Mellon National Bank v. People's Bank

Citations

• 226 Pa. 261
• 75 A. 363
• 1910 Pa. LEXIS 750

Syllabus

<p>Practice, C. P. — Evidence—Restricted offer — Offer of statement and affidavit of defense.</p> <p>1. Where at the trial of an action of assumpsit the plaintiff offers in evidence a statement of claim and affidavit of defense “for the purpose of showing the facts which are averred in the plaintiff’s statement upon which the plaintiff seeks to recover which are not denied by the affidavit of defense,” the effect of the offer is to restrict the affidavit as a matter of evidence within the one purpose assigned, and it becomes part of plaintiff’s case for no other.</p> <p>2. In such a case where none of the facts averred in plaintiff’s statement are traversed by the affidavit of defense, and the defendant offers no evidence in support of the averments in the affidavit of defense alleged as matters of defense, the plaintiff’s case is a prima facie one, and calls for binding instructions.</p> <p>Banks and banking — Statement of claim — Prima facie case — Checks.</p> <p>3. In an action to recover the amount of two checks averred to have been included in an account stated between the plaintiff and defendant, two banks, the statement of claim makes out a prima facie case which avers that the checks were drawn by the cashier of the defendant bank to the order of an individual; that the plaintiff had received these checks in the course of business from a bank duly indorsed by such bank, that the plaintiff added its own indorsement and transmitted the checks to the defendant; that notwithstanding the checks were without the indorsement of the original payee, the defendant accepted them and credited plaintiff therewith; that defendant advised the plaintiff of each of the said credits as it was entered, and that relying upon the credit given it by the defendant, the plaintiff paid the amount of the checks to the bank which presented them.</p>