Fourth Nat. Bank of Tulsa v. Eidson

1947 OK 379, 236 P.2d 491, 205 Okla. 145, 1947 Okla. LEXIS 673
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedDecember 16, 1947
Docket32963
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 1947 OK 379 (Fourth Nat. Bank of Tulsa v. Eidson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fourth Nat. Bank of Tulsa v. Eidson, 1947 OK 379, 236 P.2d 491, 205 Okla. 145, 1947 Okla. LEXIS 673 (Okla. 1947).

Opinions

CORN, J.

This is an appeal by defendant Bank from a judgment rendered upon a jury’s verdict in the district court of Tulsa county. It is not urged on appeal that the evidence is insufficient to support such verdict and judgment, thus all questions of fact supported by any competent evidence are resolved in favor of plaintiff. Hence, it is unnecessary to set forth a lengthy recitation of the pleadings and the evidence, and the following statement may be considered as the facts of the case as determined by the jury.

Plaintiff was a merchant and rancher residing at Eagle Pass, Tex. Defendant, H. V. Weaver, was a rancher- living at Manford, Okla. For some time Weaver had handled his business affairs through the defendant bank, and had been extended considerable credit prior to, and during the course of events out of which this action arose.

About June 5, 1943, plaintiff shipped 338 steers to Weaver to be pastured in Creek county, advancing the freight bill and part (one-third) of the pasturage. Weaver was to share'in the profits of the venture in return for his efforts. The cattle did not do well and upon plaintiffs suggestion that they be shipped back to Texas, Weaver offered to buy them. November 15, 1943, plaintiff sold him the 338 steers, two to five years old, each branded with plaintiff’s holding brand, a wine glass mark, on the right side, for $17,760 or $52 per head.

The purchase price was secured by a mortgage in plaintiff’s favor for the full amount, such mortgage being filed in Creek county November 15, 1943, and the debt secured thereby being due August 15, 1944. In the mortgage, following description of the cattle, the following provision was typewritten:

“ . . . Also in the event that I should dispose of any or all of said mentioned livestock I will remit at once all the proceeds of such sale to D. A. Eidson.”

The fourth provision in the body of the mortgage form was as follows:

“No part of said mortgaged property shall be sold or disposed of in any manner by said mortgagor, without the written consent of the mortgagee.”

Weaver had applied to defendant for an extension of indebtedness and an additional loan. This application showed these cattle encumbered to the extent of plaintiff’s mortgage, and the security was inspected by defendant’s representative. The defendant’s mortgage described 261 steers, 180 cows and 40 calves, carrying different brands from the cattle covered by plaintiff’s mortgage. Weaver’s total indebtedness amounted to $24,500.

[147]*147Early in 1944 Weaver began selling off the cattle covered by defendant’s mortgage and reducing his indebtedness. When a sale was made a notation of the number of cattle sold and the amount they brought would be itemized on Weaver’s note and the remaining balance shown. By July 17, 1944, a total of 439 head of cattle listed as security on defendant’s mortgage had been sold, and his indebtedness reduced to $16,741.21.

July 17, 1944, and before plaintiff’s mortgage was due, Weaver shipped 140 steers to Kansas City for sale. The evidence established that these cattle bore plaintiff’s wine glass brand, and were thus identified and shown to be part of the cattle mortgaged to plaintiff. Of this shipment 140 steers brought $8,-727.90 net. At Weaver’s direction this was deposited in a Kansas City bank to the credit of defendant. This amount was credited on Weaver’s note in defendant’s bank, although the customary notation concerning the number of head sold was not made.

Plaintiff finally sent a representative into this state to make inquiry about the cattle covered by his mortgage. Investigations were begun which revealed that Weaver no longer had the cattle in his possession, and that this particular lot of cattle bearing plaintiff’s brand had been handled in the manner above set out. The proceeds thus were traced into defendant bank where the amount derived from the sale had been applied upon Weaver’s indebtedness.

March 13, 1945, plaintiff brought this action against Weaver and the bank to recover $10,643 plus interest, upon the theory Weaver kept part of the cattle in Creek county and defendant had actual and constructive notice of plaintiff’s rights under the mortgage, that acting together they caused the cattle to be sold and the proceeds applied upon Weaver’s note; that defendant’s claim was inferior to plaintiff’s and under the terms of the mortgage Weaver became trustee of the proceeds for plaintiff’s benefit as against defendant, the funds from the sale having been received by defendant with knowledge of their source and trust character.

Defendant denied Weaver was its agent or that it acted with him in the sale, and denied any credits upon his indebtedness resulted from a sale of plaintiff’s security, or that the money received from Weaver was trust funds upon which plaintiff had a lien; and if he ever became a trustee of the funds (derived from the sale) defendant had no knowledge thereof. The pleadings were amended to conform to the proof and defendant offered evidence that it forebore exercise of a valuable right (due to eight months lapse before plaintiff brought suit) in that defendant was lulled into a sense of security and having no knowledge the funds were trust funds, by accepting the payment made, forebore exercise of its right of proceeding against Weaver in July when the note was due, which defendant would have done had it known this money was trust funds and that Weaver was unable to pay upon this indebtedness.

The case was submitted to the jury under instructions from the court and a verdict was returned for plaintiff for $8,727.90.

The assignments of error upon which defendant predicates its claim for reversal of this judgment are presented under three propositions. It is first contended that where mortgaged property is sold by the mortgagor without consent of the mortgagee, the proceeds of such sale are not trust funds. This may be a true statement of the rule applicable when the facts justify the finding that the mortgagee did not consent to the sale. However, under the facts reflected by this record such rule has no application.

46 O. S. 1941 §71 provides as follows:

“Every mortgagor of personal property in this state, who with the consent [148]*148of the mortgagee, or his assignee, shall sell such mortgaged property, or any part thereof, while the mortgage remains in force and unsatisfied, shall be deemed and conclusively held to be the trustee of the funds received upon the sale thereof, for the benefit of such mortgagee, or assignee, to the extent of the indebtedness secured thereby, or any balance due thereof.”

The pertinent provisions of the plaintiff’s mortgage are set forth above. The question resolves itself into a matter of determining whether by the typewritten provision of the mortgage plaintiff impliedly gave his consent to a sale of the cattle by Weaver without the written consent mentioned in the body of the mortgage. It seems that this undoubtedly was the intention of the parties.

All provisions of a contract must, if possible, be given effect. Rushing v. Manhattan Life Ins. Co., 224 Fed. 74; Fairbanks, Morse & Co. v. Miller, 80 Okla. 265, 195 P. 1083.

In Sperry et al. v. Renner et al., 194 Okla. 285, 149 P. 2d 781, we considered a mortgage clause providing that upon any sale by the mortgagee the proceeds were to be applied in discharge of indebtedness, and any surplus was then to be paid to the mortgagor.

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Bluebook (online)
1947 OK 379, 236 P.2d 491, 205 Okla. 145, 1947 Okla. LEXIS 673, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fourth-nat-bank-of-tulsa-v-eidson-okla-1947.