McWaid v. Blair State Bank
McWaid v. Blair State Bank
Opinion of the Court
It appears that Daniel W. Archer was, and had been during some considerable time prior to April, 1894, the owner of lots 4 to 15, inclusive, in block 51, in Blair, Washington county, and had thereon a canning factory fitted with-the necessary machinery and apparatus, and which he as owner had been operating. . During the course of the business he had become indebted to various persons and firms and ivas probably unable to meet his indebtedness. The plaintiff in this action, in one against D. W. Archer in a court of Iowa, recovered a judgment for about $11,000. Suits by creditors of Daniel W. Archer had been instituted in the court in Washington county, in which writs of attachment had been procured to issue and which had been levied on the factory property and were prosecuted to judgment, and sale of the property had, at which it was purchased by Joseph Jackson, of defendants herein, and the title ivas conveyed to him by the sheriff. The sale ivas of date April 14, 1894, and soon thereafter there was formed a corporation, “The Blair Canning Company,” to which the factory property was conveyed by Joseph Jackson on July 7, 1894, which . was the date of the first meeting of the stockholders of the company. Officers were elected, of whom E. S. Gay-lord, the vice-president, was one of the directors of the Blair State Bank and Mr. Kenny, one of the stockholders of the corporation, was a director and also president of the Blair State Bank. The company immediately en
The foregoing are some of the main facts and occurrences upon which are predicated the asserted rights of
It is undisputed that Joseph Jackson, when he-became the purchaser of the factory property at the sale by the sheriff, and in his subsequent actions relative to it and its title, did not do so for himself but for another person, for whom he was trustee. The plaintiffs assert that Jackson was in all he did trustee for Daniel W. Archer, who secured all that was done- to be done that he- might thus cover up his property and keep it from his creditors, and particularly the plaintiffs; and further, that the Blair State Bank had full cognizance of. the existent facts and circumstances of the purchase by Jackson and his trusteeship when it loaned the money to the canning factory and took as security for its payment a mortgage on the factory property, which being true, its lien thus created would be subject and inferior to that of creditors of Daniel W. Archer. Joseph Jackson testified on this subject that he acted in all that he did for J. L. Archer, a brother of Daniel W. Archer; that lie was informed and believed that the money Avitli which he paid for the property at the time of the sale Avas furnished by J. L. Archer, and he did not hear differently or lmve information of any other nature until the deposition of J. L. Archer, in Avhich appeared statements to the contrary, Avas. taken and filed for use in this suit. The bank, through its officers, did know that Joseph Jackson had purchased the property, held the title, and conveyed it to the company for some person other than himself, and when they made inquiries, wrere informed that it was for J. L. Archer. When the-corporation, the canning company, Avas organized, about two hundred shares of the stock — all of it except five or six shares — Avas issued to J. L. Archer in consideration, Jackson states, as he and the parties were informed and fully understood at the time, for the factory property, the title to which Avas then passed to the company. After a full examination of all the evidence Avhich bears upon
The contract of August 9, 1895, was in part as follows:
“This agreement, made and entered into this 9th day of August, 1895, by and between J. L. Archer, of Chicago, Illinois, D. W. Archer, Job A. McWaid, and Samuel F. Martin, partners under the name of McWaid & Martin, the Blair Canning Company, and the Blair State Bank, witnesseth, as follows:
“Whereas, certain litigation now pending, wherein the said Job A. McWaid and Samuel F. Martin are plaintiffs, and the other parties hereto are among the defendants of said action, the object of which litigation upon the part of the plaintiffs being, among other things, to subject the plant of the Blair Canning Company, of Blair, Nebraska, to the payment of the judgment in favor of said plaintiffs and against said D. W. Archer, and for other relief, and it being deemed advisable and to the best interest of all parties that the said canning factory now controlled by the" defendant the Blair Canning Company shall be operated for the purpose of packing the product for the year 1895, and it being necessary to procure money for that purpose, that the same may be safely done it is agreed as follows:
“1st. It is agreed that there shall be no further proceedings of any kind or nature whatever by the said Mc-Waid & Martin against the said defendants for the en.forceinent of their said judgment during the packing season of 1895, and that all such proceedings shall be suspended so that there shall be no interference Avith the said canning company in the operation of said factory for the year 1895, and until said pack shall be disposed of, or*623 with the product of said factory; that the said canning company may, without molestation on the-part of the said McWaid & Martin, procure the necessary money and proceed at once to fulfill its contracts with the farmers and others in the purchase of corn, may make said pack, and may pledge said pack as security for any money so borrowed, „ and the said product may, if so agreed by said canning company, be held as the property of the said Blair State Bank, or other persons furnishing such money, until the expenses incident to the making of said pack and marketing the same, together with debts now existing upon said plant and owing by said canning coinpany, shall be fully paid; and it is agreed that any surplus arising from said