Holmes v. Wakelin

Citations

• 48 Pa. Super. 643
• 1912 Pa. Super. LEXIS 426

Syllabus

<p>Account render — Actions—Agency—Insurance companies.</p> <p>1. In order to hold a person liable in an action of account render it must appear that such person has received property of some kind or money, not belonging to himself which he is in duty bound to pay over or account for to the plaintiff. It must be shown that the plaintiff is the owner of the property with respect to which an account is sought, inasmuch as ownership in the plaintiff and possession by the defendant are indispensable to support the action.</p> <p>2. To support an action of account rendered for money received by defendant, it must appear that the money came into possession of the defendant and under his control, and that the defendant did not have the custody of it merely as the agent of the owner.</p> <p>3. An action of account rendered cannot be maintained by an agent of an insurance company against his employer to recover commissions on premiums paid on policies written by the agent, where the presumption from the evidence is that the money paid to the insurance company on account of policies was the property of the company, and not of the agent. The mere fact that the agent’s compensation was fixed on a percentage basis does not invest' the agent with title to the money due the company as premiums on the policies.</p>