County of Giles v. FIRST US CORPORATION

445 S.W.2d 157, 223 Tenn. 345, 1969 Tenn. LEXIS 420
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 1, 1969
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 445 S.W.2d 157 (County of Giles v. FIRST US CORPORATION) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
County of Giles v. FIRST US CORPORATION, 445 S.W.2d 157, 223 Tenn. 345, 1969 Tenn. LEXIS 420 (Tenn. 1969).

Opinions

[348]*348Mr. Justice Dyer

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This cause comes to this Court from the action of the chancellor in sustaining one ground of the demurrer filed by appellees.

The issues of this case arise out of the issuance and sale of industrial bonds by Giles County, Tennessee. These bonds were issued pursuant to two statutes; that is, Chapter 137, Public Acts of 1951, now, as amended, carried as T.C.A. see. 6-1701 et seq., and Chapter 209, Public Acts of 1955, now, as amended, carried as T.C.A. sec. 6-2901 et seq. These statutes declare the relief of conditions of unemployment with the evils attendant thereto to be a public purpose. To carry out this public purpose the statutes provide a scheme whereby the various cities and counties of the State are authorized to issue interest bearing bonds with the proceeds to be used to construct, improve or extend an industrial building to be leased to a private industry thereby creating jobs for the unemployed. This is the sole purpose of these statutes.

[349]*349On June 3, 1962, Giles County, in order to construct an industrial building to be leased to a private industry thereby creating jobs and relieving conditions of unemployment in the county, pursuant to these statutes authorized the issuance and sale of $2,500,000.00 in interest bearing bonds. On the same day (June 1, 1962), Giles County entered into a contract with Jack’s Cookie Corporation whereby Jack’s Cookie Corporation agreed to lease said building and operate therein a private industry. Jack’s Cookie Corporation further bound itself to pay monthly rental necessary to retire the bonds and interest thereon. Also, on this same day (June 1, 1962), in furtherance of the matter, Giles County entered into a contract with First U. S. Corporation whereby First U. S. Corporation was to act as fiscal agent for Giles County in the preparation and recommendation of the most marketable scheme of financing and assist in the sale of the bonds.

The original bill, admitted here on demurrer, alleges First U. S. Corporation and the named personal defendants as officers, shareholders and directors by their wrongful acts, misrepresentations and breach of their duty, illegally retained in excess of $500,000.00, represented by negotiable bearer “supplemental coupons” which accompanied the issue and the taking of certain discounts.

The ground of the demurrer sustained by the chancellor is as follows and presents the only issue here on appeal:

Jack’s has no right to sue because Jack’s was not in privity of contract with any of the defendants.

T.C.A. sec. 6-1715 provides as follows:

[350]*350The governing* body of a municipality issuing bonds pursuant to this chapter shall prescribe and collect rentals for industrial buildings and shall revise same from time to time whenever necessary so that the income and revenues to be derived from such rentals will always be sufficient to pay when due all bonds and interest thereon for the payment of which such revenues are pledged, including reserves therefor. T.C.A. sec. 6-2912 provides as follows:
The governing body of a municipality issuing bonds pursuant to this chapter shall prescribe and collect rentals for industrial buildings and shall revise same from time to time whenever necessary so that the income and revenues to be derived from such rentals will always be sufficient to pay when due all bonds and interest thereon for the payment of which such revenues are .pledged, including reserves therefor, and to provide for all expenses of operation, maintenance, and depreciation charges of such industrial buildings. All funds arising under the provisions of this chapter shall be kept separately and apart from other funds of the county, city or town, as the case may be.

The contractual arrangements between Giles County and Jack’s Cookie Corporation are governed by the statutes under which the bonds were issued. Under the above copied sections of the Code it is mandatory upon Giles County to prescribe and collect of Jack’s Cookie Corporation rentals necessary to pay the bonds and interest thereon, and Jack’s Cookie Corporation by the statute is obligated to pay the required amount. These statutes also make it mandatory upon Giles County to revise the rentals whenever necessary to pay the bonds and interest thereon; Jack’s Cookie Corporation would also be bound to pay any necessary revision of the [351]*351rentals. We construe the words “shall revise same from time to time whenever necessary” to mean revision either upward or downward as the payment of the bonds and interest thereon require. It is manifest that this is to be a nonprofit enterprise with the industrial building to be acquired at the least possible cost to both the county and the industry.

Then, under the allegations of the original bill, Jack’s Cookie Corporation due to the alleged wrongful acts of First U. S. Corporation and the named personal defendants has already been required to pay monthly rentals all in excess of what otherwise would have been required and unless relieved in this suit will be bound to continue to make said payments.

In Tennessee, the doctrine is firmly established that the beneficiary of a contract, although not an expressly designated party thereto, may maintain an action in his own name against the promisor, where the promise between the promisor and the promisee is made upon sufficient consideration for the benefit of the third party. Ruohs v. Traders’ Fire Insurance Co., Ill Tenn. 405, 78 S.W. 85 (1903); Title Guaranty & Trust Co. v. Bushnell, 143 Tenn. 681, 228 S.W. 699, 12 A.L.R. 1512 (1920).

Under the facts as alleged we think Jack’s Cookie Corporation would be a third party beneficiary to the contract between First U. S. Corporation and Giles County. By virtue of the statute under which the bonds were issued if there be any recovery by appellants it will accrue to the benefit of Jack’s Cookie Corporation, since such will reduce Jack’s Cookie Corporation’s statutory obligation to pay all the cost of the bonds.

Jack’s Cookie Corporaion’s suit can also be sustained as a quasi contract action. In his treatise on the [352]*352law of quasi contracts, William A. Keener, Professor of Law and Dean of the Faculty of the Law at Columbia College (1893), at page 16, in discussing the scope of quasi contracts says:

Quasi contracts may be said in general to be founded, (1) upon a record. (2) upon a statutory, or official, or customary duty. (3) upon the doctrine that no one shall be allowed to enrich himself unjustly at the expense of another.

In support of the second proposition Inhabitants of Milford v. Commonwealth, 144 Mass. 64, 10 N.E. 516, is cited. In that opinion, the court said:

A contract may be expressly made; or a contract may be inferred or implied, when it is found that there is an agreement of the parties, and an intention to create a contract, although that intention "has not been expressed in terms of contract. In either case there is an actual contract. But a contract is sometimes said to be implied when there is no intention to create a contract, and no agreement of parties, but the law has imposed an obligation which is enforced as if it were an obligation arising ex contractu. In such a case there is not a contract, and the obligation arises ex lege.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Guerra v. Abuaita
W.D. Tennessee, 2020
Steppach v. Thomas
346 S.W.3d 488 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2011)
Billy Overstreet v. TRW Commercial Steering Division
256 S.W.3d 626 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2008)
Midwest Dredging Co. v. McAninch Corp.
424 N.W.2d 216 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1988)
Moore Construction Co. v. Clarksville Department of Electricity
707 S.W.2d 1 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 1986)
County of Giles v. FIRST US CORPORATION
445 S.W.2d 157 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1969)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
445 S.W.2d 157, 223 Tenn. 345, 1969 Tenn. LEXIS 420, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/county-of-giles-v-first-us-corporation-tenn-1969.