Brown v. Carter
Brown v. Carter
Opinion of the Court
OPINION OF THE COURT BY
This is a bill to enjoin the defendants from acting under or enforcing certain by-laws of the defendant corporation and from acting in conflict with certain, rights, powers and duties claimed to have been conferred on the plaintiff by the articles of association of the said corporation. The Circuit Judge overruled .general demurrers filed h.y the respective defendants and after a
The principal facts are these: The plaintiff and the defendant Irene Ii Holloway (nee Irene Ii) were formerly husband and wife and the defendants George Ii Brown and Francis. Hyde Brown are their children. The plaintiff claims to have-become entitled under former laws, for the term of his said wife’s life and during the minority of their said children, to the custody, use and usufruct, rents, issues and profits of all property of a fixed and immovable nature belonging to his said wife before her marriage to him or accruing to her thereafter during such marriage. On July 2, 1897, as a preliminary step towards forming the defendant corporation, the plaintiff and his said wife joined in a conveyance of said property to one Henry Holmes in trust to convey the same to the said corporation when formed- in accordance with the terms of the said conveyance. The corporation was formed July 9, 1897, the articles of association containing most of the said terms, and the property was. conveyed to it by the trustee. The 1500 shares of stock of the corporation of the par value of $100 each, were issued, 499 to the plaintiff, 499 to Henry Holmes as trustee for the two children, 499 to Henry Holmes as trustee for the wife, 1 to. J. A. Magoon, 1 to Henry Holmes and 1 to S. M. Ballou. The 998 shares issued to Henry Holmes as trustee were afterwards transferred to the defendant A. W. Carter as trustee for the same beneficiaries and the one share issued to S. M. Ballou was. assigned to said A. W. Carter. On September 9, 1902, at a meeing of the stockholders called by said Carter, who was president of the corporation, certain by-laws were adopted. The plaintiff’s contention is that certain of these by-laws are invalid as being inconsistent with certain rights claimed by him under the articles of association.
The provisions in the articles to which special attention is called are the following:’ No extension of the capital stock “shall be made except upon a vote of the shareholders of the company holding not less than three-fourths of all the shares of the company. ***** The officers other than the Auditor shall be the Directors of the company. The officers of the com
The provisions of the by-laws that are claimed to be invalid ¡and inconsistent with the articles are as follows:
*337 “Article 4.
“Officers.
“Sec. 1. Tbe officers of tbe corporation shall all be residents <of tbe Territory of Hawaii, and shall consist of sis persons, to wit: A President, a First Vice-President, a Second Vice-President, a Treasurer and Manager, a Secretary, and an Auditor.
“Sec. 2. No officer shall absent himself or herself from the Territory of Hawaii for a period of more than three weeks at any one time without the consent of the stockholders holding at least a majority of all the shares of the company. Any officer violating this section shall be subject to removal from office by the stockholders holding at least a majority of all the shares of the company.
“Sec. 3. In case of the violation by any officer of Section 2 of this Article the stockholders holding at least a majority of all the shares of the company shall have the right at a meeting of the company duly called for that purpose to declare vacant the office held by such officer and to appoint another person to hold such office.
“Sec. 4. If any officer shall absent himself from the Territory of Hawaii for a period of not more than three weeks at any one time, or shall absent himself from the Territory of Hawaii for a period of more than three weeks with the consent of the stockholders holding at least a majority of all the shares of the company, the stockholders holding not less than a majority of all the shares of the company shall thereupon at a meeting called for that purpose appoint some othér person to perform until the return of such officer all the duties of such office.
“Sec. 5. No officer shall delegate the duties of his office to any other person.
“Article 5.
“Election.
“Sec. 1. The officers shall be elected at each annual meeting or at any special meeting duly called- for that purpose, and a vote of not less than three fourths of all the shares of the corporation shall be required to elect an officer, other than the auditor, except as otherwise provided by Article 4. * * * *
“Article 7.
“Sec. 1. The company shall have a Board of Directors which shall consist of all the officers other than the Auditor,*338 and the Board shall have the management, direction and control of all the business of tbe corporation under its Articles of Association and these By-Laws. * * *
“Article 8.
“Treasurer and Manager.
“Sec. 4. (a) The Treasurer and Manager shall perform all duties usually appertaining to the office of Treasurer and Manager and such other duties as are imposed upon him by the Articles of Association and these By-Laws. lie shall, however, in all affairs of importance, consult and be guided by the advice of a majority of the Board of Directors.
(b) The Treasurer and Manager shall give a bond to the Company with two sureties approved by the Board of Directors for the faithful performance of his duties and the delivery to the Company of the property in his care and custody upon his resignation, removal or termination of office in a sum to be fixed by the Board of Directors.” * * *
“Article 11.
