Pass-book

In Mercantile Law. A book used by merchants with their customers, in which an entry of goods sold and delivered to a customer is made. It is kept by the buyer, and sent to the merchant whenever he wishes to purchase any article. It ought to be a counterpart of the merchant’s books, as far as regards the customer’s account. The term pass-book is given to a small book made up from time to time from the banker’s ledger and forwarded to the customer: this is not considered as a statement of account between the parties: yet when the customer neglects for a long time to make any objection to the correctness of the entries, he will be bound by them; 2 D. & C. 534; 2 M. & W. 2. The entry of a deposit in a pass-book to the credit of the depositor is in the nature of a receipt, and is prima facie evidence that the bank has received the amount from the depositor and entered it to his credit; Quattrochi v. Bank, 89 Mo. App. 500. A depositor in a bank, who sends his pass-book to be written up and receives it back with entries of credits and debits and his paid checks as vouchers for the latter, is bound to examine with due diligence any errors which may be discovered in them; and if he fails to do so and the bank is thereby misled to its prejudice, he cannot afterwards discredit the balance as shown by the pass-book. If a depositor delegates the examination to a clerk without proper supervision he will not be protected from loss if it turns out that without his knowledge the clerk had committed forgery in raising the 'amounts of some of the checks, and thereby misled the bank to its prejudice, in spite of due care on the part of its officers; Leather Manufacturers’ Bk. v. Morgan, 117 U. S. 96, 6 Sup. Ct. 657, 29 L. Ed. 811. He is not however, necessarily liable for his agent's dishonesty; Nat Bk. of Commerce v. Mill Co., 382 Fed. 11, 104 C. C. A. 441.

See Bank, 3 (3); Deposit, 3.

comm. law. A book used by merchants with their customers, in which an entry of goods sold and delivered to a customer is made. It is kept by the buyer and sent to the merchant whenever he wishes to purchase any article. It ought to be a counterpart of the merchant’s books, as far as regards the customer’s account.