Surety Companies

Acts authorizing surety companies to be sole surety, or to act in a fiduciary capacity without other security, are not invalid as granting a special or exclusive privilege; Roane Iron Co. v. Trust Co., 99 Wis. 273, 74 N. W. 818, 67 Am. St. Rep. 856; Coleman’s Adm’r v. Parrott, 13 S. W. 525, 11 Ky. L. Rep. 947; Gans v. Carter, 77 Md. 1, 25 Atl. 663; so as to acting as guardian; Johnson v. Johnson, 88 Ky. 275, 11 S. W. 5. A surety company, having a capital stock of $550,000, with undertakings given in various suits amounting to $5,000,000, and on bonds for the fidelity of employees amounting to $12,000,000, where its losses on the latter did not exceed one-eiglith of the premiums received. and it had lull collateral security for the former, was accepted as surety; Rosen vvald v. Ins. Co., 9 N. Y. Civ. Pro. Rep. 444; but the same company was held insufficient on substantially the same showing in 9 N. Y. Civ. Proc. R. 444, note. The premium paid by a libellant In admiralty to a surety company for a bond for costs required by rule of court is taxable as costs; The Bencliff, 158 Fed. 377 (C. O., E. D. of Pa.), reversing the earlier practice. So of a bond given for the release of a libelled vessel; The South Portland, 95 Fed. 295; and of a bond given by the claimant of a libelled vessel, under admiralty rule 53, to respond in damages as claimed in a cross libel; Jacobsen v. Expedition Co., 112 Fed. 73, 50 C. C. A. 121; and an appeal and supersedeas bond; Edison v. Mutoscope Co., 117 Fed. 192; and a supersedeas bond on a writ of error; Jones v. Edward B. Smith Co., 1S3 Fed. 990; Church v. Wilkeson-Tripp Co., 58 Wash. 262, 108 Pac. 596, 109 Pac. 113, 137 Am. St. Rep. 3059 (under a statute); contra, as to an appeal bond, on the ground that there is no authority for taxing such an Item; Lee Injector Mfg. Co. v. Injector Co., 109 Fed. 964, 48 C. C. A. 760 (C. C. A., 6th Cir., per Lurton, C. J.); such premium is not taxable in bankruptcy; In re Hoyt, 119 Fed. 987. A statute permitting a surety company’s premium on a trustee’s bond to be charged as part of his expenses is constitutional; In re Clark’s Estate, 195 Pa. 527, 46 Atl. 127, 48 L. R. A. 5S7, with full note. A surety company, which absorbs the assets of another surety company and assumes its liabilities, is liable on a bond executed by its predecessor; Manny v. Surety Co., 103 Mo. App. 716, 78 S. W. 69. A surety company which executed a supersedeas bond under an act of congress is estopped to deny that such act authorized it to execute the bond; Ranney -Alton M. Co. v. Copst. Co., ty company can be relieved from its obligation of suretyship only where a departure from the contract is shown to be a material variance; Young v. Bonding Co., 228 Pa. 373, 77 Atl. 623; Philadelphia v. Deposit Co., 231 Pa. 208, 80 Atl. 62, Ann. Cas. 1912B, 1085; U. S. v. Guaranty Co., 178 Fed. 721; Justice v. Surety Co., 209 Fed. 105. See Insurance; Trust Companies; Suretyship.