clear field trust co v united states

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9/12/10 9:LEARFIELD TRUST CO. V. UNITED STATES, 318 U. S. 363 :: Volume 318 :: 1943 :: Full Text :: US Supreme Court Cases from Justia & Oyez

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Justia > US Supreme Court Center > US Supreme Court Cases & Opinions > Volume 318 > CLEARFIELD TRUSTCO. V. UNITED STATES, 318 U. S. 363 (1943) > Full Text

CLEARFIELD TRUST CO. V. UNITED STATES, 318 U. S.363 (1943)

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U.S. Supreme Court

Clearfield Trust Co. v. United States, 318 U.S. 363 (1943)

Clearfield Trust Co. v. United States

No. 490

Argued February 5, 1943

Decided March 1, 1943

318 U.S. 363

CERTIORARI TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

1. When the United States disburses its funds or pays its debts, it is exercising a constitutional function orpower; and its rights and duties on commercial paper so issued are governed by federal, rather than local,law. United State v. Guaranty Trust Co.,293 U. S. 340, distinguished. P. 318 U. S. 366.

2. In the absence of an applicable Act of Congress, it is for the federal courts to fashion the governing rule ofederal law according to their own standards. P. 318 U. S. 367.
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3. Reasons which at times may make state law an appropriate federal rule are singularly inappropriate indetermining the rights and duties of the United States on commercial paper which it issues, since thedesirability of a uniform rule in such cases is plain. P. 318 U. S. 367.

4. Although the federal law merchant, developed under Swift v. Tyson, represented general commercial lawrather than a choice of a federal rule designed to protect a federal right, it nevertheless stands as aconvenient source of reference for fashioning federal rules applicable to such federal questions as are hereinvolved. P. 318 U. S. 367.

5. The right of a drawee to recover from one who presents for payment a check upon which the endorsemenof the payee was forged accrues when the payment is made. P. 318 U. S. 368.

6. The drawee, whether it be the United States or another, is not chargeable with the knowledge of thesignature of the payee. P. 318 U. S. 369.

7. If it is shown that the drawee on learning of the forgery did not give prompt notice of it and that damageresulted, recovery by the drawee is barred. P. 318 U. S. 369.

That the drawee is the United States and the laches that of its employees is immaterial.

8. The United States is not excepted from the general rules governing the rights and duties of drawees by thvastness of its dealings or by the fact that it must act through agents. P. 318 U. S. 369.

Page 318 U. S. 364

9. To bar recovery by a drawee, the damage alleged to have been occasioned by delay in giving notice of aforgery must be established and not left to conjecture. P. 318 U. S. 369.

10. In this case, the showing as to damage resulting from delay of the United States in giving notice of aforgery, held not sufficient to bar recovery. P. 318 U. S. 370.

It appeared that the presenting bank could still recover from its endorser, and the only showing on the part the latter was that, if a check cashed for a customer is returned unpaid or for reclamation a short time afte

the date on which it is cashed, the employees can often locate the person who cashed it.

130 F.2d 93, affirmed.

Certiorari, 317 U.S. 619, to review the reversal of a judgment against the United States in an action broughtby it to recover an amount paid on a forged Government check.

MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS delivered the opinion of the Court.

On April 28, 1936, a check was drawn on the Treasurer of the United States through the Federal Reserve Banof Philadelphia to the order of Clair A. Barner in the amount of $24.20. It was dated at Harrisburg,Pennsylvania, and was drawn for services rendered by Barner to the Works Progress Administration. The che

was placed in the mail addressed to Barner at his address in Mackeyville, Pa. Barner never received the checSome unknown person obtained it in a mysterious manner and presented it to the J. C. Penney Co. store inClearfield, Pa., representing that he was the payee and identifying himself to the satisfaction of theemployees of J. C. Penney

Page 318 U. S. 365

Co. He endorsed the check in the name of Barner and transferred it to J. C. Penney Co. in exchange for cashand merchandise. Barner never authorized the endorsement nor participated in the proceeds of the check. JC. Penney Co. endorsed the check over to the Clearfield Trust Co., which accepted it as agent for the purpo
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of collection and endorsed it as follows: "Pay to the order of Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, PriorEndorsements Guaranteed." [Footnote 1] Clearfield Trust Co. collected the check from the United Statesthrough the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and paid the full amount thereof to J. C. Penney Co. Neiththe Clearfield Trust Co. nor J. C. Penney Co. had any knowledge or suspicion of the forgery. Each acted ingood faith. On or before May 10, 1936, Barner advised the timekeeper and the foreman of the W.P.A. projecon which he was employed that he had not received the check in question. This information was dulycommunicated to other agents of the United States, and, on November 30, 1936, Barner executed an affidavalleging that the endorsement of his name on the check was a forgery. No notice was given the Clearfield

Trust Co. or J. C. Penney Co. of the forgery until January 12, 1937, at which time the Clearfield Trust Co. wnotified. The first notice received by Clearfield Trust Co. that the United States was asking reimbursementwas on August 31, 1937.

