Security Fence Co. v. Manchester Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n

The Trial Court’s ruling that the defendant is liable for conversion under RSA 337:21, 23 comes to this court unquestioned by either party. While the applicability of section 21 is not apparent (see Beutel’s Brannan, Negotiable Instruments Law (7th ed.) 433), under section 23 the ruling establishes that the defendant acquired “no right to retain the instrument, or to give a discharge therefor” because the endorsement by the payee’s agent was “without the authority of the person whose signature it purports to be” and was therefore “wholly inoperative.” S. 23, supra. The liability thus…