McCosker & Molloy v. Banks

Citations

• 84 Md. 292
• 35 A. 935
• 1896 Md. LEXIS 108

Syllabus

<p>Bills of Exceptions—Promissory Note Procured by Fraud—Knowledge of Fraud by Endorsee—Burden of Proof to show Good Faith—Proof of Want of Notice by a Firm—Notice to one Partner— When Existence of Partnership to be Found by the fury.</p> <p>Where a number of prayers for instructions to the jury are submitted to the trial Court at the same time, the ruling of the Court upon them is a single act, and only one bill of exception should be taken.</p> <p>Where in an action on a promissory note by a partnership composed of two persons, who were the endorsees of the note, the defendant gave testimony showing that the note was obtained by the fraud of the payee, it is not competent to prove that the plaintiffs took the note in good faith by the testimony of one of the plaintiffs that the firm was not aware of any fraud practised by the payee in obtaining the note.</p> <p>While one member of a firm may be ignorant of defects in the origin of a promissory note, another member of the firm may have full knowledge of such defects, and sincé this knowledge of one would be sufficient to charge all with notice, the ignorance of one partner cannot be treated as the ignorance of the others.</p> <p>Whenever it becomes necessary for a partnership to show that they acquired a promissory note by endorsement,, in good faith, without knowledge or notice of its original infirmities, such want of knowledge must be shown as to all the partners ; and as one partner cannot give evidence that his co-partner was ignorant of a particular fact, except by testifying to the co-partner’s declaration, which would be inadmissible, it follows that each partner must show his want of knowledge by his own testimony, or that other facts must be submitted to the jury from which the absence of such knowledge may be legitimately inferred.</p> <p>In an action by a firm the defendant specially denied in his pleadings that a partnership existed between the plaintiffs. Held, that prayers which do not leave it to th