Farmers Bank of Camarillo v. Goodrich

HAHN, J.,

pro

tem.

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment rendered in favor of defendants Dwight P. Goodrich and Jennie Goodrich in an action upon a promissory note executed by the said Goodrichs and indorsed by defendants Herman Fisher and M. A. Fleming.

The complaint is in the usual form and, among other matters therein set forth, alleges that the note in question was on the date it bore executed by the defendants Dwight P. Goodrich and Jennie E. Goodrich, and thereafter was delivered to the defendant Herman Fisher, the payee named in the note; that subsequently and before maturity thereof and for a valuable consideration, the note in question was indorsed and delivered by Herman Fisher to M. A. Fleming, who before maturity of the note and for a valuable consideration indorsed and delivered it to the plaintiff bank, the then holder and owner of the note. Defendants Fisher and Fleming defaulted, but defendants Dwight P. Goodrich and Jennie E. Goodrich, the alleged makers of the note, answered, specifically denying all of the material allegations of the complaint concerning the execution and delivery of the note. In addition, they set up in their answer two special affirmative defenses, the material matters of which may be briefly summarized as follows:

First: That on May 18, 1923, which is the date that the note sued on bears, defendants Goodrich executed “an incomplete and conditional promissory note,” a copy of which

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is set forth in the answer, and which is similar in all respects to the note sued upon, except that it bears the name of no payee, a blank space appearing where the note set out in the complaint has written the name of Herman Fisher.

Second: That at the time and as a part of the transaction wherein said note was executed, an.agreement was entered into between the said defendants and one B. R. Parrott; that the note was placed in the custody of the said Parrott by said defendants upon the conditions and for the purposes set forth in said agreement.

Third: That subsequent to the placing of said note with the said Parrott, the said Parrott and defendants Fisher and Fleming, without any authority so to do, inserted or caused to be inserted in said note the name of Herman Fisher as payee; that the said Parrott, Fisher and Fleming, and each of them, well knew that the defendants Goodrich had never authorized them or anyone to insert the name of Fisher as payee in said note, and that the name of Herman Fisher was inserted in said note without legal right.