Voss v. Friedgen
Voss v. Friedgen
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiffs Leopoldine Voss, Edna Fournier and Helen Voss Wolsky recovered judgment against defendants John Baymond Friedgen, Olga Donato Lindenberg and Alvin T. Dickens for sums aggregating $4,950 (principal amount), being moneys paid to defendants in transactions held to be in violation of the Corporate Securities Law (Corp. Code, § 25000 et seq.) on the part of defendants. Defendant Lindenberg did not appeal. The other defendants have brought the case to this court. Essentially their arguments go to the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the findings.
The complaint contains only common counts, but the gravamen of each cause of action, as shown by the evidence, is a negligent fraud within the purview of Mary Pickford Co. v. Bayly Bros., Inc., 12 Cal.2d 501, 525-526 [86 P.2d 102] (discussed below); under established practice in this state fraud may be proved under that general type of allegation. (Minor v. Baldridge, 123 Cal. 187, 190 [55 P. 183]; Adams v. Harrison, 34 Cal.App.2d 288, 293 [93 P.2d 237].) That was done at bar without objection. The findings are in the general language of the complaint, a permissible procedure. (Rauer’s Law etc. Co. v. Bradbury, 3 Cal.App. 256, 260 [84 P. 1007]; Gantner & Mattern Co. v. Hawkins, 89 Cal.App.2d 783, 786 [201 P.2d 847].) In this situation it is deemed that “ [t]he court impliedly found in accordance with the evidence presented by the prevailing party.” (Cherry v. Hayden, 100 Cal.App.2d 416, 421 [223 P.2d 878].) See also Broadway Fed. etc. Loan Assn. v. Howard, 133 Cal.App.2d 382, 396 [285 P.2d 61]. Therefore, the reviewing court must determine whether the evidence supports implied findings which the trial judge is presumed to have made upon the basis of the evidence most favorable to respondents’ cause. We heartily agree, however, with all that the Presiding Justice says on this subject in his concurring opinion.
Appellants’ opening brief assumes and asserts that the transactions in question were but loans to defendants’ corporation (D. F. D. Production), represented by ordinary promissory notes. In his reply brief, however, counsel undertakes to offset the argument of respondents’ counsel that plaintiffs’ money was taken in a series of sales of corporate securities without a permit therefor. It is to be remembered that a claim of
The trial judge was free to reject all or any part of the testimony of any witness which did not ring true, and' to draw such reasonable inferences favorable to plaintiffs’ case as he saw fit. “Unless it clearly appears that upon no hypothesis whatever is there substantial evidence to support a finding of the trier of fact, it cannot be set aside on appeal. ” (Murphy v. Ablow, 123 Cal.App.2d 853, 858 [268 P.2d 80].) Upon this basis we reconstruct the implied findings presumptively made by the trial court. '
The three defendants were the promoters and sole officers and directors of a California corporation known as D.F.D. Production, which was formed for the purpose of producing and distributing motion pictures. No stock was ever issued and no application was made or permit granted therefor until after the subject transactions between plaintiffs and defendants had occurred. Each of the three individual defendants had undertaken to raise money for the corporation. Dickens’ mother-in-law had put in $3,500 for him and the corporation had been advertising for funds. Dickens was on friendly terms with Mrs. Leopoldine Voss and her two daughters, Edna Fournier and Helen Voss Wolsky (who, for the sake of brevity, will be referred to as Mrs. Voss, Edna and Helen).- Dickens was a, real estate broker and as such had handled transactions for the Vosses, and in one instance had invested $1,000 for Helen, yielding a profit of $73 from an investment the nature of which she did not know. The Dickens family and the Voss family were “very good friends.” In July, 1947, he visited the Voss home and talked with Edna about investing some money in a motion picture enterprise. He himself testified: “Q. During the summer of 1947, did you approach any members of that family concerning getting some money to invest in D.F.D. Productions? A. Yes, I did.” Mrs. Voss was at
On August 28, 1947, the Corporation Commissioner issued a “Desist and Refrain Order” directing the corporation and each of the defendants “not to sell or offer for sale, negotiate for the sale of, nor deal in any of the capital stock or other securities of D. F. D. Corp., for the reason that . . . the sale
Two or more weeks after August 19, 1947, Dickens brought a promissory note to Mrs. Voss in the amount of $4,500, dated August 1, 1947, and payable November 1, 1947. August 1 was an arbitrary date, nothing had occurred on that day. The $1,500 was delivered on July 15, and the other $2,000 on August 19th. The note came after the Desist and Refrain Order was issued and it was antedated. The note was delivered by Dickens with no explanation except that “he brought that and said that is what he was going to give us for lending him that money.” Defendant Dickens, though a witness under section 2055 Code of Civil Procedure and in his own behalf, offered no explanation, merely saying that he did not remember it; “I don’t remember this specifically of taking it over and giving it to her.” (The other defendants were absent from the trial and no deposition of either one was offered.) It is a fair inference that the note was an effort to cover up a transaction occurring before the Desist and Refrain Order, one which was considered by defendants to be in need of repair. The situation is analogous to those considered in People v. Sidwell, supra, 27 Cal.2d 121; People v. Whelpton, 99 Cal.App.2d 828, 831 [222 P.2d 935] ; Strangman v. Arc-Saws, Inc., 123 Cal.App.2d 620, 624 [267 P.2d 395]; Taormina v. Antelope Mining Corp., 110 Cal.App.2d 314, 319 [242 P.2d 665]; People v. McCabe, 60 Cal.App.2d 492, 498 [141 P.2d 54]. In each of those cases the court looked through the form of a loan and found the sale of a security underneath. In the Sidwell case, supra, the court concluded this phase of the discussion, at page 129, as follows: “In the present ease the trial court, upon conflicting but sufficient evidence, impliedly found that the transaction, in substance as well as in form, was within the act. The fact that the evidence amply admits of inferences that in its essential substance such transaction was not within the proscription of the act does not permit us to disturb the trial judge’s determination.”
