Bank of Cal. v. W. Union Tel. Co.

Citations

• 52 Cal. 280
• 1877 Cal. LEXIS 98

Syllabus

<p>Responsibility of Principal for Act of Sub-Agent.—If the agent of a telegraph company at one of its stations, with power to delegate his authority, employs another person to transmit and receive messages, and such other person sends a false message purporting to come from the cashier of a bank, directing another bank to pay a fictitious person a sum of money, and the sender then personates the fictitious person and obtains the money, without any neglect on the part of the bank, the telegraph company is responsible to the bank for the same.</p> <p>Appointment of Sub-Agent.—Assumed, for the purposes of the decision, that an agent of a telegraph company has no authority to appoint a sub-agent to perform his duties in sending and receiving dispatches.</p> <p>Liability of Principal for Tort of Sob-Agent.—Although a principal is not bound by a contract made in his name by a sub-agent, appointed by his agent without authority, yet he is responsible for the negligence and torts of such sub-agent, if the agent who appointed him was at the time acting in the business of his principal, and the sub-agent was transacting such business.</p> <p>Negligence of Bank in Paying Money Check.—If a person presents a telegraph order for money to a bank, and represents himself to be the person named in the order, and a man of good character and standing identifies him as the person named in the dispatch, and indorses his signature to a receipt for the money as correct, the bank is not guilty of negligence in paying him the money, although it turns out that he is not the person named in the order.</p>