Levering v. Norvell
Levering v. Norvell
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The firm of Norvell, Boone & Co. was composed of L. C. Norvell, O. C. Boone and Wm. McKeon, and was engaged in business of cotton factors and commission merchants at Memphis. In the early part of the year 1860, they were largely indebted; these debts were principally drafts or bills drawn by them on other parties and accepted in anticipation of cotton to be shipped by them, and consequently fluctuated in amount from time to time. On the 30th of March, 1860, Wm. McKeon, one of the partners, made a voluntary conveyance for the benefit of his wife and children, of. a number of separate pieces of real estate in and near Memphis, some slaves and personal property. The firm was dissolved in less than a year afterwards, leaving a large amount of indebtedness unprovided for. The present bills were filed to set aside the deed of Wm. McKeon, and subject the property therein conveyed to the payment of the debts. The complainants in one of the bills are M. B. Brady & Co., who were merchants and factors at New Orleans; they claim a debt of from $12,000 to $14,000, with interest, a balance of a much larger debt. They were creditors of Norvell, Bóone & Co. at the time the deed in question was made. The debts of the other parties, as well as those who came in by petition, were contracted afterwards. ;
The debts of Norvell, Boone & Co. on the 30th March, 1860, the date of McKeon’s deed, amounted, according to the proof, to $40,000, and it is very
The question is, whether the deed of -McKeon for the use of his wife and children, was in fraud of Brady & Co.
It appears that McKeon was considered the solvent man of his firm, on account principally of the real estate he owned in and about Memphis, worth at the time from $60,000 to $100,000. The property of the other members of the firm was not large. Brady, who was a brother-in-law of McKeon, gave credit to the firm alone on the latter’s account. The record contains a letter from McKeon to Brady, dated 16th February, 1860, which shows that it was in reply to a letter of the 8th from Brady to McKeon, in which Brady had cautioned McKeon against his partners, Norvell and Boone, expressing the opinion that they were wanting in integrity, and also warning McKeon that his 'house was in danger. In reply, McKeon expresses his gratitude not only for the warning, but
It is argued in behalf of the defendants that nearly if not quite the entire debt of Brady & Co., in existence at the date of the deed in question, was after-wards paid, and that all or nearly all of the debt evidenced by the note of the 8th June, was contracted after the date and registration of the conveyance and with ’actual knowledge of its existence. It appears that in the account of Brady & Co., upon which the settlement of the 8th of June was made, there were charges for four bills or drafts drawn by Norvell, Boone & Co. and accepted by Brady & Co.; two payable in October and two payable in November, 1860;
There is some uncertainty as to when ■ these four bills were accepted by Brady. Boone testifies that they were accepted on the 8th June, the day of the settlement, and made for Brady’s accommodation and to enable him to raise money upon them; but he fully disproves this in the subsequent part of his testimony.
It appears that Norvell, Boone & Co. purchased twenty-six slaves in South Carolina and paid for them in part with two of the above acceptances of Brady & Co., amounting to $18,000.00, and the balance with the acceptances of another firm, Richard Nugent & Co. They resold the slaves on the 14th May, 1860. Boone proves that he thinks they had them on hand about two months. This would fix the date of the purchase of the slaves as early as the 14th March, which was before the deed in question was made; ait any rate, it appears from the books of Norvell, Boone & Co., that two of the four acceptances referred to were used before the 3d of May, in paying for the slaves. The other two drafts, from their numbers, appear to have been drawn before or at the same time; so it
It is said, however, that the registration of the ■deed is conclusive notice that the creditors are pre
Under these circumstances we hold that McKeon’s voluntary conveyance is evidence of fraud in fact, and that the registration of the deed does not alter the. case. Brady, relied upon McKeon’s word as to his purpose not to convey his property. We are satisfied that McKeon had himself become alarmed in regard to his firm, probably in fact on account of the warning of Brady, and he made this conveyance with a view to save his individual property in the event the firm failed.
It is not insisted that McKeon retained at the time of making this deed any individual property, unless it be some swamp or wild lands in Mississippi. The answer admits that the deed conveyed all or nearly all of his real estate. The grants for these Mississippi lands are afterwards found and filed as evidence, but there is no satisfactory proof that Mc-Kean still remained the owner thereof; but it is earnestly argued that the firm of Korvell, Boone & Co. was solvent and had ample assets to pay its debts. The nominal value of the assets was about $90,000, consisting principally in bills and accounts payable, but we think the proof does not show that these assets were available to creditors. It does not appear
The fact that a large part of these debts were subsequently paid does not rebut the evidence of the fraud. Of course where a debtor, subsequent to his voluntary deed, pays all his debts, this rebuts the evidence of a fraudulent purpose alone from the voluntary conveyance. We have, no doubt that McKeon intended to allow all the resources of his firm to go in payment of the debts; if they were thus satisfied it was all well, but if not, his purpose was to save his individual estate from the creditors. The payments made to Brady after the 8 th June, as well as some payments made to other parties, were made by Nor veil, Boone & Co. shipping goods to them to be sold or credited on the debts. These goods were bought in the summer and fall of 1866, in the northern and eastern cities, and the debts created by these purchases are the debts claimed by the complainants in the first named case of Levering & Co. and others, who came
The decree of the chancellor will be reversed, the deed in question declared void as to the creditors, and the cause referred to the clerk for an account o the debts.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.