Indiana Nat'l Bank v. Holtsclaw

• Decision Date: 11 October 1884
• Docket Number: 11,631
• Parties: The Indiana National Bank v. Holtsclaw et al
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

98 Ind. 85

The Indiana National Bank v. Holtsclaw et al

No. 11,631

Supreme Court of Indiana

October 11, 1884

From the Superior Court of Marion County.

J. T Dye, W. P. Fishback and G. T. Porter, for appellant.

F Knefler, J. S. Berryhill, S. Claypool and W. A. Ketcham, for appellees.

OPINION

Best C.

The appellee William Holtsclaw brought this action against the appellant, the First National Bank of Indianapolis, Indiana and Frederick Knefler, to recover the amount of a check drawn in his favor by Knefler upon the First National Bank, and paid by the latter to the appellant upon an alleged unauthorized endorsement.

The complaint alleged, in substance, that the plaintiff is a pensioner of the United States, and that his pension is payable at the pension office in Indianapolis; that the defendant Knefler is the agent at such office charged with the duty of paying pensions; that on the -- day of March, 1880, there was due the plaintiff the sum of $ 582.20, and, according to the mode of doing business in such office, he sent said Knefler a receipt for said sum, and it thereupon became said Knefler's duty to draw the plaintiff a check against the First National Bank of Indianapolis, and transport the same to him by mail; that said Knefler did draw such check and mailed it to him, but by mistake directed the letter containing it to Plaintifield, Greene county, instead of Bloomfield, Greene county, Indiana; that the same was sent to Plainfield, Hendricks county, Indiana, and from there was sent by the postmaster to Pittsboro, in said county, and from there by the postmaster was sent to Coatesville, in the same county, where another person, whose name was the same as the plaintiff's, received it and without any authority endorsed the plaintiff's name upon it and transferred the same to the appellant; that the appellant thereafter endorsed the same to the First National Bank of Indianapolis, and received thereon the sum of $ 582.20 without the knowledge or consent of the plaintiff; that said sum is due and remains wholly unpaid, and that the same as well as the check has been demanded of each defendant, but the same has been refused; that said Knefler is made a party to answer as to his interest, etc.

A demurrer to the complaint for want of facts by the appellant was overruled, after which an answer was filed.

The answer alleged, in substance, that Plainfield in Hendricks county is the only Plainfield in this State, and that the plaintiff, at the time said check was issued and ever since has resided in Greene county, Indiana, and that he gave no directions to said Knefler to send it to Hendricks county, and that the same was sent without his knowledge or consent; that at the time the appellant received the money upon said check the plaintiff did not know that the same had been issued, and that when he learned it and was informed that it had been mailed to him at Plainfield, Indiana, he refused to ratify the act of said Knefler in thus mailing said check, but demanded the payment of the money and brought suit against said Knefler to recover it. It was further averred that since the complaint was filed the averment that Knefler was made a party to...