Manufacturers' Finance Corp. v. Pacific Wholesale Radio, Inc.

Plaintiff filed two separate actions against defendant. The first was upon two drafts negotiable in form, called trade acceptances, each for $20,000, which were accepted by defendant. The drafts were made payable to Fried-Eisemann Radio Corporation, a corporation, and transferred by it to plaintiff. The second action was for the recovery of $14,363.50, the unpaid balance of an open book account for goods, wares and merchandise sold and delivered to defendant by Fried-Eisemann Radio Corporation and by it assigned to the plaintiff. It was alleged that the transfers were for value and, as respects the acceptances, made before maturity. Defendant admitted the acceptance of the drafts but denied that the same were transferred to plaintiff before maturity or for value. The material allegations of the complaint in the second action were denied.

As defenses to each action defendant alleged identical set-offs or counterclaims as against the transferor aggregating the sum of $34,871.59. The actions arose out of the same transaction between the same parties, and by stipulation they 'were consolidated for trial. A jury returned a verdict in the first action in favor of plaintiff for $40,000,…