Denniston v. Hill

Citations

• 173 Pa. 633
• 34 A. 452
• 1896 Pa. LEXIS 755

Syllabus

<p>Promissory note — Principal and surety — Evidence—Question for jury.</p> <p>In a suit upon a promissory note against an accommodation indorser, it appeared that at the time of the indorsement the plaintiff, the holder of the note, had certain property which had been conveyed to him by the maker as security for certain obligations, including the debt for which the note was given. This conveyance had been made before the indorsement of the note in suit which was the last of a series of renewal notes, all indorsed by defendant. The plaintiff with other creditors entered into an agreement to pool the securities held by each of them, and to divide the proceeds thereof pro rata. Plaintiff claimed that defendant knew of this agreement by which the property held as security was turned over to the syndicate before he indorsed the note. The defendant denied thathe knew anything about it until the maturity of the note. The testimony tended to show that the property turned into the pool was not sufficient to pay the debt other than the note which the maker owed to plaintiff. The evidence showed that the pool retained the securities for some time, paying the taxes and interest upon a mortgage, and that subsequently a portion of the property was sold at a loss. The whole case was left to the jury, and a verdict and judgment rendered for plaintiff. Held, that the judgment should be affirmed.</p>