First National Bank v. Gutensohn

I dissent. This case is a demonstration of what may result from following an erroneous precedent, and what is almost sure to happen when a court pays more attention to its opinions construing a statute than it does to the statute itself. As a result of either fault, the court will be fortunate if it escapes the barbed shafts of just criticism.

The governing statute is section 8267, Revised Codes 1921, and it is couched in language "so plain, simple and direct that it would appear to construe itself," as Mr. Justice Holloway said inMorrison v. Farmers' Traders' State Bank, 70 Mont. 146,225 P.…