Ouachita National Bank v. Julius Weiss & Co.
Ouachita National Bank v. Julius Weiss & Co.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The plaintiff claims to have advanced J. W. Parks, a planter in the parish of Ouachita, to enable to make his crop of 1894; that one hundred and twenty-five bales of cotton, part of the crop, was shipped to defendants for the purpose of paying plaintiff, to whom the shipper transferred the bill of lading and gave an order on defendants for the cotton; on the refusal of defendants to deliver, the plaintiff sued for the cotton or its proceeds, to the extent of the amount advanced. The defendants’ answer avers that they have the factor’s lien on the cotton to pay one-half the indebtedness of the planting firm of which the shipper was a member;, and the answer avers the tender to plaintiff of the surplus of the pro
The firm of Lee & Parks were indebted to defendants for advances in the year 1894. J. W. Parks, the shipper of the one hundred and twenty-five bales, and a member of that firm, when the debt of his firm to defendants had reached a certain amount, obtained from defendants for his firm a further advance. He executed a paper stipulating that two hundred bales should be shipped defendants in addition to four hundred bales of cotton his firm had agreed to ship them. Lee & Parks did ship four hundred and ten bales, and Parks made two shipments of two hundred bales of his cotton, of which the one hundred and twenty-five bales form part. After crediting the proceeds of all the cotton shipped by Lee & Parks and half the proceeds of that shipped by Parks, there still remains a large debt due them by Lee & Parks.
The plaintiff, the Ouachita National Bank, in support of their claim to the proceeds of the one hundred and twenty-five bales, have proved the loan to Parks by the bank of three thousand dollars, and we think it was the understanding the bank was to be paid from Parks’ crop of 1894. We do not understand the bank claims any lien arising from this loan. The one hundred and twenty-five bales were shipped to defendants with no instructions, under a bill of lading stating Parks was the shipper and exhibiting the shipping marks of his firm, L. & P. But after the shipment, the bank reminded him of his debt, and he then sent the triplicate bill of lading and the order on defendants for the delivery. The order is dated 13bh March, 1895, more than thirty days after the cotton came into defendants’ hands. The bank stands before us with such right as the order and accompanying bill of lading can give, andas we appreciate the argument it seeks to maintain, the cotton came into defendants’ hands charged with the payment of the bank’s debt. The bank produces 'the testimony of Parks that he owed the bank nothing individually, that the shipment was not to pay his firm debt, but to pay the bank, and he testifies the bank knew it. The bank also offered the testimony of Lee that at defendant’s instance he solicited the shipment to them of Parks’ cotton, to enable them to make commissions, and that at defendants’ request he asked Parks after ;the shipment to consent to the application of his cotton to payment of his firm’s pebt, which he refused.
The appropriation by the shipper of the property or its proceeds to pay the debt he indicates made known to the consignee, who assents to such appropriation expressly or by receiving the consignment under the instructions as to its disposition, precludes the consignee from asserting any claim to defeat the purpose of the consignment. The decision in 43 An., p. 1, Bank vs. Mayer & Co., cited by plaintiff, is a type of others affirming this species of dedication of property shipped. If the paper signed by Parks stipulating for the shipment of two hundred bales is to have the force claimed for it by defendants, and if the other testimony offered by them is to be accepted, they had the right to. apply the cotton to pay their debt. Their entire conduct evinces insistence on that right. We have the statement from plaintiff’s witness, Lee, the cotton was not shippedto pay the debt of Lee & Parks. It was Parks, not Lee, that made the shipment, and the witness’ statement
The plaintiff denies that defendants had any privilege. If that contention can be maintained the order of the shipper must prevail. The statutes and the Code gave the factor the privilege on the property consigned to him for the payment of the debt of the consignor; the statutes from the date the bill of lading is placed in the mail or in the hands of the carrier; the Code when the consignment is received. Acts 1874, 1882, Nos. —; Art. 3247, C. O. Giving due weight to the testimony of Lee that the cotton was not shipped to pay the debt to defendant, it remains he was not the shipper, nor does he testify to any"communication to defendants of the purpose of the shipment, nor does he undertake to give testimony of the negotiation of Parks with defendants when he obtained the loan from the defendants for his firm and executed the paper for the shipment of two hundred bales, on which defendants rely. It is true Lee also testifies to the refusal of Parks to assent to the application of his cotton to pay the firm’s debt. This was after the shipment. If defendants had the right to make that application his refusal of
It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that the judgmen' of the lower court be avoided and reversed, and it is now ordered, adjudged and decreed that the defendants be decreed to have a privilege as factors on the one hundred and twenty-five bales of cotton, or the proceeds, to pay one-half the indebtedness of Lee & Parks ($2914.63), two thousand nine hundred and fourteen dollars and sixty-three cents, the surplus of the proceeds to be paid to plaintiff, and the prayer for damages by the defendants be rejected and that plaintiff pay costs.
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