Edson v. Angell

• Decision Date: 28 October 1885
• Court: Michigan Supreme Court
• Parties: EDSON and others v. ANGELL and others.

25 N.W. 307

58 Mich. 336

EDSON and others v. ANGELL and others.

Supreme Court of Michigan

October 28, 1885

Appeal from Ingham.

Chas. F. Hammond and Cahill, Ostrander & Baird for complainants.

Olds &amp Robson, for appellants.

CAMPBELL J.

In May 1883, Eugene Angell, a private banker in the city of Lansing, became insolvent, and made an assignment for the benefit of creditors. The estate was brought into the circuit court for Ingham county, when a receiver was appointed. He received some assets from the bank at Lansing, and some money from banks elsewhere that held funds subject to draft. Among these was the Chase National Bank, in New York city, which had at the time of the failure about $2,900. Drafts had been drawn to more than cover this balance, but were not presented before the failure, and were afterwards dishonored.

Petitioner Downer's claim is for something over $800, which he claims was a trust fund included in the Chase National Bank deposit, and which he insists must be paid him in full, instead of putting him to share in a pro rata dividend among general creditors. The facts which he relies on are not entirely agreed upon, although they are mainly so. In April, 1883, Mr. Downer owned some buildings in North Lansing which were rented, and some which were to be repaired and improved. As he lived in another state, and wished to have some one in Lansing look after matters, he made an agreement with Angell to look after his rents and taxes, and to pay the repairing bills as they accrued to two contractors who had them in charge. For this service Angell was to have $100, at any rate, and $25 more if he thought it a proper charge. Mr. Downer left with Mr. Angell a draft for $1,000 on a Boston bank, out of which Angell was to make his payments. This draft Angell put to Downer's credit at $1,000, and sent it forward in the usual course of collection to the Chase National Bank, which collected it, and placed the proceeds to Angell's general credit. Between the time when Angell took this draft Angell drew continually on the Chase National Bank, and kept his balance there replenished by new remittances, so that in the interval before his failure he had drawn from that bank about $16,000, and sent forward not far from the same amount, his remaining balances being usually about $4,000. The draft, when forwarded, was not distinguished from other remittances, and in Angell's bank-books was entered like ordinary deposits.

We have had occasion heretofore to consider whether persons holding drafts on the Chase National Bank obtained thereby a specific lien on the money there held to Angell's credit, and we concluded that the relation between Angell and that bank was that of debtor and creditor, so that no specific right in that fund was transferred to the persons receiving drafts on that bank. ^[1] We see nothing in the established facts here to distinguish it.

There is nothing which leads us to believe that Downer ever required that Angell should keep the proceeds of the $1,000 draft separate...