Chater ex rel. Chater v. Carter

22 Haw. 34, 1914 Haw. LEXIS 35
CourtHawaii Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 6, 1914
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 22 Haw. 34 (Chater ex rel. Chater v. Carter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chater ex rel. Chater v. Carter, 22 Haw. 34, 1914 Haw. LEXIS 35 (haw 1914).

Opinion

OPINION OP THE COURT BY

ROBERTSON, C.J.

This is an appeal from a decree dismissing a bill in equity for an accounting for certain shares of the capital stock of the Hawaiian Sugar Company, a corporation, and the dividends declared thereon since August, 1909, with interest. In the court below the parties agreed upon the facts, their stipulation, as amended in this court, reading as follows:

“Alfred S. Hartwell died in Honolulu on the 30th day of August, 1912, leaving a will, duly proved in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, Territory of Hawaii, on the 15th day of [36]*36October, 1912. Tbe defendant Alfred W. Carter was appointed executor in said will and qualified and is now acting as such. Charles A. Hartwell, also appointed, did not qualify. The deceased was from 1868 to 1874 a judge of the Supreme Court of Hawaii, from 1874 to 1904 one of the leading attorneys in-Hawaii, and from 1904 to 1907 a judge, and from 1907 to 1911 chief justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. He was the father of seven daughters all of whom except Charlotte Lee Hartwell Ohater now survive, to-wit, the five named in the instrument dated March 27, 1909, attached to the complaint herein and marked ‘Exhibit A,’ namely: Charlotte Lee Hart-well Ohater, Mabel R. Hartwell, Dorothy Hartwell, Bernice Hartwell and Juliette Hartwell, ‘Lottie Lee,’ named in said instrument Exhibit ‘A,’ being Charlotte Lee Hartwell Chater, and ‘Mabel,’ being Mabel R. Hartwell, and also Madeline Hart-well Judd and Edith Hartwell Carter, the latter being then and now the wife of Alfred W. Carter, defendant. Charlotte Lee Hartwell Chater had been married to the complainant, Charles H. Chater, shortly before the date of said instrument, to-wit, on July 15, 1908, and was then on March 27, 1909, of the age of thirty-two years and without children. The daughters named in said instrument other than said Charlotte and Mabel, were at that time unmarried. All the daughters were of age. Mabel had children, who still survive.
“Charlotte Lee Hartwell Chater died in Natick, in the County of Middlesex, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where she had been residing with her husband, Charles H. Chater, on. the 3rd day of September, 1909, in childbirth, intestate, leaving the complainants, her husband, Charles H. Chater, and one child, ¡the complainant, Charles Hartwell Chater, who was born on-August 30, 1909; thereafterwards, on the 15th day of November, 1909, the Probate Court of the County of Middlesex duly appointed the complainant, Charles H. Chater, administrator of the estate of said Charlotte Lee Hartwell Ohater, and issued letters to him, and he duly qualified as such and is now acting; and said Probate Court, on the 17th day of December, 1909, duly appointed said Charles H. Chater guardian of the person and estate of the complainant, Ch&rles Hartwell Ohater, and issued letters of guardianship to said Charles H. Chater, ■who qualified and is now guardian of said Charles Hartwell Ohater.
[37]*37“The Hawaiian Sitgar Company is and was at all times hereinafter named a corporation existing under the laws of the Territory of Hawaii, having its usual place of business in Honolulu, in said Territory..
“Said Alfred S. Hartwell, being a man of ample means and the owner of a large number of shares in the Hawaiian Sugar Company, on the 27th day of March, 1909, transferred to the name of Alfred W. Carter, as trustee for Charlotte Lee Hartwell Chater 585 of such shares and caused a certificate to be issued to the said Alfred W. Carter as trustee for Charlotte Lee Hart-well Chater for said 585 shares, and delivered said certificate to said Alfred W. Carter, Trustee, and, at the same time, executed and delivered a declaration of trust, as follows:
“Honolulu, T. H., March 27, 1909.
“Mr. Alfred W. Carter,
“City.
“Dear Alfred:—
“I enclose certificate in your name as trustee for Juliette for 415 shares and another certificate in your name as trustee for Dorothy for 420 shares, another in your name as .trustee for Lottie Lee for 585 shares, also a certificate in Lottie Lee’s name (being those which I gave her before she was married) for 250 shares, also three blank forms of receipts in duplicate for you to sign and hand to me, if yon please.
“The trust for both Juliette and Dorothy is to see that the dividends are paid to them, or, what I presume would be better, placed to their credit with Bishop & Co. where each of them now has an account. If either of them should die before returning here her shares are to 'he divided between the two surviving unmarried girls; if neither of them returns both their shares to go to Bernice, if living, otherwise to all the surviving sisters equally. I am aware that this is simply a temporary arrangement — I hope it is — and that either of them has a right to call upon you to make over the shares to her at any time.
“The ti'ust for Lottie Lee is to cause the dividends to be paid to her during the three years from January 1st next and if she shall then be living to transfer the shares to her or hold them in trust for her benefit as she may in writing request, unless at the end of three years she shall have no child living, [38]*38in which case the trustee.is to hold the stock paying her the dividends during her lifetime, with power to change the investment and vary it at any time at discretion and at her death to divide the trust funds or securities equally among her sisters who shall then be living, and if none shall then be living among their children then living, my object being, as Mr. Chater will observe, that as to these additional 585 shares they shall remain in my family.
“I also enclose for you to retain for Mabel Certificate No....... in her name for 200 shares Hawaiian Sugar Stock.
“I have been arranging with the Brewers to draw my salary and to pay Lottie Lee and Mabel on the 15th of each month their dividends. I can continue to do this although it may be better for some reasons to arrange with Alexander & Baldwin to remit the dividends directly to them from New York, in which case there would be a charge of 20 ct. a hundred unless they shall accede to my request to make no charge for exchange.
“I also enclose certificate in Bernice’s name for 420 shares which I am now giving her and also for 165 shares which I gave her recently. I do not know where the certificate for her 250 shares which I formerly gave her is. I think it would be wise if the certificates of all the girls should be retained in your office and to have that understoqd by them.
“Very Truly,
“Alfred S. Hartwell.
“This declaration of trust is the aforesaid ‘Exhibit A.’
“At the same time, similar certificates were issued and delivered to said Alfred W. Carter, as trustee for Juliette Hart-well and Dorothy Hartwell, for the shares mentioned in said declaration.
“On the same day Alfred S. Hartwell caused a certificate to be issued in the name of Charlotte Lee Hartwell Chater for the 250 shares referred to in the declaration of trust, which certificate was also handed to said Alfred W. Carter.

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Bluebook (online)
22 Haw. 34, 1914 Haw. LEXIS 35, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chater-ex-rel-chater-v-carter-haw-1914.