Greenhalgh Co. v. Farmers' National Bank

Citations

• 226 Pa. 184
• 75 A. 260
• 1910 Pa. LEXIS 735

Syllabus

<p>Banks and banking — Depositor—Cashier—Balance in pass book — Estoppel.</p> <p>1. In an action by a depositor against a bank to recover a balance of deposit, the case is for the jury where the plaintiff claims that three items of deposit were made in the course of banking business, while the defendant claims that the three items were not deposited, but were in fact private loans to the cashier of the bank, and the evidence as to the respective claims is conflicting.</p> <p>2. In such a case the trial judge commits no error in refusing a point to the effect' that if the jury found that the general manager of the plaintiff company and the cashier of the bank made an arrangement by which the amount of money represented by the three disputed checks was intended as an individual loan to the cashier and was received by him as such, there could be no recovery. The rights of the plaintiff and the liability of the bank did not necessarily depend upon what the respective officers did, or attempted to do, because they may have acted outside of the scope of their authority by undertaking to do what they had no right or power to do.</p> <p>3. A balance struck in a pass book is in effect an account stated between a bank and its depositor, which may be impeached for fraud or error, but unless so impeached the bank is estopped from denying its liability as shown by the account so stated by it.</p> <p>4. Whether a bank is or is not estopped from denying its liability for a balance stated by reason of fraud or error depends upon the facts, which are for the jury. In such a case the burden is on the bank attempting to evade responsibility because the presumption is that the balance stated by its own officers is correct and truly represents the account between the parties.</p>