Redington v. Woods

Citations

• 45 Cal. 406

Syllabus

<p>Liability op Drawee op Check.—The drawee of a check is hound, at his peril, to know the handwriting of the drawer; and if he pay a check to which the signature of the drawer has been forged, he must suffer the loss as between himself and the'drawer, or an innocent holder to whom he has made payment.</p> <p>Presumption as to Signature and Handwriting in Check.—The drawee of a check is presumed to be acquainted with the signature of the drawer, but not with the handwriting in the body of the check; and the fact that the handwriting in the body of the check is not that of the drawer raises no presumption that it is not genuine.</p> <p>Liability por Payment op Altered Check.—If the drawee pay, even to an innocent holder, a check which has been fraudulently altered in amount after it left the hands of the drawer, he will be entitled to recover back from the person to whom it was paid the excess over the true amount of the check, unless the alteration is made in such a manner that on the face of the paper there appears enough to excite suspicion of fraud, or the drawee has information which would lead a prudent person to suspect that the check has been altered.</p> <p>.Suspicious Pacts Requiring Inquiry.—Where a party received from a stranger, in exchange for legal tender notes, what purported to be a genuine check of a third person, the signature being genuine, and the writing in the body of the paper being in the usual form, though in a handwriting different from that usually employed, and on applying by an agent for payment of the check, informed the drawee that the check had been presented by a stranger: held, that these facts were not of such a suspicious character as to put the drawee on inquiry as to the genuineness of the check; and that if there was any negligence in the case on either side (the check having, after payment, been discovered to have been altered as to the amount), it was on the part of the holder in receiving the check.</p> <p>Laches in Demandin