This suit was instituted in 1939 by the United States against the Clearfield Trust Co., the jurisdiction of thefederal District Court being invoked pursuant to the provisions of 24(1) of the Judicial Code, 28 U.S.C. 41(1). The cause of action was based on the express guaranty of prior endorsements made by the ClearfieldTrust Co.

Page 318 U. S. 366

J. C. Penney Co. intervened as a defendant. The case was heard on complaint, answer and stipulation of

facts. The District Court held that the rights of the parties were to be determined by the law of Pennsylvaniand that, since the United States unreasonably delayed in giving notice of the forgery to the Clearfield TrustCo., it was barred from recovery under the rule of Market Street Title & Trust Co. v. Chelten T. Co., 296 Pa230, 145 A. 848. It accordingly dismissed the complaint. On appeal, the Circuit Court of Appeals reversed. 13F.2d 93. The case is here on a petition for a writ of certiorari which we granted, 317 U.S. 619, because of timportance of the problems raised and the conflict between the decision below and Security-First Nat. Bankv. United States, 103 F.2d 188, from the Ninth Circuit.

We agree with the Circuit Court of Appeals that the rule of Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins,304 U. S. 64, does notapply to this action. The rights and duties of the United States on commercial paper which it issues aregoverned by federal, rather than local, law. When the United States disburses its funds or pays its debts, it iexercising a constitutional function or power. This check was issued for services performed under the FederaEmergency Relief Act of 1935, 49 Stat. 115. The authority to issue the check had its origin in the Constitutioand the statutes of the United States, and was in no way dependent on the laws of Pennsylvania or of anyother state. Cf. Board of Commissioners v. United States,308 U. S. 343; Royal Indemnity Co. v. UnitedStates,313 U. S. 289. The duties imposed upon the United States and the rights acquired by it as a result ofthe issuance find their roots in the same federal sources. [Footnote 2] Cf. Deitrick v. Greaney,309 U. S. 190

Page 318 U. S. 367

D'Oench, Duhme & Co. v. Federal Deposit Ins. Corp.,315 U. S. 447. In absence of an applicable Act ofCongress, it is for the federal courts to fashion the governing rule of law according to their own standards.United States v. Guaranty Trust Co.,293 U. S. 340, is not opposed to this result. That case was concernedwith a conflict of laws rule as to the title acquired by a transferee in Yugoslavia under a forged endorsemenSince the payee's address was Yugoslavia, the check had "something of the quality of a foreign bill," and the

law of Yugoslavia was applied to determine what title the transferee acquired.

In our choice of the applicable federal rule, we have occasionally selected state law. See Royal Indemnity Cv. United States, supra. But reasons which may make state law at times the appropriate federal rule aresingularly inappropriate here. The issuance of commercial paper by the United States is on a vast scale andtransactions in that paper from issuance to payment will commonly occur in several states. The application ostate law, even without the conflict of laws rules of the forum, would subject the rights and duties of theUnited States to exceptional uncertainty. It would lead to great diversity in results by making identicaltransactions subject to the vagaries of the laws of the several states. The desirability of a uniform rule is
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plain. And while the federal law merchant developed for about a century under the regime of Swift v. Tyson16 Pet. 1, represented general commercial law, rather than a choice of a federal rule designed to protect afederal right, it nevertheless stands as a convenient source of reference for fashioning federal rules applicato these federal questions.

United States v. National Exchange Bank,214 U. S. 302, falls in that category. The Court held that the Unit

Page 318 U. S. 368

States could recover as drawee from one who presented for payment a pension check on which the name ofthe payee had been forged, in spite of a protracted delay on the part of the United States in giving notice ofthe forgery. The Court followed Leather Manufacturers Bank v. Merchants Bank,128 U. S. 26, which held ththe right of the drawee against one who presented a check with a forged endorsement of the payee's nameaccrued at the date of payment, and was not dependent on notice or demand. The theory of the NationalExchange Bank case is that the who presents a check for payment warrants that he has title to it and the rigto receive payment. [Footnote 3] If he has acquired the check through a forged endorsement, the warranty breached at the time the check is cashed. See Manufacturers Trust Co. v. Harriman Nat. Bank Trust Co., 14Misc. 551, 262 N.Y.S. 482; Bergman v. Avenue State Bank, 284 Ill.App. 516, 1 N.E.2d 432. The theory of thewarranty has been challenged. Ames, The Doctrine of Price v. Neal, 4 Harv.L.Rev., 297, 301-302. It has beeurged that

"the right to recover is a quasi-contractual right, resting upon the doctrine that one who confers a benefit inmisreliance upon a right or duty is entitled to restitution."

