Barlette v. Red Star Building & Loan Ass'n

Citations

• 64 Pa. Super. 321
• 1916 Pa. Super. LEXIS 297

Syllabus

<p>Building and loan associations—Payment of dues to secretary— Estoppel—Waiver.</p> <p>In an action by a stockholder of a building and loan association to recover the withdrawal value of stock where the defendant claims a set-off for loans made to the plaintiff, and the plaintiff claims that the loans had been repaid, a verdict and judgment for plaintiff will be sustained where the evidence tends to show that the plaintiff was the confidential clerk of the secretary of the defendant association; that the secretary constantly kept in his possession some fifty or seventy-five .of the individual pass books of stockholders; that they were accustomed to pay their dues and fines to him without being required to be in personal attendance at the meetings of the directors as provided by the by-laws; that these small sums of money were by him mingled with his own funds and deposited in his bank account; that when the board would meet, his check- would be drawn for the aggregate of all these sums, and turned over to the board; that when the board was in session in the private office of the secretary, some one of the directors would go to the outside office in charge of plaintiff and inquire what moneys, if any, had been collected by the secretary; that in some instances where no check had been prepared in advance for the aggregate of these collections, she would draw such check, as she had a power of attorney from her employer authorizing her so to do; that this course of dealing was maintained for a very considerable period of time; and that she had paid her own dues at the office of the secretary in the manner specified.</p> <p>The authority of an officer of a corporation as its agent, although distinctly designated by the corporation, may be ascertained to be different, from circumstances covering a period of time long enough to manifest a course of dealing, provided such circumstances are known also to, and acquiesced in, by the board of directors and if the course of dea