pack for the year 1895 above the expenses incident to packing and marketing the same and payment of debts existing against the defendant Blair Canning Company shall be paid over to the said McWaid & Martin, i t being the intention of this agreement that all debts now existing against said company or said plant and all expenses which shall be necessarily incurred in the purchasing of corn or other material and making the pack for the year 1895, shall first be paid, including necessary expenditures for salaries and help, and the surplus, if any there be, turned over to the said McWaid & Martin. It is further agreed that the indebtedness from the Blair Canning Company to the Blair State Bank at the close of the business season of 1895 shall not exceed the sum of $7,612.48, and that said indebtedness shall be diminished or cut down or wholly paid off by the profits of the present year, or to the extent that said profits will extend for that purpose; and it is agreed that as fast as said indebtedness shall be paid any liens or incumbrances as disclosed by the public records shall be canceled. * * *
“It is further agreed that the said J. L. Archer and D. W. Archer shall, within five days from the date’hereof, cause the stock of the said Blair Canning Company to be delivered to said McWaid & Martin, to be by them held as collateral security to their certain judgment against*624 tjie said D. W. Archer, subject, however*, to redemption whenever the said judgment shall be satisfied, or until this agreement shall be modified by mutual agreement between the parties. It being understood that the defendant Blair Canning Company shall be and remain in full and complete possession of said plant for the purpose of securing, packing, and selling the product of 1895, including such portion thereof as has been already packed and until such pack shall be marketed; that they shall conduct said business economically and faithfully, and for the best interests of all parties concerned, and make the best disposition of said goods obtainable, and that all parties shall in good faith carry out this agreement. To all of which the parties acknowledge themselves mutually bound, this 9th day of August, 1895.”
It is contended for appellees that this agreement recognized the priority of the mortgage of the bank over the judgment of the plaintiffs, and stipulated that the “pack” of 1895 should be sold and the proceeds appropriated to the payment of the claims of the bank, and if not sufficient, then the “ifiant,” as the factory was termed, should be sold and the proceeds, to the extent necessary, be taken by the bank, and the surplus, if any, be paid to plaintiffs. The contract to which wre have referred will not bear any such construction. We think in its clear intent it dealt with the pack and its disposition and the proceeds, to whom they should go, and left the question of the liens on the “plant” and their priority to be litigated when by the lapse of time this suit should again be entitled to progress.
It is insisted for appellants that at the time of a conference of the parties prior and preliminary to the agreement of August 9, 1895, at which the terms wei*e mainly spoken of and settled, the bank, by one of its officers, as a basis for the figures Avhich were then made relative to the financial condition of the canning company, stated that its total indebtedness to the bank then was $7,642.48; that said statement, and the belief in its correctness, was
It appears that the bank purchased a large number of cases of canned corn and peas for a total consideration of $6,313.64, or probably $5,842.30. This transaction is attacked by the appellants on the ground that the prices agreed upon between the canning company and the bank were too small, and it is urged that the bank should be charged with a larger sum. Here it must be said that there was ample evidence to sustain the finding of the district court that the agreed prices were fair and the transaction one which merited approval. The evidence discloses that Daniél W. Archer had contracted with a number of firms and dealers to sell them canned goods, and it is claimed for appellants, and it was shown in evidence, that he stated on August 9, 1895, that he would turn these contracts -or orders over to the canning company, which promise, the plaintiffs now say, was one of the matters by which they were induced to make the agreement of August 9, 1895, and it is contended that the bank loaned the company $1,090, which was paid to Archer as commissions for obtaining these orders; that this should not have been done and the amount should now be charged herein against the canning company and the bank. Archer did say on August 9, 1895, that he would give to the company the contracts or orders for canned goods which he had personally taken. This he afterwards refused to do unless paid the sum of $1,090, and after several attempts to have him keep his promise, also to take a less sum, it was developed that, all the facts and circumstances considered, probably the best
Some exhibits were omitted from the bill of exceptions as settled and allowed by the trial judge. That this was true and that thereby the bill was rendered ineffective was urged in the brief filed for appellees. Appellants were allowed on motion to withdraw the bill for presentation to the district judge for amendment. The matter ivas heard before him and the amendment allowed. From the order of allowance an appeal was taken to this court. Our examination of the record in this appeal convinces us that while some of the facts differ from those in a somewhat similar appeal in the case of Brennan-Love Co. v. McIntosh, 56 Neb. 140, the rule therein announced is governable herein, from which it follows that the order of allowance of the amendment will be affirmed;
The decree, with the modification as to the amount hereinbefore indicated, is affirmed.
Modified.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.