People v. Leaverton

CARY, P. J.

The defendant, accused of grand theft, was tried hy the court sitting without a jury and found guilty.

The facts follow: April 27, 1929, defendant and one Lee-son entered into a partnership under the name of Leeson & Leaverton for the purpose of selling electric refrigerating equipment. Leeson furnished the capital and the defend

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ant furnished the knowledge of the business. A firm bank account under the name of Leeson & Leaverton was opened, with Leeson alone authorized to sign checks. The partnership sold refrigerating equipment on conditional sale contracts. When a sale was made it was the custom of the partnership to assign the contract to the Peoples Finance & Thrift Company at a discount, under a form of assignment which, in addition to the words of assignment, contained the following: “The undersigned warrants that this agreement was executed in connection with the sale and delivery to, and acceptance by, the buyer named therein, of the property therein described and that there is now owing thereon the amounts as set forth therein.” June 29, 1929, Leeson and defendant agreed orally that the partnership be dissolved as of July 1, 1929. On July 1, 1929, Leeson signed a number of checks in blank to be used in the future and thereafter had no further connection with the business. Beginning July 9, 1929, Mrs. Bayrich, a clerk in defendant’s office, was authorized to sign checks on this account still carried in the name of Leeson & Leaverton.

The acts leading up to the defendant’s prosecution were as follows: July 5, 1929, the defendant took to the Peoples Finance & Thrift Company two conditional sales contracts for refrigerating equipment. These were each dated July 3, 1929, and on the back of each was the form of assignment which included the words quoted above. The assignment on one contract bore the signature of defendant, while on the other the signature of defendant had by his direction been written by a clerk in his office. The Peoples Finance & Thrift .Compay purchased these contracts from defendant, giving the defendant two checks made out to Leeson & Leaverton, totaling $502.84 in payment therefor. The checks received were deposited in the bank account of Lee-son & Leaverton, the name of the account not having been changed upon the dissolution of the partnership. This money was disbursed by checks drawn against the account signed by Mrs. Bayrich for the payment of bills against the business and it was also used in part to pay some personal expenses of the defendant. The Peoples Finance & Thrift Company in due course notified the purchasers under the two conditional sales contracts that the installment payments provided for should be paid directly to the Finance