Sherwood v. Meadow Valley Mining Co.

California Supreme Court
Sherwood v. Meadow Valley Mining Co., 50 Cal. 412 (Cal. 1875)

Sherwood v. Meadow Valley Mining Co.

Opinion of the Court

By the Court :

In Atkins v. Gamble (42 Cal. 99), we held that certificates of stock in a corporation are not negotiable securities in a commercial sense; but are mere muniments and evidences of the holder’s title to a given share in the property and franchises of the corporation of which he is a member. We do not think it necessary to again go over the reasoning, or *415engage in a review of the authorities by which the conclusion is maintained. Mr. Parsons, in a note to the sixth edition of his work on Contracts (vol. 1, p. 290), after a somewhat extended citation of the authorities upon the general subject, says:

“The result would seem to be that all corporation bonds and government stocks, which pass by delivery, or indorsement with delivery, are negotiable; but that certificates of stock in a corporation are not.”

The question underwent an exhaustive consideration by the Court of Appeals of the State of New York, in the year 1856, in Mechanics’ Bank v. N. Y. and N. H. R. R. Co. (3 Kernan, 599), and the opinion of the court, delivered by Justice Comstock, contains a masterly exposition of the principles of law and a citation and comparison of the judicial decisions applicable to the question.

We are of opinion that upon the agreed facts of the case, the judgment of the court below was correctly entered in favor of the defendants Judgment affirmed.

Reference

Full Case Name
B. F. SHERWOOD v. THE MEADOW VALLEY MINING COMPANY
Cited By
7 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
Stock in a Coepokation.—Certificates of stock in a'corporation are not negotiable securities, in a commercial sense, but are mere evidences of the holder’s title to a given share in the property and franchises of the corporation. Idem.—If a corporation issues to an owner of shares of stock a certificate transferable on the books of the company by indorsement and surrender of the certificate, and he indorses the same and then loses it, and it comes into the hands of a bona fide purchaser for value, such purchaser acquires no right to the stock.