Baker v. Citizens State Bank Et Al‪.‬

Banks and Banking ? Insolvency ? Recovery of Collateral Held by Correspondent Bank ? Promissory Notes ? Consideration ? Appeal ? Equity Cases ? Review of Evidence ? Findings ? Evidence. Appeal ? Equity Cases ? Extent of Review of Evidence. 1. Since in equity cases and cases tried by the court without a jury a new trial cannot be granted on the ground of insufficiency of the evidence, the contention that, in the absence of a motion for a new trial, the supreme court in passing upon the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the findings of the court can go no further than to determine whether the record contains any substantial evidence in their support, has no merit. - Page 544 Same ? Findings ? When Controlling. 2. In equity cases and cases tried by the court without a jury the sufficiency of the evidence may be challenged on appeal from the judgment, subject to the rules that unless the evidence strongly preponderates against the courts findings, or if there is a sharp conflict in the evidence, or if it furnishes reasonable grounds for different conclusions, they will not be disturbed. Same ? Review of Evidence ? Judgment Presumed Correct. 3. On entering upon a review of the evidence to determine whether it is sufficient to support a judgment, the supreme court indulges the presumption that the judgment is correct; it will draw every legitimate inference from the evidence to support that presumption, and view the testimony in the light most favorable to the prevailing party and consider established every material fact which it tends to prove. Banks and Banking ? Insolvency ? Collateral Held by Correspondent Bank ? Accounting ? Evidence ? Books of Account ? Failure to Object to Introduction ? Appellant Estopped to Assert on Appeal That Books not Before Court. 4. Where the receiver of an insolvent bank in an action against another bank for an accounting relative to certain collateral held by the latter, was permitted without objection to introduce books of the former, letters and other documents without objection by defendant and defendant cross-examined the witnesses on their testimony therefrom, defendant was precluded from asserting on appeal that the books, etc., were not properly before the court and that there was no evidence to establish the matters to which the testimony referred. Same ? Officer in Control of Books may not Discredit Them ? Effect of Effort on Testimony of Witness. 5. The testimony of an officer of a bank who had control and supervision of its books and, in seeking to discredit them, testified that he "understood" that entries therein meant a certain thing instead of making the assertion of a positive fact, held to have been materially weakened, if not destroyed, thereby. Same ? Promissory Notes ? What not Valid Consideration. 6. The performance of an act which the law requires to be done is not a valid consideration; hence where a note held by a bank was transferred to a stockholder in return for payment by him of an assessment levied against him as required by law, to make good an impairment of the banks assets, there was no consideration for the note, and it having found its way into another bank long after its date of maturity and the amount thereof collected by it, the latter was not an innocent purchaser and the proceeds thereof belonged to the first bank. Same ? Bank Holding Collateral Belonging to Correspondent Bank may Sell Same to Reimburse Itself for Bonds Held by Latter Which It Refuses to Return. 7. Where a bank had in its possession bonds belonging to a correspondent bank, and the latter held notes as collateral belonging to the former, the correspondent bank had the right - Page 545 to apply the proceeds of such notes to reimburse itself to the amount of the value of the bonds which the holding bank refused to return.