Opinion
Decided March, 1877.
The station agent of a railroad corporation, in a suit against it, is chargeable as trustee for money collected from the sale of passenger tickets and for freight carriage.
FOREIGN ATTACHMENT. The trustee is one of the station agents of the defendant corporation, and in his deposition disclosed money in his hands at the time of service of the plaintiffs' writ, and subsequently, received by him from the sale of passenger tickets and for freight. The question is on his liability as such trustee.
Bingham Mitchell, for the plaintiff.
W. H. Heywood, for the trustee.
The station agent is not a constituent part of the corporation. He is a servant, and, in a limited sense, an agent of that body, with special duties assigned to him, and having no general authority. He has no discretion in the disbursement of money received by him, except to pay it to the corporation or on its order, and in default of such payment may be sued for its recovery. One railroad may he held as trustee of another railroad, for moneys collected from freight and passengers — Smith v. B. C. M. R. R., and B. M. R. R., Trs., 33 N.H. 337; and no reason appears why an individual, collecting such moneys for a railroad, should not as well be made liable as its trustee.
Trustee chargeable.
SAWYER and BINGHAM, JJ., did not sit.