“In case of any violation by any officer of these By-Laws the stockholders holding at least a majority of all the shares of the Company shall have the right at a meeting called for the purpose to expel such officer from such office as a punishment for such violation, and to elect some other person to fill said office.”
Several minor contentions on each side will be disposed of first. On behalf of the plaintiff it is urged that none of the by-laws can stand for the reason that the notice of the meeting at which they were adopted was unreasonably short. There was no provision whatever prescribing what notice of meetings should be given. There were previously no by-laws at all. In the absence of a definite provision the notice should be reasonable. It seems that on several occasions during the three weeks preceding the meeting, Mr. Carter, the President, told Mr. Ma-goon, who apparently was supposed to represent Mr. Brown also, that by-laws were being prepared and that he expected to call a meeting soon for their consideration. Mr. Magoon told this to Mr. Brown. The absence first of Mr. Brown and then of Mr. Carter prevented calling a meeting earlier. About one hour’s notice was finally given. All the stockholders were
Another contention for the plaintiff is that Mr. Wilder could not vote by proxy for Mr. Carter when the latter was present and that the latter could not split up his stock so as to vote a part himself and have another part voted by proxy. The presence of the owner of the stock would not prevent its being voted-by proxy. Under the statute, members may “vote either in person or by proxy.” C. L., Sec. 2012. And, even if one could not vote part of his stock in person and part by proxy when held in the same right, he might, as was the case here, vote in person stock held in one capacity, that is, as trustee,, and by proxy stock held in another capacity, that is, in his own. right.
Another contention for the. defendants is that, looking upon :the provisions of the articles now in question as part of a contract between the corporators, it is invalid because the trustee to whom the property was first conveyed in trust could not be authorized by a married woman, one of the grantors, to enter into such a-contract on behalf of the married woman and minor .children. We see no reason why the husband and wife could not join in a trust deed to a third party or why such third party .could not then carry out the trust. Tie could not very well carry it out in part, in so far as it was favorable to the wife and children, and not as to what was unfavorable to them. In so far as the children were concerned, what they got was in the nature of a gift and no objection can be based on their incapacity.
We now come to the main questions — that of the validity of certain of the by-laws in view of the special provisions of the articles of association and that of the appropriate remedy. These are not easy questions and there is upon them very little authority of a satisfactory nature.
It is urged in support of the by-laws, first, that they are not inconsistent with the articles and, secondly, that, if they are inconsistent with the articles, they are nevertheless authorized by .the statute, which, of course, prevails over the articles.
The company was incorporated under the general corporation law by filing articles of association and an affidavit setting
But what is the conclusion from all this? Does it follow that all provisions in the articles other than those required by the statute are null and void, or that a corporation can make by-laws without restriction except as found in the statute? The statute, while it requires the articles to contain certain particulars, does not say that it shall not contain others, and others are constantly inserted in practice, whether properly or not. Should not such provisions avail so long as no 'attempt is made by the corporators to take upon themselves powers not authorized by law? The articles are the fundamental agreement among the corporators and between them and the corporation as well as in the nature of a charter of powers from the Territory. Why should not provisions contained therein other than those required by law but not inconsistent with law have force as parts of a contract between the corporators and even between the corporation and its members though not necessarily between the-Territory and the corporation ? And why should not the cor-porators be permitted to contract as they please so long as they
There is much difference of opinion as to what by-laws a corporation may preclude itself from making or what circumstances do preclude it from making or enforcing particular bylaws and what not? See Boisot, By-laws, Secs. 118-130, and cases there cited. A by-law may stand under certain circumstances or for certain purposes and not under other circumstances or for other purposes. For instance, if under the bylaws of a mutual benefit society a member is entitled to certain benefits upon becoming ill, and the by-laws are amendable, even those courts which hold that the by-laws may be amended after a member becomes ill, so as to reduce his benefits thereafter — on the theory that the liability to amendment is part of the original contract entered into voluntarily by the member — also hold that the amendment cannot affect benefits already 'accrued, which have become a debt to him from the corporation. TIis vested rights cannot be impaired by the exercise of the power to amend, though he agreed upon becoming a member that the by-laws might be amended. So, if the legislature has reserved the power to amend a charter, even those courts rvhich hold that an amendment in a material respect authorized by the legislature might be accepted by the corporation, that is, by a majority of its stock, and against the will of the minority, notwithstanding the original agreement of incorporation for certain named purposes — on the theory that the liability to amendment is part of the original contract entered into voluntarily by all the members — also hold that an obligation entered into by the corporation prior to such amendment cannot be impaired thereby. See Pain v. Soc. St. J. Baptiste, 172 Mass. 319; Durfee v. Old Colony, &c., Co., 5 Allen 230; Lloyd v. Supr. Lodge, 98 Fed. 66; Pepe v. City, &c., Soc., (1893) 2 Ch. 311; Smith v. Galloway, (1898) 1 Q. B. 71. So, although, a corporation may make by-laws with respect to the election or appointment and removal of its officers, it may enter into a contract to engage one to serve it for a fixed period so as to deprive itself of the power by a by-law or otherwise to remove
