Coleman v. Booth

186 S.W. 1021, 268 Mo. 64, 1916 Mo. LEXIS 62
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedJune 2, 1916
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 186 S.W. 1021 (Coleman v. Booth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coleman v. Booth, 186 S.W. 1021, 268 Mo. 64, 1916 Mo. LEXIS 62 (Mo. 1916).

Opinion

RAILEY, C.

— This action was begun in the circuit court of St. Louis City, on September 15, 1911, by respondent, Prank B. Coleman, as trustee in bank-' ruptcy of the estate of the George D. Allen Paper Company, to recover against appellants, as executor and executrix of the estate of - Charles D. Garnett, deceased, the sum of $80,487.

It is admitted that Coleman was appointed trustee in bankruptcy of said estate, and that the defendants were duly appointed as executor and executrix of the estate of Charles D. Garnett, deceased.

It appears from the record that Charles D. Gar-nett and George D. Allen were separately engaged in the paper business in St. Louis, Missouri. They concluded to join , their interests, and in 1897 they organized under the laws of this State as a corporation by the name of The Garnett & Allen Paper Company, with a capital stock of $50,000. Twenty thousand dollars of property belonging to Garnett and Allen was put in as part of said capital stock, and the remaining $30,000 was carried as good will, and designated on the books of said company as “undivided surplus.” No part of this $30,000 was ever checked off or replaced with either money or property.

In 1905, in order to induce one Grubb to buy stock in said company, Garnett and Allen conceived the idea of increasing the capital stock to $250,000. They had an auxiliary paper company — which really [70]*70belonged to the Garnett & Allen Paper Company— which had made large profits from 1897 to said date, and this property was sold and from the proceeds thereof, Garnett and Allen realized in the neighborhood of $81,000 in money and property. The capital stock of $250,000 was made up of the $50,000 heretofore mentioned, and by the addition thereto of the $81,000 realized from the sale of the paper company property. The remaining $118,018.14 was carried upon the books of the company as good will and designated thereon as “undivided surplus.” There were 2500 shares of this stock divided between Gar-nett, Allen and others. Each share was of the denomination of one hundred dollars. Garnett owned 1110 shares; Booth, 233 shares; Dana, 50 shares; Cavanaugh, 50 shares; Collins, 5 shares; Dwyer, 2 shares, and Allen 1050 shares.

It does not appear that anything was paid upon said stock when the capital was raised to $250,000 aside from that heretofore mentioned. It does not appear that -any part of the $118,018.14, carried as good will, or “undivided surplus,” was ever replaced by money or property at any time. The company, when the capital stock was increased to $250,000, was then known as the Garnett, Allen & Grubb Paper Company. Grubb remained a member of said firm but a short time, and sold his stock to Garnett, Allen and Booth. Garnett and Booth borrowed from the above company $15,673 with which to pay Grubb for their share of the stock purchased, and executed to the paper company their joint note for said sum. Allen likewise borrowed from the paper company the money with which to pay for his share of the stock purchased from Grubb, and he executed to the paper company his note therefor.

The evidence tends to show that from 1897 to 1908 large profits were made by these companies, said to aggregate in the neighborhood of' $375,000. [71]*71It is claimed that out of this sum there was paid about $141,000 of dividends, leaving a balance of $234,000 of property, good vdll. _etc.. belonging to the Garnett & Allen Paper Company, which had succeeded the former company of Garnett, Allen & Grubb. The profits during the years 1908 and 1909 had fallen off and were gradually growing less, until those for the year 1909 were less than $6000. The productive plant known as “The Columbia Paper Company,” which produced such large revenues during the years heretofore mentioned, had been sold before the capital stock was raised to $250,000.

During the early part of the year 1909, some disagreements had arisen between Garnett and Allen in regard to the conduct of the company’s business, Garnett purchased the stock of Booth, and this gave him the controlling interest in said corporation. Booth, however, remained as a director until the first of-January, 1910. Finally, Allen concluded to purchase the 1343 shares of stock then owned by Garnett, and accordingly, oh the 8th of June, 1909,' a meeting was had of the board of directors of said Garnett & Allen Paper Company, for the purpose of carrying out the agreement made between Garnett and Allen, in regard to the purchase of Garnett’s stock. At this meeting, a resolution was offered and carried, to the effect that $125,000 should be carried upon the books of said company as good mil, and the same was entered in accordance with said resolution. Another resolution was offered and carried at the same time, to the effect that a dividend of twenty-five per cent, or $62,500, should be declared; and in order to fulfill the contract of purchase between Garnett and Allen, it was provided at said meeting that the $62,500 should be represented by non-negotiable notes of said paper company without interest, and that these notes, when so executed, should be delivered to Garnett as collateral security for the payment of the $134,300 [72]*72due him from George D. Allen, for the 1343 shares of stock purchased by Allen from Garnett. As a part of this agreement*between Garnett and Allen, the latter, after getting control of Garnett’s stock, agreed to turn over to Garnett the $15,673 note executed by Garnett and Booth to the paper company aforesaid.

The evidence tends to show that when this meeting was held, on the 8th of June, 1909, the paper company then owed $30,000 to one of the banks, besides that which was due for current expenses. It also appears that, with the $30,000 carried as good will in 1897 and the $30,000 owed to the hank, the paper company, at the time of said meeting, had only $174,-000 of property and assets, including the $118,018.14 of good will heretofore mentioned.

The referee found,- and the evidence tends to show, that Garnett was fully cognizant of all the facts aforesaid, and had full knowledge of everything that was going on during all of these transactions. The evidence likewise tends to show, and the referee found, that Garnett ultimately received from the Garnett & Allen Paper Company, including the $15,673 note, $80,487 belonging to the Garnett & Allen Paper Company.

It is insisted by appellant, that on account of the matters aforesaid, he is entitled to recover from defendants, as executor and executrix of Garnett’s estate, the above sum of $80,487, on account of the dissipation of the company’s capital stock aforesaid, etc.

Appellants in the court below filed exceptions to the report of the referee, which were overruled, and judgment entered in favor of respondent for the amount aforesaid, which was ordered certified to the probate court of the city of St. Louis for allowance against the estate of said Charles D. Garnett. Appellants filed motion for a new trial within the time [73]*73authorized by law, which was overruled and the cause duly appealed to this court;

corporatlom I. On June 8, 1909, Charles D. Garnett, George D. Allen and Louis F. Booth were the directors of the Garnett & Allen Paper Company, a Missouri corporation, and held a directors’ meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, on the date aforesaid. At said meeting they undertook to increase the assets of said company, by the adoption of the following resolution:

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Bluebook (online)
186 S.W. 1021, 268 Mo. 64, 1916 Mo. LEXIS 62, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coleman-v-booth-mo-1916.