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41 Barb. 465

Kitchen v. Place

New York Supreme Court

Decided May 2, 1864

New York Supreme Court · decided 1864-05-02

The judge found that on and prior to the 10th day of July, 1862, the plaintiffs were the owners and holders of a promissory note for $122.41, payable on that day at the Importers and Traders’ Bank, New York, made by Henry G. Place, payable to the order of and indorsed by the defendant, who was an accommodation indorser for the benefit of said Henry 0. Place.

Relies on Boyd v. Brotherson · Bruce v. Westcott

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1864-05-02

How this case has been cited

Cited by 7 later decisions — most recently June 1899

7 state decisions

301864187018801890decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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By the Court, Leonard, J.

¶1The defendant indorsed the note, leaving a blank in the body of it after a word which would be unmeaning unless the blank were filled. The word “at” implied that the blank space which succeeded it might be filled before the note should be delivered, with a desig*467nated place of payment. Had that word been erased, the sense would have been complete without filling the blank. With this isolated word, the note was imperfect in its purport, until the space was filled or the word erased.

[New York General Term,May 2, 1864.

¶2In such instances it has been held that the holder of the note is authorized, by an implied authority, to fill the blank. (Mitchell v. Culver, 7 Cowen, 336. Boyd v. Brotherson, 10 Wend. 93. Bruce v. Westcott, 3 Barb. S. C. R. 377. Cruchley v. Clarence, 2 Maule & Sel. 90. Van Duzer v. Howe, 21 N. Y. Rep. 531, 536.) The opinion in the case of Van Duzer v. Howe confirms the authority of the cases cited, except Bruce v. Westcott, (3 Barb. 374,) which is not mentioned. It also holds that the accommodation party is estopped from denying liability, or alleging against a bona fide holder, that the alteration is a forgery. The judgment should be affirmed, with costs.

¶3Leonard, Clerke and Sutherland, Justices.]

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