Coulter v. Rowe

Citations

• 265 Pa. 386
• 108 A. 717
• 1919 Pa. LEXIS 561

Syllabus

<p>Banks and banking — Certificate of deposit — Possession of certificate — Ownership—Presumption—Evidence.</p> <p>One M. A. F. in March, 1908, deposited money in a bank and received a certificate of deposit payable to her order one year after date, and in March, 1909, 1910 and 1911 a certificate for a like amount was issued by the bank payable one year after date, to the order of J. K. F. or M. A. F. (J. K. F. being the husband of M. A. F.) each of the later certificates being a renewal of the one issued the previous year and in September, 1912, the last certificate was paid and on the next day a certificate for a like amount was issued by the bank payable to the order of M. A. F. or J. J. R. one year after date. After the death of M. A. F., the certificate payable to M. A. F. or J. J. R. was paid to the latter and on the same day, a certificate for a like amount was issued to her payable to her order and subsequently paid to her. An action was brought by the administrator of M. A. F. against the estate of J. J. R. to recover the amount of the certificate paid to J. J. R. upon the ground (1) that the money paid by the bank to J. J. R. belonged to the estate of M. A. F. and (2) that J. J. R. held it as trustee for J. K. F., the husband of M. A. F. Held, that a verdict was properly directed for the defendant (1) because there was no evidence that when the money was paid to J. J. R. she was not the absolute owner of it, the presumption being that even if she had acquired the money from M. A. F. she had acquired it honestly; and because (2) if there had been any evidence — as there was not — that J. J. R. held the money in trust for J. K. F., then deceased, the only person who could collect it would be his personal representative.</p>