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HERBERT P. McCART v. JOHN SCHREIBER

Minnesota Supreme Court1929-03-01No. No. 27,042
176 Minn. 496

Summary

Holding. The court affirmed the trial court's judgment, holding that the loan broker possessed implied actual authority to collect the loan principal on behalf of the mortgagee based on the parties' long course of dealing and the mortgagee's acceptance of the broker's collection practices over time.

A mortgagor paid the principal and interest on a loan to a loan broker named Lane, who had negotiated the loan on behalf of the mortgagee. The mortgagee later denied that Lane had authority to collect the payment. The trial court ruled in favor of the mortgagor, finding that Lane possessed implied actual authority to collect based on an established course of dealing between Lane and the mortgagee. The mortgagee appealed, arguing that Lane lacked authority to receive the payment.

The court affirmed the trial judgment. The evidence supported a finding that the mortgagee had implicitly authorized Lane to handle collection matters through their long-standing business relationship. Both parties were unsophisticated farmers who trusted Lane to manage the details of loan negotiations, security approvals, and collections without formal written authorization or possession of loan documents. The mortgagee's acceptance of Lane's accounting over an extended period, combined with evidence that the mortgagee was primarily interested in income generation, reasonably supported the conclusion that Lane had implied actual authority to collect principal payments when due.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether a loan broker possessed implied actual authority to collect loan principal
  • Effect of a course of dealing and prior dealings on agency authority
  • Authority to collect without formal written power or possession of loan documents

Procedural posture

The mortgagee appealed after the trial court ruled against his motion to amend adverse findings or grant a new trial.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

Stone, J.

Action by mortgagor against mortgagee to vacate a real estate mortgage and the foreclosure thereof by advertisement. Failing in his motion for an amendment of adverse findings or a neAV trial, defendant appeals.

This is another case (see Johnson v. Howe, 176 Minn. 287, 223 N. W. 148, and also Anderson v. Goetze, 176 Minn. 399, 223 N. W. 459) Avherein the mortgagor made payment of the principal to John A. Lane, a loan broker now insolvent, only tofind that the mortgagee denied Lane’s authority to collect. The decision below was for plaintiff on the ground, not of express or even apparent authority, but solely because it was considered that Lane had “implied actual authority” to make the disputed collection as agent for defendant. The loan in question was negotiated in 1923 through Lane as agent for defendant. The indebtedness, principal and interest, was made payable at Lane’s office, but the note and mortgage were by him delivered to defendant soon after the loan was made and have never been out of his possession. The loan matured May 7, 1926, and plaintiff paid to Lane May 10, 1926, the principal of $1,050 and the accrued interest of $31.50.

The finding of actual authority in Lane to make the collection for defendant depends upon the evidence of a long course of dealing between them. Lane had negotiated many loans for defendant and on occasion had collected the principal of such loans and reinvested the money instead of paying it to defendant. Lane always collected the interest, apparently without much regard to the existence of express authority arising from his possession of coupon notes or anything in the way of written power to collect. He simply made the collections, and as long as proper accounting was made defendant made no question on the ground of authority. There had been enough of this sort of thing so that, without going into detail, we find ourselves unable to disturb the decision on the controlling-question of fact. The evidence is reasonably open to the inference that in his dealing with Lane defendant was interested in income and was satisfied as long as Lane kept his money invested and earning interest. It is contradicted, but nevertheless there is evidence that Lane attended to all of the details in negotiating loans, approved the security and made the collections, either of principal or interest, as they were tendered.

As the learned trial judge put it, both parties “were unsophisticated farmers. They assumed that Lane was honest and trusted him. I am persuaded that it was just as far from defendant’s thought as from plaintiff’s that he (Lane) needed to have in his hands the loan papers or a satisfaction in order to authorize him to collect the principal when due.” There is so much in support of the conclusion that defendant intended Lane to collect the principal of his loans for him that the case on its facts is within the rule of Springfield Sav. Bank v. Kjaer, 82 Minn. 180, 84 N. W. 752. That decision cites and distinguishes most if not .all of the so-called Kelley cases — in many of which the decision was that the defaulting agent did not have authority to collect. See also Rutherford v. Morgan, 172 Minn. 433, 215 N. W. 842, where the finding on the facts was against such authority. In this case the finding is the other way, and ive consider it so far supported by evidence that it cannot be disturbed.

Order affirmed.