Dunlap v. Seattle National Bank

Citations

• 93 Wash. 568
• 161 P. 364
• 1916 Wash. LEXIS 1235

Syllabus

<p>Juey — Right to Juey Trial — Legal oe Equitable Action. An action by a trustee in bankruptcy to recover moneys deposited by the insolvent bank in another bank pursuant to a fraudulent conspiracy, is of an equitable nature, and there is no right'to a jury trial, where an accounting of continuous transactions was necessary.</p> <p>Same. Where two causes of action are stated, one legal and the other equitable, equity takes jurisdiction for all purposes and there is no right to trial by jury.</p> <p>Conspiracy- — Eraub—Evidence—Sufficiency. A fraudulent conspiracy to permit overdrafts in order to enable an insolvent bank to keep open and receive deposits until the co-conspirator was paid or secured cannot be inferred from facts and circumstances lawful in themselves and consistent with an honest purpose; and in such case the evidence is insufficient to show a fraudulent conspiracy where knowledge of the insolvent condition of the bank was not proven and was denied by two witnesses, and there was no proof that the minds of the alleged conspirators were cooperating.</p> <p>Bankruptcy — Preferences—Set-off of Bank Deposits. In the absence of fraud or collusion between a bank and its bankrupt customer, the bank is not required to surrender to the trustee in bankruptcy deposits made by the bankrupt as a condition precedent to proving the balance of its claim, but has a right to appropriate the deposit to the payment of the indebtedness.</p> <p>Same. To constitute a preferential transfer and voidable preference, within the meaning of the bankruptcy act, there must be a parting with the bankrupt’s property for the benefit of the creditor and a diminution of the bankrupt’s estate, and the balance of an account current when the transactions cease is to be taken as determining whether there has been an advancement constituting a voidable preference; hence no preference is shown where, at the beginning of the four months’ period prior to the filing of the petition, the bankrupt