, as administrator, of all debts of the deceased, there remained in his hands the sum of $1,341.30, he having collected all of the money from the bank, as administrator; and that she was entitled to the $1,-341.30 “by virtue of the said gift of said bank-book and said deposit by said decedent.”

The administrator filed an answer admitting all the facts set up in the petition except the allegations that the bank-book and the deposit had been given to the plaintiff by the decedent Waters, and that the money thus belonged to the plaintiff. These allegations were expressly denied, and the answer set up in addition that the decedent had made no disposition of Ms bank-book or of the funds in bank prior to his death, and that the money in the hands of the defendant belonged to the four children of the decedent.

On the trial of the ease there was evidence adduced to substantiate the plaintiff’s contention that the decedent had given to her the bank-book and the money represented thereby, for and [679]*679in consideration of several weeks nursing and attention. Lee Slocum, in behalf of the plaintiff, testified: “I was there on the morning of November 2, 1916, sitting in the room when he (the decedent) handed to Julia Edwards (the plaintiff) a bank-book, and said: ‘Julia, I want you to have this money, that is something for you. I want you to have this for what you have did and are doing for me.’ He handed the book to her.” Phoebe Lawrence testified for the plaintiff as follows: “I was present when Waters gave Julia Edwards a bank-book, and know what.he said to her. He said, ‘Julia, here is this, take it for yourself for what you have done, now and for all time, take this.’ I looked and he gave it to her and she" took the bank-book. The book was handed to Julia Edwards in my presence. . . I know it was a bank-book. I saw the letters on the book.” The evidence introduced in behalf of the defendant tended to dispute the plaintiff’s evidence that the decedent had made her a gift of the book and the money. Laura B. Fleming testified for the defendant as follows: “I went to see my brother (the deeedent), and as I got in the door, almost to the kitchen where he was lying, I heard him say, ‘Is that my sister Laura now?’ I said, ‘Yes, here I am. What can I do for • you ?’ He said ‘I want to see my little children, where is my • children ?’ in that dazed way. I said, ‘I don’t know.’ I said, ‘What else do you want me to do? Do you want some milk?’ He said, ‘No, I owe some little milk bill, ice bill, and doctor’s bill. I want you to pay them. I have got some money. See that my children get it, will you?’ I said, ‘Yes, I will’. . ._ My sister was sitting on her back stoop. I don’t-know whether she could hear what was said or not.” Julia Edwards testified that this conversation which the witness Fleming relates as having taken place between her and the deceased did not occur. The following receipt, introduced in evidence, shows conclusively that the gift in question (evidenced by the bank-book delivered to the plaintiff) was money deposited in the savings department of the Florida National Bank: “Savannah, Ga., January 25, 1918. Eeeeived from Geo. W. Owens, attorney at law,-one bank-book on Florida Nat. Bank (Savings Dpt.), showing deposit of $1448.31. I have applied for letters of adm. on estate of Isaac Waters, in whose name book stands. Also rec. bill of Eoyall Undertakers. Administration to be applied for by me at February terpi of court. (Signed) W. H. Wade, Co. adm.”

[680]*680On the issue thus raised the jury found in favor of the defendant. The plaintiff filed a motion for a new trial, on general and special grounds. The trial judge rendered a written opinion granting'a new trial on the ground that he was not satisfied with the correctness of the verdict. The defendant excepted to the grant of the new trial, and contended that the verdict was demanded by the evidence. As we view the evidence submitted on the trial and narrated above, the verdict was not demanded by the evidence. To constitute a valid gift, there must be an intention to give by the donor, acceptance by the donee, and delivery of the articles given, or some act accepted by the law in lieu thereof. Civil Code (1910), § 4144. There was in the instant case, according to the testimony of several witnesses, an intention on the part of the donor to give, as well as a consummation of the gift by the delivery of the savings-bank book to the donee. May a savings-bank book be the subject of a gift? Pomeroy, in his Equity Jurisprudence, Yol. '§, § 1148, collating all the authorities, states the law as follows: “All kinds of personal property, using the word in its broad, mercantile sense, as equivalent to' assets, which are capable of manual delivery, and of which the title, either legal or equitable, can be transferred by delivery, may be the subject-matter of a valid donation causa mortis. . . The rule is now well established that all things in action which consist of the promises or undertakings of third persons, not the donor himself, of which the legal or equitable title can pass by delivery, may be the subjects of a valid gift, including promissory notes, bills of exchange, checks, bonds, mortgages, savings-bank pass-books [italics ours], certificates of deposit, policies of insurance, and the like; and it is settled .by the recent courts that a valid donation of negotiable instruments may thus be made without endorsement.” A deposit in a savings bank may be the subject of „a gift, and where the owner of such a deposit, with the intention of making a gift, delivers his deposit book, containing entries of deposits in his name, to the intended donee, this constitutes a complete and valid gift of the deposit. 14 Am. & Eng. Enc. of Law, 1021. “A delivery to a donee, of a deposit book issued by a savings bank containing entries of deposits to the credit of the donor, with the intention to give the donee the deposits represented by the book, and accompanied with appropriate words of gift, is a sufficient delivery' to con[681]*681stitute a valid gift of such deposits, without assignment or transfer in writing.” Polley v. Hicks, 58 Ohio St. 218 (50 N. E. 809, 41 L. E. A. 858).

Although there appears to be no direct authority in this State on the question under consideration, the general weight of outside authority is that a pass-book issued by a savings lank rests on a peculiar footing. , Such a book is the record of the customer’s account, and its production authorizes control of the deposit. Like the key of a' locked box, its delivery is treated as a delivery of all it contains. 8 Am. & Eng. Enc.

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Bluebook (online)
99 S.E. 160, 23 Ga. App. 677, 1919 Ga. App. LEXIS 286, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wade-v-edwards-gactapp-1919.