Park Bank v. Kleman

Citations

• 278 Pa. 165
• 122 A. 221
• 1923 Pa. LEXIS 494

Syllabus

<p>Promissory notes— Endorsement — Collateral—Subrogation—Release of endorser — Surety—Damage.</p> <p>1. When a creditor has in his hands the means of paying a check, and does not use it, but surrenders, without reason, securities held, a surety will be discharged pro tanto; but if.no damage appears, he is not relieved.</p> <p>2. Where the payee of a promissory note receives from the maker insurance policies as collateral with the right, on default, to apply the cash surrender value of the insurance to the payment of the note, and subsequently the payee receives other notes from the maker with endorsements thereon, and by their terms any equities in the policies were applicable to their payment, the endorser on the subsequent notes cannot claim that he was wholly discharged from liability, because the holder received the cash value of the policies and reassigned them to the maker' of the notes.</p> <p>3. In such case, the endorser was only discharged pro tanto; and he has no ground for complaint, if it appears that he was given an opportunity to pay the indebtedness and take over the policies to which he had a right to be subrogated, and that he did not avail himself of this offer.</p>