Butler v. Cockrill

73 F. 945, 20 C.C.A. 122, 1896 U.S. App. LEXIS 1862
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedApril 13, 1896
DocketNos. 682, 683
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 73 F. 945 (Butler v. Cockrill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Butler v. Cockrill, 73 F. 945, 20 C.C.A. 122, 1896 U.S. App. LEXIS 1862 (8th Cir. 1896).

Opinion

SANBORN, Circuit Judge.

These controversies arise over the distribution of the proceeds of some cotton mills in the city of Little Rock and the lands on which they stood, which were sold under an agreement by all the parties to the original suit that the money derived from the sale should be paid into the court below and should stand in the place of the real estate. In a suit brought in that court, before the sale of the property, by Sterling R. Cockrill, as receiver of the First National Bank of Little Rock, Ark., the appellee, [947]*947against the appellants in these cases, and against all parties interested in this property, a decree was rendered that the receiver was entitled to recover all the proceeds of this sale, for the benefit of all the creditors of the First National Bank. The Old National Bank of Grand Rapids, Mich., and the Southern National Bank of New York, joined in one appeal from this decree, and E. J. Butler, as trustee in a certain trust deed of the property, and those who held the notes described in that deed, joined in the other appeal. The question is, to which of these parties do the proceeds of the sale of this real estate belong?

On February 3,1893, the First National Bank of Little Rock, Ark., was insolvent, and the comptroller of the currency appointed a receiver of its property, who took possession of and has since been administering it. The legal title to the real estate, the proceeds of which are here in question, was then in the Little Rock Cotton Mills, a corporation which was organized on May 19, 1891. That corporation had taken possession of this property in the summer of 1891, had borrowed $23,000 of the First National Bank, which it had used to buy new machinery for, to make repairs upon, and to operate the mills, and had given its promissory notes to that, bank for this money. These notes were unpaid. The First National Bank held two of them, which amount to $8,000. It had negotiated two of them, which amount to $11,000, for value and before maturity', to the Southern National Bank of New York; and it had negotiated one of them, which was for $4,000. for value and before maturity, to the Old National Bank of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Little Rock Cotton Mills was insolvent. It had no property but the real estate, the proceeds of which are here in question, and it owed no debts but the $23,000, evidenced by these ñores. The receiver of the First National Bank, soon after Ms appointment, took possession of these mills and this property of the cotton mills, and held it as such receiver until it was sold by the order of the court.

The property of an insolvent corporation consíiíules a trust fund, pledged to (he payment of all its debts, equally and ratably. Graham v. Railroad Co., 102 U. S. 148, 161; Railway Co. v. Ham, 114 U. S. 587, 594, 5 Sup. Ct. 1081; Richardson v. Green, 133 U. S. 30, 41, 10 Sup. Ct. 280. In view of this principle, there can be no doubt, under the state of facts which we have recited, that the proceeds of (lie property of the cotton mills ought to be distributed pro rata among the three banks, which hold these notes and are its only creditors. The receiver of the First National Bank, however, seeks to escape from the. effect of this principle, and to recover the entire proceeds of this property, by virtue of these additional facts:

Prior to June 29, 1889, this property belonged to another insolvent corporation, which conveyed it to P. K. Roots and Oscar Davis, in trust, for the First National Bank and the German National Bank, in satisfaction of debts owed co them. This property Avas silent and unproductive. The president, the cashier, and the directors of the First National Bank decided to organize the Little Rock Cotton Mills, to have this property conveyed to that corporation, to have that corporation operate the mills, and then to sell them for the highest [948]*948price it could obtain. Tbe purpose of this plan was to make tbe mill property more salable by putting it into operation, and thus to enable tbe bank to realize a larger amount for it; and tbe reason for putting tbe title to it in tbe Little Bock Cotton Mills was evidently to have a corporation that could make bills receivable that could be discounted on tbe credit of tbis property, and to have a. corporation to carry on a business wbicb, under its charter, tbe bank might not be able' lawfully to conduct. Tbe bank bad eleven directors. Six of them joined with one Greer and incorporated tbe Little Bock Cotton .Mills on May 19, 1891. They made four of their number members of its board of directors, wbicb consisted of seven. They chose one 'of their number president of that corporation, and these officers remained such, and conducted tbe affairs of tbe cotton mills, until tbis suit was commenced. They filed a certificate in tbe office of tbe secretary of tbe state of Arkansas, that each of them held 20 shares of $25 each of tbe capital stock of that corporation, that $5,000 of its capital stock bad been actually paid in by tbe subscribers, and that one Eobert Greer bad subscribed for 200 shares. When this bad been done, H. G. Allis was president of tbe First National Bank, and H. G. Allis, N. Kupferle, Gus Blass, M. G. Hall, William Farrell, Mark M. Cohn, Logan H. Boots, W. H. Haliburton, George H. Sanders, and G. M. Taylor were its directors, and George H. Sanders was its counsel. N. Kupferle was president of tbe Little Eock Cotton Mills, and H. G. Allis, N. Kupferle, M. G. Hall, Mark M. Cohn, Eobert Greer, E. J. Butler, and George B; Brown were its directors. Before these directors of tbe First National Bank subscribed for their shares of tbe capital stock of tbe cotton mills, they, as president and directors of tbe bank, agreed with themselves as individuals that those of tbe directors and stockholders of that bank who subscribed and paid for stock in tbe cotton mills should be first repaid the amounts they paid for the stock, out of tbe proceeds of tbe sale of tbe mills when made; but they did not make tbis agreement with Eobert Greer, who subscribed for 200 shares. Pursuant to this contract, H. G. Allis, N. Kupferle, Gus Blass, M. G. Hall, William Farrell, Mark M. Cohn, George E. Brown; and E. J. Butler each subscribed for 20 shares of tbe stock of the cotton mills, and each paid or promised to pay $500 therefor. About May 25, 1891, tbe First National Bank bought tbe interest of tbe German National Bank in tbe property in question, and the latter bank authorized its president and Oscar Davis, its cashier, to convey it. Thereupon, on tbe request of tbe president of tbe First National Bank, and with tbe knowledge and consent of all its directors and officers, Oscar Davis and P. K. Boots conveyed tbe real estate in question to tbe Little Eock Cotton Mills, by deed dated May 25, 1891, which recited that they held tbe property in trust for tbe two banks, and that tbe conveyance was “executed by their directors, and at their request, and for their benefit.” Tbe several notes of tbe Little Eock Cotton Mills, which evidence its indebtedness for tbe $23,000, were made more than a year after tbis deed bad been recorded, and in tbe months of June and October, 1892. No record of tbe passage of any resolution by tbe board of directors of the [949]*949bank, authorizing their trustees, Davis and Boots, to make the deed to the cotton mills, was produced at the trial, but several of the directors testified that such, a resolution was passed.

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Bluebook (online)
73 F. 945, 20 C.C.A. 122, 1896 U.S. App. LEXIS 1862, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/butler-v-cockrill-ca8-1896.