Burnham v. National Surety Co.

124 Cal. App. 109
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 6, 1932
DocketCiv. No. 936
StatusPublished

This text of 124 Cal. App. 109 (Burnham v. National Surety Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burnham v. National Surety Co., 124 Cal. App. 109 (Cal. Ct. App. 1932).

Opinion

BARNARD, P. J.

George Burnham and Herbert E. Anthony were coexecutors under the will of Willard Whitney, who died about January 1, 1923, leaving a large estate. In due course, the estate was distributed in accordance with the terms of the will to Burnham and Anthony, as trustees. Each of said trustees gave a separate bond for the faithful discharge of his duties in the sum of $188,000, each bond being executed by the National Surety Company, as surety. During the lifetime of Whitney, both Burnham and Anthony had assisted him in looking after his affairs and properties, Burnham looking after the management of his real properties and Anthony attending to other matters. After the death of Whitney this arrangement seems to have been largely continued, Burnham managing and selling the real properties and turning the proceeds over to Anthony for deposit in the bank account kept by the trustees, and Anthony handling the other securities. Prior to the death of Whitney, Anthony was vice-president and general manager of the Merchants National Bank, in which Whitney kept his bank deposit and in which he deposited his securities: The executors and trustees continued to use this bank and its successors, as such depositary. Anthony was manager of this bank until 1924, when it was taken over by the Bank of Italy and operated as a separate branch, with him as vice-president and manager, until November, 1929, when that branch was consolidated into the main San Diego office of the Bank of Italy. Burnham was vice-[112]*112president and employee of the Southern Trust & Commerce Bank of San Diego up to 1927, when this bank was taken over by the Bank of Italy and conducted as a separate branch, and thereafter remained with that bank until it also was consolidated into the main office of the Bank of Italy in San Diego in November, 1929, after which he continued as a vice-president and employee of this consolidated bank.

Between 1925 and 1929 Burnham and Anthony filed with the court five joint accounts as trustees of this estate, which accounts were respectively approved by the court. The last of these was filed on August 5, 1929. Shortly after consolidation of these two branches of the Bank of Italy, about November 23, 1929, it was discovered that while manager of the Merchants National Bank, both before and after it was taken over by the Bank of Italy, Anthony had committed heavy defalcations from that bank. Upon the advice of his attorney, Burnham immediately employed a firm of accountants to make a complete audit of the affairs of the estate and of the trust estate, from the death of Whitney, for the purpose of finding out whether or not Anthony had misused any of the estate funds. Prior to that time Burn-ham had had no suspicion as to any lack of integrity upon the part of Anthony. This audit revealed that there was an actual cash shortage in the amount reported as being on deposit in Anthony’s bank at the time the estate was distributed to the trustees, and also at the time each subsequent report was filed and approved by the court. It also revealed that Anthony had collected certain sums without depositing them in the bank account of the estate, and that he had also furnished the information for reports to the court showing that he had received certain sums as interest and dividends which he had not received, due to the fact that he had sold' and appropriated the proceeds of the corresponding securities. The audit showed an aggregate shortage in the estate of $36,851.70. On receiving this audit ■ Burnham obtained an order of the court suspending Anthony from his trusteeship. Subsequently he filed his separate sixth account and obtained a citation for Anthony to make his separate report on that account. Such an account was filed by Anthony, which confirmed and admitted every item of his misappropriations as revealed by the audit and as [113]*113shown by Burnham’s sixth account. All interested parties were represented at the hearing of these accounts and on March 25, 1930, the accounts were approved by the court and the decree and order approving the same was accepted' by all parties and has become final. At the same time, Anthony was removed as a trustee of said estate and the Security Trust and Savings Bank of San Diego was appointed as one of said trustees, in his place. Shortly thereafter, the Bank of America, formerly the Bank of Italy, paid into the trust estate the sum of $24,828.72, which represented that portion of the shortage of Anthony in the trust funds which occurred through Anthony’s manipulation of the books of the bank. About the same time, the National Surety Company paid into the trust estate $13,518.39, covering those portions of Anthony’s existing shortage not covered by the first item referred to. Both of these items included interest as found due by the court in the order settling the sixth account.

By the will of Whitney both Burnham and Anthony were given a certain interest in the estate as recompense for their services as executors and as trustees. On December 31, 1929, Anthony assigned to the Bank of Italy his said interest in the estate and on April 4, 1930, this interest was assigned by the Bank of Italy to the National Surety Company, notice of these assignments being filed in the estate. On April 28, 1930, Burnham and the Security Trust and Savings Bank, as cotrustees, filed in the superior court a seventh account and report with a petition for partial distribution. On May 21, 1930, the National Surety Company filed a petition asking to be subrogated' to the right of Burnham in and to the share of the estate given to him in the will of Whitney as compensation for his services as executor and trustee, to the extent of one-half of the $13,518.39 it had paid following the order of the court approving and settling the sixth account. After answers filed, the account and' petitions were heard together. In addition to the other facts stated, evidence was received to the effect that Burnham had made no effort to audit or verify the figures furnished him by Anthony and set forth in the several accounts previously filed' by the trustees or to familiarize himself with the records kept by Anthony, other than in a general way; that during the [114]*114period of the trusteeship he had never obtained from the bank in which the funds were deposited and of which Anthony was manager, a statement in connection with the account of the trust estate; that he had not examined the boobs of that bank in reference to that account; that as the various accounts were filed, Anthony gave to Burnham canceled checks evidencing the disbursements set forth therein, which checks were filed in court with the accounts; and that while these checks were serially numbered, some of the numbers were missing, in which cases Anthony had noted on the corresponding check stub an explanation therefor. The court filed its decision on September 25, 1930, and a supplemental decree settling the seventh account and ordering partial distribution on October 2, 1930: From various portions of this order and decree separate appeals have been taken .by Burnham as trustee and individually, and by the National Surety Company, respectively.

The first point, raised by the National Surety Company, is that the court erred in denying its petition for subrogation as to the .beneficial interest of Burnham in the trust estate, to the extent of the amount of the payment claimed to have been made by them upon his bond and in his behalf. In this connection, it will be remembered that this company is the surety both on the bond of Burnham and on the bond of Anthony.

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Bluebook (online)
124 Cal. App. 109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burnham-v-national-surety-co-calctapp-1932.