The corporators may bind themselves by contract in the articles or outside the articles as well as in what they may prefer to call by-laws, as to their methods of dealing with officers. Under certain circumstances it is immaterial whether they call an instrument articles, charter, constitution, contract or bylaws. See Supreme Lodge v. Knight, 117 Ind. 489, 495. In the present case the agreement relied on by the plaintiff was part of the fundamental agreement of the corporators. It was embodied in the preliminary deed to the trustee, to whom the plaintiff conveyed his property on the express understanding that he was to be secured the rights he now claims or some of them. It was also embodied in the articles of association — by the unanimous consent of the original stockholders. It related to matters that were within the scope of the powers of the corporation and its members — the appointment of its officers and the management of its property. No doubt the agreement was one that it would ordinarily be unwise to make and one that ought not to be favored. It was perhaps a hard exaction on the part of the plaintiff, but apparently he was unwilling to surrender his rights in the property except upon that condition, and if the' contract was lawful it cannot be impaired or violated with impunity merely because the defendants find the provisions vexatious. There is a great difference between a fundamental agreement entered into by all at the outset specifying the conditions under which alone the parties consent to embark and a mere by-law made subsequently by a majority vote. A case-like the present in certain respects in Loewenthal v. Rubber R. Co., 52 N. J. Eq. 440. That was a bill to restrain a change in the certificate of organization and by-laws, which a majority of the stockholders proposed to make. Such change was expressly authorized by statute to be made by such majority— apparently in the exercise by the legislature of its reserved power over corporations. The corporation had been formed by the union of five companies engaged in the same class of business, They at the outset unanimously adopted a by-law
Assuming, then, that the articles of association are valid and binding, and that the by-laws are, in part at least, inconsistent with the contract contained in the articles, between the corporation and the plaintiff, and that the corporation cannot with impunity violate it, does it follow that the corporation may not remove the plaintiff from his office or that an injunction should be granted against the enforcement as to him 'of the by-laws in question? One party to a contract cannot impose new terms on the other in the absence of a reserved power to do so. But the contract in this case is not to keep the plaintiff as its treasurer and manager, &c., &c., under all circumstances. He has duties to perform as well as privileges to enjoy. Ordinarily, if an employee violates his contract, the employer is absolved from his obligation and may discharge him, and even when a discharge is made without cause, equity as a rule does not interfere but leaves the complaining party to his remedy at law. And so it is said that corporations may discharge officers for cause and even without cause subject to liability for damages —even when their terms of office are fixed. See 3 Cl. & M., Corp., Secs. 664, 666; 2 Cook, Corp. Sec. 624; 1 Thom., Corp., Sec. 802; and cases there cited. In re Griffing Iron Co., 63 N. J. L. 168, 357. If the corporation or its members could bind itself by contract to retain the plaintiff in office whether
Thus, assuming that the contract between the plaintiff and the corporation or the plaintiff and the other members, contained in the articles, is valid as far as it goes, we must hold at least that the plaintiff is subject to removal, and that, too, without liability on the part of the corporation to damages for breach •of contract, in case he proves unwilling or unable to perform the duties of his office as required on his part by the contract itself, and that equity should not compel the corporation by injunction to retain in office one who will not or cannot perform its duties. To do otherwise would be not only to permit but to compel the corporation to disable itself from fulfilling the purposes for which it was created, to enforce a contract against one party and allow it to be violated by the other and to aid one who comes into equity with unclean hands. How far equity should interfere to see that the corporation, if it should attempt to remove the plaintiff from his office, acts in a legal manner, how far it should go in interfering with the findings of fact or final decision of the stockholders in case they should act in a lawful manner or how far it should go in saying to what extent the terms of the original trust deed may be considered as incorporated in the articles or how far they are binding on the corporation in so far as they are or are not incorporated in the articles, are questions that it seems prem'ature to decide at present. The by-laws have been adopted. No injunction is asked against their adoption. No objection is made to the provisions of many of them. Some at least to which objections are made as to the plaintiff are not objected to as to others. All seem reasonable except in so far as they may interfere with vested rights. The
The decree appealed from is reversed and the case remanded to the Circuit Judge with directions to dismiss the bill and for any other proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CHARLES A. BROWN v. ALFRED W. CARTER, ALFRED W. CARTER, Trustee for Irene Ii Holloway, George Ii Brown and Francis Hyde Brown, IRENE II HOLLOWAY, GEORGE II BROWN, an infant, FRANCIS HYDE BROWN, an infant, and THE JOHN II ESTATE, Limited, a corporation
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published