Friedrichsen v. Guaranty Trust Co. of New York

39 F.2d 859, 1930 U.S. App. LEXIS 4164
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedApril 7, 1930
DocketNos. 5936, 5937
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 39 F.2d 859 (Friedrichsen v. Guaranty Trust Co. of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Friedrichsen v. Guaranty Trust Co. of New York, 39 F.2d 859, 1930 U.S. App. LEXIS 4164 (9th Cir. 1930).

Opinion

WILBUR, Circuit Judge.

Two appeals were taken by the intervener, one from a decree of foreclosure and another from an' order confirming a sale made in pursuance of the foreclosure of certain mining property situate in the state of Nevada. It is admitted that the Tonopah Extension Mining Company, which will hereafter be referred to as the mining company, defaulted in an installment of the interest due upon the mortgage in January, 1928. This default was agreed upon at a meeting of the board of directors held in New York City on October 22, 1927. Five directors were present and two stockholders, Leopold Adler and T. F. Cole. The parties represented at the meeting owned $151,000 of the bond issue, and a large amount of stock in the corporation. They were called together to meet the crisis in the affairs of the mining company, due to the exhaustion of its funds and the high cost of operation. It is admitted that at the time pf the default on January 1, 1928, the corporation had sufficient funds to pay the installment of interest then due. But it did not have sufficient funds in hand or in prospect to operate the mine until the next installment of interest was due on the mortgage in July, 1928.

When the mortgage foreclosure was instituted for default in the payment of the installment of interest due in January, 1928, thus accelerating the due date of the entire mortgage, the mining company, by its answer, admitted the default, consented to a decree of foreclosure, and stipulated for the appointment of a receiver to operate the property during the pendency of the litigation. Thereafter the intervener, owning 409 [860]*860shares of the preferred stock and 1,000 shares of the common stock, a relatively small part of the capital stock of the corporation which had 1,478,000 shares of common stock and over 299,147 shares of preferred issued, petitioned the court for leave to intervene on behalf of the corporation upon the theory that the corporate rights were not being protected by the directors, who, it was alleged, were acting in fraud of the rights of the stockholders. He alleged that the making of the mortgage itself and the default thereon were made and committed to effectuate a preconceived plan of acquiring the ownership of the mining property at the expense of the holders of the stock of the corporation. The charge that the directors of the mining company owning bonds secured by the mortgage of the entire property of the mining company permitted default upon -the mortgage in order to accelerate the due date, and thus, by prompt foreclosure, cut off the rights of the stockholders and secure to themselves, as bondholders, an interest in the property commensurate with their holding of funds, is one which requires examination and explanation. In this connection it should also be stated that the intervener claims that the stockholders were not given an opportunity to subscribe for the bonds of the corporation at the time they were offered, and that this also was in furtherance of the plan to secure title to the property of the mining company. In order to understand the situation, it will be neeessary to make a somewhat detailed statement concerning the affairs of the mining company.

The mining company for more than twenty years has successfully operated the mine. It had produced bullion worth $21,000,000, and, after paying the large expense of operation, had paid the stockholders over $4,-000,000 in dividends, which was about two and one-half times the face value of the stock issued. The mine had reached a depth of over 2,375 feet, and drifts were run on various levels. The mine had practically been worked out above the 1,500 foot level. All rich ore bodies immediately available had been worked out in 1925, and the directors were then confronted with the problem of taking care of the expense of pumping the mine and of doing further development work in the hope of finding other ore bodies and developing those already known. In order to raise the money for this work, an issue of 700,000 shares of preferred stock had been offered to the stockholders. There was very inadequate response from the 3,500 stockholders of the company, and for that reason much of the stock sold was subscribed and paid for by the men who subsequently purchased the bonds secured by the mortgage in suit. Developments continued with the money thus received by the corporation until the fall of 1926, when it was apparent that more money would be needed in order to continue the development work essential to the discovery and exploitation of new ore bodies. Some of the directors and larger stockholders were inclined to abandon the enterprise, but the manager of the mine refused to consent to the abandonment of the enterprise, and expressed the opinion that for an expenditure of $180,000 he could run a drift to a body of ore which had been theretofore discovered in a shaft on another level, and that thereafter the property could be successfully and profitably operated. In view of this assurance, the directors agreed to execute a mortgage and float a bond issue and individually to subscribe for a part of that issue to raise this money. This was done. The stockholders were circularized in an effort to get them to subscribe for the bonds. The intervener claims that this effort was a mere subterfuge, and that those stockholders who desired bonds were informed .that the whole issue had been subscribed. The amount of bonds requested by one stockholder was $5,-000. He was given $500 of bonds, and informed that the balance had been subscribed for.

The trial court finds, and the evidence justifies the conclusion, that the bond issue was made in good faith. The money derived from the sale of bonds was expended in the further development of the mine as planned to reach the known ore body. In this connection it should be stated that, although the cost of pumping water from the mine, if no other work were done, would have quickly exhausted the fund, the losses were reduced by the ore produced, by the exploration, and by the operation of the mine. The predictions of the manager as to the cost of the drift to the ore body which it was desired to-work were fully justified, and at the time and with the expense anticipated the ore body was struck by the drift. In passing through the vein, however, it was found that it had faulted, and, instead of having some 350 feet of the vein above the drift, the drift had landed on top of the vein with only 12 feet of ore above the drift. The ore body was richer than had been anticipated, but, owing to water conditions, it could not be taken out from the drift just completed, and it would be necessary to drive another drift for that purpose at a still lower level, in order to mine [861]*861the ore, thus requiring an expenditure of still more money. It was in this situation that the directors met and agreed to default on the next installment of interest due January 1, 1927, and agreed to the appointment of a receiver, when the action was commenced, and Mr. Cole, one of the stockholders owning $86,200 of the bonds, agreed to purchase the receivership certificates necessary to' run the mine during foreclosure on behalf of himself and such bondholders as would join with him in so doing. The trial court held that this agreement was made in good faith, and, under the circumstances, was for the best interest of the Corporation. In considering the question of the good faith of the directors of the corporation, it should be stated that the major problem of the mining operations was the removal of the large amount of water constantly making in the mine.

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Bluebook (online)
39 F.2d 859, 1930 U.S. App. LEXIS 4164, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/friedrichsen-v-guaranty-trust-co-of-new-york-ca9-1930.