Workingmen's Banking Co. v. Rautenberg

Citations

• 103 Ill. 460
• 1882 Ill. LEXIS 200

Syllabus

<p>1. Contract—legality—indebtedness of director of a bank in excess of limit in charter—guaranty. Where a bank charter contains a clause that no director of the corporation shall be indebted to it, either directly or indirectly, at any time, to an amount greater than seventy-five per cent of the capital stock held by him in good faith as his own, and a director has become indebted to the bank in excess of such sum, a note given by him to the bank for a further sum will be illegal and void, and any guaranty of a third person of its payment, being in aid and furtherance of such illegal contract, will be equally void, and no recovery can be had upon such guaranty, although the guarantor is not a director.</p> <p>2. Same—courts will not assist either party to an illegal contract. The rule is well settled in this State that the court will not assist either party to an illegal transaction in any respect, but will leave them in the position they have voluntarily and knowingly placed themselves. In such case the maxim “ex turpi causa non aritur actio,” applies.</p>