Charouhas v. Puritan Candy Co.
Charouhas v. Puritan Candy Co.
Opinion of the Court
— The Puritan Candy Company was organized as a corporation in this state in February, 1919, with a capital stock of $25,000, all of which was
About that same time, the certificates of stock held by the old subscribers were canceled and in their steads new certificates were issued and delivered to
This action was then brought by the plaintiff in his own behalf and as assignee of seven others similarly situated to recover as creditors of the corporation to the amount of their paid up subscriptions, and also to recover against the defendants Demakis and Maravias, trustees of the corporation before the increase of the capital stock, on the ground of fraud, in that it was falsely represented to them, at the time they made .their subscriptions and payments, that the capital stock had already been increased, and that they relied on such misrepresentations. It was further alleged in the complaint that the corporation was insolvent, and upon that ground the plaintiffs asked for and procured the appointment of a receiver. Upon the complaint, the answers of the defendants, the complaint in intervention of the receiver, and the replies to the answers, the trial resulted in findings, conclusions and judgment against the plaintiff, from which he has appealed.
There can be no question hardly that, at the time the appellant and his assignors signed written subscriptions, they knew the capital stock of the corporation
As a suit against the corporation, the appellants are in the position of seeking a judgment that will still further reduce the assets of a corporation, allowed to become insolvent under their management as stockholders and trustees, as against the rights of those creditors happening in the course of that management. This they will not be permitted to do. The complaint alleges insolvency of the corporation. The proof shows its assets are insufficient to pay twenty cents on the dollar to the creditors. It is unimportant whether or not the stock was irregularly issued before the filing of the amended articles. The corporation was acting 'as a de facto one as to its incréaSM""SapiHI^stock, ]through the very persons who incurred obligations to ^creditors that cannot be paid.
Nor is the appellant entitled to recover against the respondents Demakis and Maravias, who, as found by . the trial court, acted in good faith and who represented, not as alleged in the complaint that the capital stock had been increased, but that it would be increased, which was according to the very terms of the written applications of the new subscribers. At the time the money of the new subscribers was received, Demakis and Maravias were of the opinion that the amended articles had been filed, to the same extent that the appellant and his assignors, for the long period of more than a year while they were stockholders and a majority of the board of trustees, continued to believe the same thing. There was no misrepresentation of an existing fact, only what was intended by all the parties should be done in the future was by oversight omitted to be done, and that without
Being satisfied that the judgment is right, it is affirmed.
Main, C. J., Holcomb, Bridges, and Mackintosh, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.