Woodward, Quasi Contracts (1913) 80; First Nat. Bank v. City Nat. Bank, 182 Mass. 130, 134, 65 N.E. 24. Bwhatever theory is taken, we adhere to the conclusion of the National Exchange Bank case that the drawee'sright to recover accrues when the payment is

Page 318 U. S. 369

made. There is no other barrier to the maintenance of the cause of action. The theory of the drawee'sresponsibility where the drawer's signature is forged (Price v. Neale, 3 Burr. 1354; United States v. Chase NaBank,252 U. S. 485) is inapplicable here. The drawee, whether it be the United States or another, is not

chargeable with the knowledge of the signature of the payee. United States v. National Exchange Bank, suprp. 214 U. S. 317; State v. Broadway Nat. Bank, 153 Tenn. 113, 282 S.W. 194.

The National Exchange Bank case went no further than to hold that prompt notice of the discovery of theforgery was not a condition precedent to suit. It did not reach the question whether lack of prompt noticemight be a defense. We think it may. If it is shown that the drawee, on learning of the forgery, did not giveprompt notice of it, and that damage resulted, recovery by the drawee is barred. See Ladd & Tilton Bank v.United States, 30 F.2d 334; United States v. National Rockland Bank, D.C., 35 F.Supp. 912; United States v.National City Bank, 28 F.Supp. 144. The fact that the drawee is the United States and the laches those of itemployees are not material. Cooke v. United States,91 U. S. 389, 91 U. S. 398. The United States, as draweof commercial paper, stands in no different light than any other drawee. As stated in United States v.National Exchange Bank,270 U. S. 527, 270 U. S. 534, "The United States does business on business terms."

is not excepted from the general rules governing the rights and duties of drawees "by the largeness of itsdealings and its having to employ agents to do what if done by a principal in person would leave no room fodoubt." Id., p. 270 U. S. 535. But the damage occasioned by the delay must be established, and not left toconjecture. Cases such as Market St. Title & Trust Co. v. Chelten Trust Co., supra, place the burden on thedrawee of giving prompt notice of the forgery -- injury to the defendant being presumed by the mere fact odelay. See London & River Plate

Page 318 U. S. 370
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Bank v. Bank of Liverpool, [1896] 1 Q.B. 7. But we do not think that he who accepts a forged signature of apayee deserves that preferred treatment. It is his neglect or error in accepting the forger's signature whichoccasions the loss. See Bank of Commerce v. Union Bank, 3 N.Y. 230, 236. He should be allowed to shift thaloss to the drawee only on a clear showing that the drawee's delay in notifying him of the forgery caused himdamage. See Woodward, Quasi Contracts (1913) 25. No such damage has been shown by Clearfield Trust Cowho, so far as appears, can still recover from J. C. Penney Co. The only showing on the part of the latter iscontained in the stipulation to the effect that, if a check cashed for a customer is returned unpaid or forreclamation a short time after the date on which it is cashed, the employees can often locate the person wh

cashed it. It is further stipulated that, when J. C. Penney Co. was notified of the forgery in the present casenone of its employees was able to remember anything about the transaction or check in question. Theinference is that the more prompt the notice, the more likely the detection of the forger. But that falls shorof a showing that the delay caused a manifest loss. Third Nat. Bank v. Merchants Nat. Bank, 76 Hun 475, 27N.Y.S. 1070. It is but another way of saying that mere delay is enough.

Affirmed.

MR. JUSTICE MURPHY and MR. JUSTICE RUTLEDGE did not participate in the consideration or decision of thiscase.

[Footnote 1]

Guarantee of all prior indorsements on presentment for payment of such a check to Federal Reserve banks omember bank depositories is required by Treasury Regulations. 31 Code of Federal Regulations 202.32, 202.33.

[Footnote 2]

Various Treasury Regulations govern the payment and endorsement of government checks and warrants andthe reimbursement of the Treasurer of the United States by Federal Reserve banks and member bankdepositories on payment of checks or warrants bearing a forged endorsement. See 31 Code of FederalRegulations 202.0, 202.32-202.34. Forgery of the check was an offense against the United States. CriminaCode 148, 18 U.S.C. 262.

[Footnote 3]

We need not determine whether the guarantee of prior endorsements adds to the drawee's rights. SeeBrannan's Negotiable Instruments Law (6th ed.) pp. 330-331, 816-817; First Nat. Bank v. City Nat. Bank, 182Mass. 130, 134, 65 N.E. 24. Cf. Home Ins. Co. v. Mercantile Trust Co., 219 Mo.App. 645, 284 S.W. 834. Undethe theory of the National Exchange Bank case, the warranty of the title of him who presents the check forpayment would be implied in any event. See Philadelphia Nat. Bank v. Fulton Nat. Bank, 25 F.2d 995, 997.

Connect with JustiaFollow @Justiacom on Twitter@IanBallon has added their twitter feed to their Justia Legal Servicesand Lawyers Directory Profile: http://justia.to/6335719 hours ago on twitter
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