Svanoe v. Jurgens

Citations

• 144 Ill. 507
• 33 N.E. 955

Syllabus

<p>1. Agency—agent holds money of his principal in trust. An agent who receives the money of his principal will hold the same in trust, and must be held strictly to the liability of a trustee as between himself and the party for whom he acts. But in the case of ordinary agency no preference is given to such moneys over other claimants against the estate of the debtor.</p> <p>3. Administration of estates—classification of debts — money in hands of an agent. Where an agent of a bank sold its drafts on foreign countries, and received the moneys paid by the purchasers of such drafts, which he was to account for to his principal, and died with money in his hands from such sales unaccounted for: Held, that such money was not held by such agent as “ in trust for any purpose, ” within the meaning of clause 6, of section 70, of chapter 3, Revised Statutes, and that the allowance of a claim for such indebtedness as of the sixth class was erroneous.</p> <p>3. Statute construed. Section 70, of chapter 3, Revised Statutes, giving a preference of claims against estates when they are for money received by the decedent “ in trust for any purpose,” was not intended to embrace all kinds of trusts in the broadest meaning of the term, as including factors, agents, etc. The word “ trust ” is used in the more restricted sense of the term as referring to special trusts, and not those which the law implies from the contract.</p> <p>4. Appeals and writs of error—amount involved. The Appellate Court affirmed the judgment of the Circuit Court, allowing a claim of $1319 against an estate, and directed its payment as a sixth class claim. The estate was able to pay all the sixth class claims, but not the seventh class claims in full, and the administrators appealed to this court: Held, that this court had jurisdiction of the appeal. The right of a party to a judgment in the Appellate Court to bring the case to this court by appeal or writ of error, is not limited by the amount affected by the er