Graham v. Metropolitan Building & Loan Ass'n

98 S.W.2d 429
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 23, 1936
DocketNo. 13437
StatusPublished

This text of 98 S.W.2d 429 (Graham v. Metropolitan Building & Loan Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Graham v. Metropolitan Building & Loan Ass'n, 98 S.W.2d 429 (Tex. Ct. App. 1936).

Opinions

DUNKLIN, Chief Justice.

After the decision of the Commission of Appeals shown in the opinion of Justice Critz in Connally v. Continental Southland Savings & Loan Association, 121 Tex. 565, 51 S.W.(2d) 293, that association, hereinafter designated as the Continental Association, organized and procured a charter of another building and loan association in the name of the Metropolitan Building & Loan Association, hereinafter designated as the Metropolitan Association, with the same officers and directors as in the Continental, to which it transferred a part of its assets. Apparently that proceeding was under the provisions of article 881a — 21a, Vernon’s Annotated Texas Civil Statutes.

.Upon petition of the Continental Association therefor, the Banking Commissioner ordered a reduction of 15 per cent, of its liability to its members, except upon juvenile shares, under, the -provisions of. article 881a — 56. That reduction was designated in all the proceedings as a “write down” of liabilities to its shareholders. ,.The assets [430]*430of the association were then divided into two groups, which for convenience we will here designate as Group A and Group B. The assets in Group A were considered solvent and included mortgage and stock loans, etc. The assets in Group B were deemed to be of uncertain values, consisting of .mortgage and stock loans and real estate foreclosed.

The Continental then transferred and assigned the assets in Group A to the Metropolitan Association and retained the assets in Group B.

Pursuant to the plan that had theretofore been submitted to the various stockholders of the Continental, the contract of assignment by that company to the Metropolitan embodied agreements to the following effect: The Continental would withdraw and cancel the stock theretofore issued by it, and in lieu thereof would reissue to those stockholders 25 per cent, of the book value of said stock. The Metropolitan would issue to those holders 75 per cent, of the book value of the stock according to the Continental’s books. The Continental agreed to distribute to the stockholders the amount of cash then on hand, to wit, some $500,000, as their interest might appear from the by-laws of the association. The Continental agreed to execute to the Metropolitan its promissory note in the sum of $1,814,849.85, with a chattel mortgage on the assets reserved by the Continental, all to secure the. Metropolitan against any losses accruing against any claim arising against the assets assigned to the Metropolitan. The stock to bé so issued by the Metropolitan was designated as Class A. It was to be issued to the stockholders in the Continental as payment thereon to the extent of $63.75 per each $100 book value of stock owned by the holder in the Continental before the 15 per cent, write down in the stock liability had been applied; that sum being stated as “the exact and proper proportion which the assets purchased and the note received by the Metropolitan Association less reserve for dividends from July 1, 1932 to September 1, 1932, and other necessary reserves aggregating $90,000 bears to the book value of the stock'held by such Continental Association shareholders,” with the further stipulation that, “should any Continental Association shareholder refuse to accept such Metropolitan stock and the terms of the proposal mailed on October 10, 1932, then an amount representing- the proportion at the rate of $63.74 per $100 of the cash- payments -on 'such shares before the 15% write-down of stock liability of any and all of such shares so refused, shall be applied as a credit on the principal of the above mentioned note.”

That contract of sale of assets to the Metropolitan was in accord with the plans proposed by the Continental mailed to all of its stockholders and the resolution authorizing and adopting the same passed at a special meeting of the shareholders which had been duly called and notice of which had been given to all the stockholders in accordance with the by-laws of the Continental. And such action by the shareholders was approved by the vote of more than 98 per cent, of all the stockholders.

Accompanying the notice mailed to the various stockholders of the forthcoming special meeting of stockholders was a letter addressed to them reading as follows:

“Dallas, Texas, August 10, 1932.
“To the Investing Shareholders of the Continental Southland Savings & Loan Association :
“The enclosed call for the special stockholders’ meeting is, of necessity, long because the Association’s plan is set out in detail. In order to assist you in the interpretation of the plan, we give below a brief, practical summary of it:
“We have had our books .audited and our assets appraised. Based upon that audit and appraisal, we think your stock is unquestionably worth eighty-five dollars on the hundred of its paid-in value and that you have reasonable chance to receive the other fifteen dollars on the hundred. The plan divides your investment as follows, the example being based on one hundred dollars:
$ 7.00.Cash
63.75.Stock in new dividend paying association
14.25.Stock in liquidating association
15.00.Participation interest in reserves
$100.00.Total
“The $7.00 is to be paid upon acceptance of this plan, and the stock will be delivered to you immediately thereafter or as soon as the shareholdérs are notified to send their old stock in for transfer. The $15.00 participating interest in the reserves will not be evidenced by a certificate but will be set upon the accounts of the Association in the liquidating company to the credit of the stockholder.
[431]*431“The stock in the new Association in the amount of $63.75 will commence to. earn dividends as of July 1, 1932, and the dividends are to be paid in cash immediately after January 1, 1933. The stock which you will get in the liquidating company in the amount of $14.25 will be subject to further liquidating dividends as soon as enough of the assets can be sold to make a distribution of the cash.
“As soon as the assets are all sold out of the liquidating company and the stockholder has been paid his $14.25 in full as per the above illustration, the further distribution of cash will be paid out of the $15.00 participation account referred to above.
“It can be seen from the foregoing that each shareholder will, in the end, receive the full benefit of the stock that he now owns, and it is our opinion that this plan will enable us to give you your money more quickly than any other plan known to us. It also has the added advantage of separating the good assets from the bad assets, and in that way enabling us to place the majority of your investment on a good, sound dividend-paying basis.
“If you agree to these plans, we urge you to sign the enclosed card and return it to us at once so that the secretary of the Association may record your vote at the stockholders’ meeting in case you ■ cannot be there.
“Very truly yours,
“W. C. Barns,
“Secretary.”

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Related

Connally v. Continental Southland Savings & Loan Ass'n
121 Tex. 565 (Texas Supreme Court, 1932)
Connally v. Continental Southland Savings & Loan Ass'n
51 S.W.2d 293 (Texas Commission of Appeals, 1932)
Ecker v. Kentucky Refining Co.
138 S.W. 264 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1911)
Symmes v. Union Trust Co.
60 F. 830 (U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Nevada, 1894)

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Bluebook (online)
98 S.W.2d 429, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/graham-v-metropolitan-building-loan-assn-texapp-1936.