Holliday v. Persons
Holliday v. Persons
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. While there appears to be a diversity of rulings in other jurisdictions as to whether or not creditors of insolvent corporations can enforce the pa3'ment of unpaid subscriptions to the capital stock where the minimum capital stock has not been subscribed,, in my opinion the rule in this State has been definitely fixed and determined by the Supreme Court in two of the cases which have been referred to in the majority opinion, to wit: Chappell v. Lowe, 145 Ga. 717, and Lowe v. Byrd, 148 Ga. 388. The ruling in the Ghappell case seems to have been unequivocal, and does not appear to have been based upon the theory that the subscription then dealt with was made after the corporation had' been organized, but the ruling appears to rest upon the doctrine, expressed in the opinion (p. 720), that “Creditors dealing with the corporation had a right to presume that the requisite amount of stock had been subscribed. The fact alone of the commencement of business created that presumption.” In the Lowe case the court said: “A subscriber to the capital stock of a corporation chartered by the superior court under section 2823 of the Civil Code may defend against a suit by the corporation upon his subscription -contract, by showing that the minimum amount of capital stock specified in the charter had not been subscribed. [Citing cases.] When, however, the incorporators have organized and commenced business before the requisite amount of capital stock has been subscribed, and third persons have extended credit on the faith of the corporation being legally organized, and, the company becoming insolvent, suit is instituted in behalf of such creditors against subscribers to stock upon unpaid stock subscriptions to compel contribution for payment of such creditors, under application of the doctrine of estoppel the defense above mentioned is not available. [Citing cases.] But if at the time credit is extended the creditor knows the fact upon which the defense is predicated, -namely, that the requisite amount of capital stock had not been subscribed, he can not be said to have been misled, and relatively to him there would be no basis for the estoppel against the subscriber to stock.” Thus, a creditor -in dealing with an active corporation is protected by the legal presumption that all of its stock has been subscribed, and it is only when he has knowledge to the contrary that he is deprived of the status of having extended credit on the faith of the corporation having been legally
Opinion of the Court
The allegation in the petition that the “ incorporators ” held a meeting and accepted the defendants’ subscriptions to the capital stock, organized the corporation, and began business, can avail the plaintiff nothing by way of an allegation that the defendants took any part in this meeting or in the organization of the corporation. The subscribers to the capital stock a,re not necessarily the incorporators. The incorporators are the persons obtaining the charter. See 2 Words & Phrases, 1623. Construing the petition most strongly against the pleader, as we must, it does not appear that the act of the incorporators in organizing the corporation was the act of the defendants, who, it appears, were only subscribers to the stock.
Whatever right, if any, the creditors may have had to presume that after the organization of the corporation the minimum capital stock had been subscribed and the liability of the subscribers had thereby become complete, this presumption can not avail against a subscriber who relies upon the terms of his contract, and has not done anything that would estop him from setting up his legal defense thereunder. The creditors are protected under the Civil Code (1910), § 2220, which provides as follows: “Persons who organize a company and transact business in its name before the
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.