Dumont Laboratories, Inc. v. National Factors, Inc.

165 F. Supp. 15, 82 Ohio Law. Abs. 138, 9 Ohio Op. 2d 353, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3633
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedMay 19, 1958
DocketCiv. No. 3552
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 165 F. Supp. 15 (Dumont Laboratories, Inc. v. National Factors, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dumont Laboratories, Inc. v. National Factors, Inc., 165 F. Supp. 15, 82 Ohio Law. Abs. 138, 9 Ohio Op. 2d 353, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3633 (S.D. Ohio 1958).

Opinion

OPINION

By DRUFFEL, District Judge.

Findings of Fact

1. Plaintiff, Allen B. DuMont Laboratories Inc., was at the time of [139]*139the filing of this action and at all times material hereto, and still is, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware and is a citizen of said state.

2. Defendant, National Factors, Inc., was at the time of filing of this action and at all times material hereto, and still is, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Ohio and is a citizen of said state. Its principal place of business is located in the City of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, in the Southern District of Ohio and Western Division thereof.

3. The matter in controversy exceeds, exclusive of interest and costs, the sum of $3,000.

4. Plaintiff is and was at all times hereinafter referred to in the business, among other things of manufacturing and selling television sets at wholesale.

5. Defendant is engaged in the financing business in Cincinnati, Columbus, and elsewhere, and is the wholly owned subsidiary of Welfare Finance Corporation, an Ohio corporation.

6. Mid-State Distributing Company (herein called “Mid-State”) was an Ohio corporation, with its principal office and place of business located in Columbus, Ohio, and until March of 1955 was engaged in the distribution at wholesale of various appliances to dealers.

7. Mid-State in July of 1954 was attempting to secure the franchise to distribute plaintiff’s television sets to dealers. Mid-State’s officers who were active in this endeavor were Albert F. Cameron, Jr., Treasurer and Stanley Paige, Secretary.

8. Mid-State applied to the defendant for financing in the operation of its business, and defendant insisted to Mid-State that Lawrence Warehouse Company establish on the premises of Mid-State a field warehouse for the storage and protection of merchandise shipped by manufacturers to Mid-State.

9. Defendant also insisted to Mid-State upon an agreement with Mid-State whereby all of Mid-State’s accounts receivable were to be factored by defendant.

10. Mid-State, as depositor, entered into a field warehouse agreement, dated July 8, 1954, with Lawrence Warehouse Company (herein called “Lawrence”). July 12, 1954, the installation of the warehouse had been completed. This warehouse storage agreement provided Mid-State employed Lawrence to establish and operate a field warehouse in Columbus, Ohio, and agreed therein to lease to Lawrence adequate warehouse storage space therefor, and to pay Lawrence certain charges for the installation and operation of said storage warehouse. Lawrence was and is a corporation engaged in the business of operating field warehouses and issuing warehouse receipts for merchandise placed in such warehouses, with offices for its mid-continent division located at Chicago, Illinois.

11. Mid-State in July of 1954 had capital of only $10,000. Plaintiff was unwilling to franchise Mid-State as a distributor of plaintiff’s television sets unless Mid-State was able to obtain outside financing. Mid-State told defendant that plaintiff was waiting a reply from Mid-[140]*140State as to the decision of defendant on the application of Mid-State for warehouse and accounts receivable financing.

12. On July 20, 1954, defendant advised Mid-State that it was willing to enter into a financing agreement to cover the financing of DuMont products. Subsequently, on August 11, 1954, defendant and Mid-State executed two agreements, one of which related to the financing of Mid-State’s inventory through warehouse receipts, and the other of which provided for the factoring by defendant of Mid-State’s accounts receivable.

13. Under date of July 29, 1954, plaintiff appointed Mid-State the authorized exclusive distributor of plaintiff’s television sets under terms defined in a written distributor franchise agreement.

14. On the same date Mid-State signed and forwarded to the plaintiff its written order for the purchase of 550 television sets on or before September 12, 1954.

15. Defendant was unwilling to finance Mid-State’s inventory of television sets unless defendant had obtained from plaintiff a “repurchase agreement,” which provided plaintiff was obligated to purchase from defendant television sets which defendant might have on its hands in event of default by Mid-State in repayment of sums advanced by defendant for the purchase of television sets from plaintiff. On August 13, 1954, defendant signed such a repurchase agreement and by letter requested that plaintiff also sign the agreement.

16. Before signing the repurchase agreement requested by defendant, plaintiff asked for and received a financial statement from defendant. Defendant on August 14, 1954, in compliance with plaintiff’s request sent plaintiff the financial statement of its parent, Welfare Finance Corporation. In the letter forwarding its financial statement, defendant in turn requested a financial statement of plaintiff, and on August 18, 1954, plaintiff mailed to defendant a copy of its annual report.

17. On August 20, 1954, Paul Wieck, Credit Manager of plaintiff’s Television Receiver Division had a telephone conversation with William H. Bosse, Assistant Secretary of the defendant, who was authorized to act on behalf of defendant. Mr. Wieck advised Mr. Bosse that plaintiff wanted to and intended to bill defendant for merchandise shipped to Mid-State and that due to the poor financial condition of Mid-State, plaintiff could see no other way of shipping them. Mr. Bosse agreed to this method of billing and so advised Mr. Weick. Mr. Wieck, contemporaneously and in the ordinary course of plaintiff’s business prepared a written memorandum of this conversation directing that all bills for DuMont merchandise shipped to Mid-State should be invoiced to defendant in accordance with an agreement between defendant and Mid-State and that the merchandise should be shipped to Mid-State in Columbus. This memo was mimeographed and copies were circulated to plaintiff’s personnel in charge of handling shipments of plaintiff’s television sets to Mid-State.

18. On August 26, 1954, plaintiff returned to defendant the repurchase agreement duly signed by plaintiff. The repurchase agreement limited plaintiff’s obligations to repurchase to a total of $30,000, but [141]*141this sum was not a limitation on the amount of defendant’s liability to plaintiff for television sets shipped to Mid-State.

19. On August 27, 1954, plaintiff made out an invoice for shipment of 103 television sets. The invoice stated at the top,

“Sold to National Factors Inc.

616 Walnut Street, Cincinnati 2, Ohio

Attn: Wm. H. Bosse”

“Ship to Mid-State Dist.

82 N. Grant Avenue Columbus, Ohio”

The amount of this invoice was $17,406.89, and the television sets referred to on this invoice were shipped by plaintiff to Mid-State.

20. The invoice was mailed to defendant and received by it, and no invoice was sent by plaintiff to Mid-State, Defendant on or about September 1, 1954, learned that no copy of it had been mailed to Mid-State.

21. On or about September 1, 1954, Mr.

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165 F. Supp. 15, 82 Ohio Law. Abs. 138, 9 Ohio Op. 2d 353, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3633, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dumont-laboratories-inc-v-national-factors-inc-ohsd-1958.