Maloy v. Board of County Commissioners

Citations

• 10 N.M. 638
• 52 L.R.A. 126

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. County Treasurer — Nature of Obligations. — A county treasurer is not a mere bailee or trustee, but is special bailee, subj ect to special obligations, to fulfill the obligations of his official bond, and the law of bailment is not the proper measure of his responsibility.</p> <p>2. Liability on His Bond. — To the extent of the obligation of his bond, such officer’s responsibility is absolute, relievable only by overruling necessity occasioned by the act of God or the public enemy.</p> <p>3. No Recovery of Interest Paid to Him, When. — In the absence of the statute requiring a treasurer to account to the county for interest on the public funds in his possession and where the statutes prohibit such officer from loaning the public funds with or without interest or to appropriate such funds to his own use, the county is not entitled to recover from such officer interest paid him after he has retired from office, and where there was no contract that interest should be paid, notwithstanding such interest was paid to him on account of the deposit of public funds in a bank.</p> <p>4. Interest on Default — Effect of Settlement. — Where a county treasurer fails to pay over to his successor the balance of the public funds, when he is required to do so by law, interest accrues ■ upon such balance from the time of his default at the rate of 6 per centum per annum under the general provisions of the law and may be recovered as incidental to the indebtedness, but where the county has made a settlement in full with the treasurer, and given him a receipt for the balance due, an action can not be maintained thereafter for interest accruing as an incident to the debt.</p>