[1] Banks and Banking—Check—When Assignment op Funds.— A bank check is a direction by a creditor to a debtor for the disposition of funds, and it does not operate as an assignment of the funds themselves, in view of section 3265e of the Civil Code, unless and until the hank accepts or certifies the cheek.

[2] Id.—Death of Depositor—Payment op Check—Liability op Bank.—The vitality of a check at least where it has not been accepted or certified prior to the knowledge of the death of the depositor ceases upon receipt of such knowledge by the hank, and a hank which pays such a check after knowledge of the death of the depositor is liable to the estate of the depositor.

[3] Id.—Clearing-house Transaction—Nonpayment op Checks.— A clearing-house transaction in which certain checks were delivered to the representative of the bank upon which they were drawn by another hank which was given money or credit therefor did not, in and of itself, constitute a payment of the checks, but was merely a presentation for payment and a preliminary adjustment of balances.

[4] Id.—Refusal op Payment op Checks—Erroneous Reason—Nonpayment.—Checks presented through the clearing-house to the bank upon which they were drawn were not paid where such hank refused payment and perfected its refusal by returning the checks to and receiving a refunding check from the presenting bank, although the reason assigned for such refusal was based on a mistake of fact.

[5] Ed.—Rules op Clearing-house—Inapplicability to Nonmembers.—The rules of a clearing-house, as such, do not govern the rights of a drawer or payee who are not members of the clearinghouse and do not contract with express reference to such rules.

[6] Id.—Refusal op Payment op Check—Lack op Justification— Right op Bank.—In view of section 3265e of the Civil Code, it is immaterial in determining the question of payment of a check whether the drawee bank has in fact a valid ground for refusal, since it can refuse payment for no reason at all without incurring any liability to the payee.

2. Effect of death of maker before presentation of check for payment, note, Ann. Oas. 1915A, 443.

5. Rules and usages of clearing-houses, note, Ann. Cas. 1914C, 514.

[7] Id.—Subsequent Direction Concerning Checks—Nonpayment.— Where a bank to which checks were delivered through the clearinghouse refused payment for an erroneous reason, and upon its attention being called to the error directed the presenting bank to again put the checks through the clearing-house, but before they again reached the bank the depositor died, such direction did not constitute an agreement to pay nor did it amount to' actual payment, and particularly so where the bank did not debit the drawer’s account with the amount of the cheeks, but, on the contrary, paid and honored other checks leaving insufficient funds to meet the checks in question.