Seth

In their petition for rehearing the respondents criticise our statement of facts and insist that we overlooked the evidence of the relations between the Oriental Bank and the directors of the Canton Bank. 'They state that the Oriental Bank controlled the other institution and that the directors of the latter were mere “dummies”. The criticism is supported by incomplete and isolated quotations from the record with a disregard of the connecting links which demonstrate the true facts. The note in suit was a renewal of a note executed by the same parties in October, 1923. At that time there were eleven directors of the Canton Bank. There is no evidence in the record that any number of them were “dummies”. There is evidence that one owned 107% shares, one 20 shares, one 30 shares and another 19% shares. The stock was entered at $100 a share. One witness testified that he held 10 shares, but that they were owned by the Oriental Bank. He tried to create the impression that none of the other directors owned more than ten shares, but on cross-examination he explained that he was referring to the time when the Canton Bank failed in 1928 and not to the time when the note was executed in…

Plaintiffs sued as joint liquidators of the Oriental Commercial Bank, Ltd., of Hongkong, China, upon a joint and several promissory note of defendants in the sum of $99,534.96. The cause was tried with a jury, which returned a verdict for plaintiffs upon the note with accrued interest in the sum of approximately $127,000. The trial court granted defendants’ motion for a new trial; and from that order the plaintiffs have appealed upon typewritten transcripts.

The facts are not in dispute. The answer admitted the execution and delivery of the note, but alleged that it was executed without consideration and as a mere accommodation to the payees with the oral assurance that they would not be called on to pay it. No payments on principal or interest were made. The eleven defendants who executed the note were at the time directors of the Canton Bank of San Francisco. Four of these constituted the financial committee and as such had active management and control of the Canton Bank. Five of these were at the time also directors of the China Mail Steamship Company, a corporation *732 operating in San Francisco. Defendant Lew Hing was president of the Canton Bank and manager of the China…

[EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *Page 731 Plaintiffs sued as joint liquidators of the Oriental Commercial Bank, Ltd., of Hongkong, China, upon a joint and several promissory note of defendants in the sum of $99,534.96. The cause was tried with a jury, which returned a verdict for plaintiffs upon the note with accrued interest in the sum of approximately $127,000. The trial court granted defendants' motion for a new trial, and from that order the plaintiffs have appealed upon typewritten transcripts. The facts are not in dispute. The answer admitted the execution and delivery of the note, but alleged that it was executed without consideration and as a mere accommodation to the payees with the oral assurance that they would not be called on to pay it. No payments on principal or interest were made. The eleven defendants who executed the note were at the time directors of the Canton Bank of San Francisco. Four of these constituted the financial committee and as such had active management and control of the Canton Bank. Five of these were at the time also directors of the China Mail…