First National Bank in Cedar Falls v. Clay

2 N.W.2d 85, 231 Iowa 703
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedFebruary 10, 1942
DocketNo. 45765.
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 2 N.W.2d 85 (First National Bank in Cedar Falls v. Clay) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
First National Bank in Cedar Falls v. Clay, 2 N.W.2d 85, 231 Iowa 703 (iowa 1942).

Opinion

*704 Bliss, C. J.

The allegations of the petition are epitomized in appellant’s propositions relied upon for reversal, to wit: (1) After submission to the arbitrators, defendant held conferences with arbitrator Stover, without the presence of plaintiff’s representatives, or the other arbitrators; (2) Stover was not a fair and qualified arbitrator, in that he had been in the employ of the Clay Equipment Corporation as auditor, accountant and adviser, and sustained such confidential relations to Clay and his family, and such an intimate insight into the business of the corporation, as to make him biased and impartial; (3) defendant and Stover were guilty of fraud, collusion and misconduct prior to and during the deliberations of the arbitrators, as to invalidate the award; and (4) the award was predicated on the false assumption that during the last 20 years of the corporation’s existence there were outstanding 1,301 shares of common stock, when in fact there were outstanding 600 shares during the first 8 years, 1,200 shares during the next 5 years, and 1,301 shares during the remaining 7 years.

Defendant in his answer denied all allegations on which these propositions were based, except that, as to proposition

(2) , he alleged that the plaintiff well knew for many years prior to the arbitration, and at the time it accepted the award, the relationship of which it complains, between Stover and the corporation and Clay, and by its failure to object on that account to Stover as an arbitrator, it estopped itself and waived any right to thereafter raise the objection.

The general factual background and a reference to matters preceding the arbitration will aid in a better understanding1 of the matter before us.

The corporation was organized in 1899 and was in continuous operation thereafter. The defendant, from its organization, has been the head man of the concern, in his various official capacities. Early in the year 1927, the outstanding capital stock of 600 shares was doubled by a stock dividend or by capitalizing the corporate surplus. This, obviously, did not increase the capital assets. In 1938, shares to the number of 101 were issued, which made the total outstanding common *705 stock at the time of the arbitration, 1,301 shares. Preferred stock to the approximate amount of $87,500 was also then outstanding. At that time, the defendant owned 335 shares of the common stock, his wife the same amount, and holdings of other members of the Clay family brought its total stock to about 65 per cent of the capital stock of the corporation.

The plaintiff was organized as a national bank in July 1939, as the successor of other banking organizations. Its president during the period involved herein was Y. W. Johnson. J. B. Newman was its vice president and legal adviser. He had also been the legal adviser of the Clay Equipment Corporation for ten or more years prior to September 16, 1939. The 60 shares of stock of the Clay Equipment Corporation had originally been acquired by a predecessor of plaintiff in the foreclosure of collateral. The plaintiff paid $50 a share for the stock on its organization in July 1939, and carried it at that figure on its books.

The charter of the Clay Equipment Corporation was to expire by its terms on October 22, 1939. Newman, as its attorney, had been engaged in the preparation of its renewal papers about September 1, 1939. Notices for a meeting of the stoek-holdei's on September 16, 1939, to vote upon the renewal, were sent out on September 6th. The directors of the bank met on September 12, 1939, and decided to cast the vote of their stock against the renewal. Newman, that day, telephoned the defendant of the action of the hoard. Defendant, as he testified, literally begged the officers of the bank not to vote against the renewal. On September 14, 1939, Johnson, for the plaintiff, wrote a letter to defendant stating that the board of directors had instructed the bank officers to vote against the renewal, and that they relied upon receiving the real value of the stock under Code section 8365, and that it was “the expectation of onr Board that the amount will be fixed at not less than $108.00 per share.” This was the defendant’s first knowledge of the provisions of that Code section. He feared that if other stockholders, not in the Clay group, followed the lead of the bank and voted against renewing the charter, it might lead to the liquidation of the corporation, and to great financial loss to *706 him, He consulted with E. L. Stover at this time about his difficulty and that he would be compelled to pay the bank a premium for its stock, to avoid greater loss. On September 15, 1939, he offered the plaintiff $80 a share for the stock, and Newman put the offer in writing and he and Johnson signed it with defendant, and recommended its acceptance to the plaintiff’s board. The board rejected the offer. He then offered $80 a share with a proviso that he would sell it back to them at $70 a share. This offer was refused. He offered to arbitrate and the plaintiff refused, and insisted upon $108 a share. The defendant complained bitterly of the methods being used by the bank to force him to pay what he thought was an exorbitant price.

At the stockholders’ meeting on September 16, 1939, Newman, for the first time, informed defendant that the bank would arbitrate. At that meeting, the vote to renew the charter carried, and then, relieved of the pressure which had been put upon him, the defendant made a written tender to the plaintiff to take its stock at $60 a share. The offer was refused.

During the negotiations prior to the stockholders’ meeting, the defendant had told E. L. Stover that he might have to arbitrate and asked him if he would act as an arbitrator if it should become necessary. Stover had been a certified public accountant in Waterloo for 20 years. He had audited the books of the Clay Equipment Corporation since 1924 or 1925, and made out its reports in tax, and other governmental, matters.

On September 27, 1939, Newman prepared the agreement for arbitration, which, after reciting the ownership of the 60 shares of stock and the inability to agree on its purchase price, stated:

“Now, therefore, it is hereby agreed by and between the parties hereto that the purchase price of said stock shall be determined by a Board consisting of E. L. Stover and Charles N. Hostetler, and a third person to be selected by them, who shall proceed at once to determine the real value of said stock.

“It is further agreed * * * that a decision of a majority of said board as to the real value of said stock shall be final, conclusive and binding upon the respéctive parties hereto. And *707 first party hereby agrees to sell and second party agrees to purchase said stock at the price so fixed, forthwith. * * *”

It was signed by the parties and defendant telephoned Stover and told him of the agreement, and that he left the matter in his hands.

Hostetler, the arbitrator selected by the plaintiff, was also a certified public accountant, who had done auditing for the plaintiff. He had known Stover for several years. He knew Johnson and Newman for several years. He had acted as an arbitrator previous to this time.

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Bluebook (online)
2 N.W.2d 85, 231 Iowa 703, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/first-national-bank-in-cedar-falls-v-clay-iowa-1942.