Franklin Press, Inc. v. National Diversified Corp.

286 So. 2d 469
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 8, 1974
Docket9533
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 286 So. 2d 469 (Franklin Press, Inc. v. National Diversified Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Franklin Press, Inc. v. National Diversified Corp., 286 So. 2d 469 (La. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

286 So.2d 469 (1973)

FRANKLIN PRESS, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
NATIONAL DIVERSIFIED CORPORATION et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 9533.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

November 12, 1973.
Rehearing Denied January 4, 1974.
Writ Refused February 8, 1974.

*470 Foye L. Lowe, Jr., Baton Rouge, for plaintiff-appellant.

Charles S. McCowan, Jr., and Donald E. Bradford, Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellee Strahan.

John E. Miller, Baton Rouge, for defendants-appellees Pennington, Magee, Johnson and Forbes.

Before SARTAIN, TUCKER and WATSON, JJ.

SARTAIN, Judge.

This is an appeal by plaintiff from a judgment of the district court rejecting its claim against defendants for $3,706.87 allegedly representing the value of services performed by plaintiff for National Diversified Corporation (National).

Plaintiff originally filed suit on March 3, 1972 against National Diversified Corporation and Clifton Strahan, a shareholder and former officer and director of National. Defendant-Strahan answered the suit but National failed to answer. On April 7, 1972 a default judgment was confirmed against National and that judgment is not at issue on this appeal. Plaintiff amended its petition on June 9, 1972 to add five additional individuals as co-defendants, all of whom were directors of National. One of these individual defendants was later dismissed from the suit.

The transactions out of which this suit arises began in April of 1970 when defendant-Clifton Strahan became an officer and director of National. In June of 1970 National had plaintiff perform certain printing work at a cost of $3,706.87, which is the amount sued for. On August 14, 1970 Clifton Strahan sold to National a certain piece of property with a building situated thereon located at 9255 Florida Boulevard in the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The total sale price recited in this act of sale was $175,000.00. The property was burdened with two encumbrances at the time of the sale. There was a first mortgage on the property held by the Baton Rouge Savings and Loan Association in the amount of $50,000.00 which had a balance due of $41,285.57. The Baton Rouge Savings and Loan Association also held a second mortgage in the amount of $12,500.00 with a balance due thereon of $11,971.40. As part of the terms of the sale National was to assume payment of the first mortgage, while Strahan was to pay the balance of the second mortgage. Mr. Strahan was to receive $37,714.43 in cash plus a second mortgage note of $96,000.00. With regard to the cash portion of the purchase price, National gave Strahan an $8,000.00 check, a $4,714.43 check, a $5,000.00 check, and a $10,000.00 check. The balance was to be paid to Strahan with $10,000.00 worth of National stock.

This cash portion of the purchase price was never fully paid. The $8,000.00 check was cashed and the money was received by Strahan. The $10,000.00 worth of stock was sold to Strahan. However, the remaining $19,714.43 represented by the other *471 three checks was never paid because the checks were not honored when presented by Strahan.

On September 16, 1970 Mr. Strahan submitted his resignation as an officer and director of National. This resignation was accepted on October 31, 1970 at a Board of Directors meeting. Mr. Strahan was not present at this meeting.

On October 5, 1970 Mr. Strahan demanded payment by National of the notes due at the Baton Rouge Savings and Loan Association and of the three unpaid checks. As a result of these demands on October 31, 1970 at the Board of Directors meeting the directors of National authorized a dation en paiement by the corporation of the property to Mr. Strahan. On November 2, 1970 the dation was executed. The dation recites that the conveyance of the property to Strahan was made in consideration for the $96,000.00 mortgage note held by Strahan. The instrument also recites that the conveyance by voluntary deed was made in lieu of foreclosure proceedings.

For all practical purposes the corporation became defunct after this transaction and ceased doing business. National had outstanding accounts with several creditors, including the plaintiff, on which National owed numerous sums of money.

By this suit plaintiff sought to hold Strahan liable as an officer, director and shareholder of National for allegedly receiving assets of the corporation in defraud of the rights of the other corporate creditors. Plaintiff also sought to impose liability on the other individual defendants on the grounds that they participated in or failed to object to the alleged unlawful and fraudulent distribution of corporate assets to an officer and shareholder of the corporation in defraud of the other creditors' rights.

The trial court held that the dation to Strahan was not in defraud of the other corporate creditors' rights and dismissed plaintiff's claim against him. The claims against the other individual directors were also rejected on the grounds that no fraud or wrongdoing was proved against them in authorizing this transaction.

Plaintiff contends that the trial court erred in refusing to impose liability on the part of both Strahan and the other individual defendants.

LIABILITY OF STRAHAN

Plaintiff asserts that by virtue of the dation made to Mr. Strahan its rights as a creditor of National were impaired. Plaintiff argues that Strahan, as both a shareholder and creditor of National, received an unlawful beneficiary status to the detriment of the other creditors of the corporation, and thus should be held liable to the corporate creditors for any amounts he so received. L.R.S. 12:93, subd. D.

We note initially that at the time of the transaction complained of Mr. Strahan was no longer an officer or director of National. However, he was a stockholder in the company. Mr. Strahan was also a secured creditor of the corporation. He held a vendor's lien and privilege which was reserved in the August 14, 1970 act of sale and also had a second mortgage on the property.

In order for plaintiff to recover from defendant-Strahan it must show that its rights as a creditor of National were injured by the dation made to Strahan. We find, as did the judge a quo, that plaintiff has failed to show how its rights as a creditor of National were impaired by this transaction.

As pointed out above, the property was originally sold to National for $175,000.00. The act of sale recites that $37,714.43 was to be paid to Strahan in cash. National was to assume the $41,285.57 balance due on the first mortgage held by the Baton Rouge Savings and Loan Association. Strahan was also given a second mortgage on the property in the amount of $96,000.00. Strahan received $8,000.00 in cash and *472 $10,000.00 worth of stock in the company. The remaining portion of the cash payment was never made. The three remaining checks given to Strahan totaling $19,714.43 never cleared the bank.

Defendant-Strahan sets forth in his brief claims totaling some $173,240.69 which he alleges were owed to him by National at the time of the dation. Strahan asserts that in exchange for these claims and cancellation of the vendor's lien and privilege and the second mortgage he accepted the dation of this property to him. Strahan argues that as a secured creditor for these various amounts the dation to him by National cannot be seen to have prejudiced or unlawfully impaired the rights of the plaintiff, an unsecured creditor of the corporation.

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Bluebook (online)
286 So. 2d 469, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/franklin-press-inc-v-national-diversified-corp-lactapp-1974.