When November 1st (the maturity date of the $4,500 note) arrived there were no funds to pay it. Dickens then had a conversation with Edna “about additional investment in this enterprise.” He called at the plaintiff’s home and, as she testified “He told me that they weren’t going to be able to return that money and if we had any more that we wanted to make some money with, well, we could put it in too.”
At or about the time that Edna invested the additional $1,000, Helen agreed to put in $500 new money; she delivered it to Dickens on November 5, 1947,
After Friedgen had suffered a stroke and the business had shut down, Dickens told plaintiffs that one Major Ellis was interested in investing in the picture and for them, when talking to him, to insist upon 1 per cent of the profits.
Dickens himself testified': “No, these were strictly loans. We were to repay the money with the interest on the money and then that other that you mentioned or that was mentioned, the one percent, was to be given if and when the stock was issued. ’ ’ If this be accepted as accurate, the facts fall within the controlling influence of Strangman v. Arc-Saws, Inc., supra, 123 Cal.App.2d 620, 624, which we quote: “As part consideration for the loan plaintiff was promised one share of stock in the corporation. It is asserted that the condition upon which Alexander was to receive stock was never met and that stock was never issued to plaintiff. There was, however, a conditional promise of stock which the court found was an inducement to the making of the loan..... The transaction clearly involved the issuance of a sécurity as that term is defined by section 25008, Corporations Code. ’ ’ See also: Cecil B. DeMille Productions v. Woolery, (9th C.C.A.) 61 F.2d 45, 50; People v. Woodson, 78 Cal.App.2d 132, 136 [177 P.2d 586]; People v. Sidwell, supra, 27 Cal.2d 121, 127.
The court orally ruled that “it was a security deal” which violated the statute, and the evidence is sufficient to sustain the conclusion.
Appellants assert that the action is barred by limitation, but their reasoning is so brief as to be obscure. The moneys were
When plaintiffs were trying to collect their money from or through Dickens, he, on one occasion, went out the back door as some of them entered the front. This made them suspicious, so they consulted Mr. Mathes, who was attorney for Dickens and the corporation. He referred them to another attorney. This was near the end of 1950. Some time after August, 1951, plaintiffs consulted Attorney Ray M. Steele (attorney of record herein), who then gave them their first information that no permit had been obtained from the Corporation Commissioner. This action was filed on October 31, 1951. The plea of limitation is without substance.
Judgment affirmed.
Fox, J., concurred.
"Los Angeles, Calif. July 15-1947 Beeeived of Edna Fournier the Sum of $1,500 to apply on loan to D. F. D. Productions agreement to follow in form of note as Security signed by officers of D. F. D. Productions plus its intrest or profit Alvin T. Dickens.”
Ultimately, §50 was repaid to her by Dickens.
Concurring Opinion
I concur. However I enter my protest against the practice of making findings “in the general language of the complaint” when it contains only common counts. It was a generous concession on the part of the Supreme Court nearly a hundred years ago to approve that type of pleading (Godwin v. Stebbins, 2 Cal. 103, 105; Freeborn v. Glazer, 10 Cal. 337, 338) when the basis of the action is fraud in any
Reference
- Full Case Name
- LEOPOLDINE VOSS Et Al., Respondents, v. JOHN RAYMOND FRIEDGEN Et Al., Appellants
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published