Grant v. Cananea Consolidated Copper Co.

82 N.E. 191, 189 N.Y. 241, 27 Bedell 241, 1907 N.Y. LEXIS 937
CourtNew York Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 1, 1907
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 82 N.E. 191 (Grant v. Cananea Consolidated Copper Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Grant v. Cananea Consolidated Copper Co., 82 N.E. 191, 189 N.Y. 241, 27 Bedell 241, 1907 N.Y. LEXIS 937 (N.Y. 1907).

Opinion

Haight, J.

The Appellate Division, in allowing an appeal to this court, certified the following question: Upon the facts appearing upon this application, did the Supreme Court of this state acquire jurisdiction of the Cananea Consolidated Copper Company, 'Sociedad Anónima, in this action.”

It appears from the allegations of the complaint that James A. Grant, the plaintiff, is the owner of stock in the defendant Cobre Grande Copper Company, an Arizona corporation, of which the defendant William C. Greene is the president and the owner of the majority of the stock; that the plaintiff brings this action in behalf of himself and of all other stockholders of the corporation similarly situated, to have the defendant Cananea Consolidated Copper Company, a Mexican corporation, adjudged to be the holder, in trust,- for the benefit of the Cobre Grande Copper Company of' certain mines and mining properties situate in the republic of Mexico, of which the defendant William C. Greene is also the president and owner or controller of substantially all of the stock of the corporation, and to compel such corporation and William C. Greene, its president, together with the Greene Consolidated Copper Company, a West Virginia corporation, of which he is also the president and the owner or controller of substantially all of its stock, to account to the Cobre Grande Copper Company and to the plaintiff for the income and profits arising from the work, use and occupation of such mines and mining properties. The complaint alleges, in substance, that the Greene Consolidated *245 Copper Company was organized as a holding company of the stock of both the Cananea and Cobre Grande companies, and to take over and dispose of the ores produced by those companies. The action was commenced by the personal service of a summons within this state upon William C. Greene, individually and as president of the three corporations named. The uncontroverted facts, as appear from the affidavits read upon the hearing of the motion, are substantially as follows: William C. Greene is a resident of the city of Mew York, and the Greene Consolidated Copper Company maintains an office at Mo. 24 Broad street in that city, where its president, Greene, conducts the general business of the corporation. The Cananea corporation was organized for the purpose of holding legal title to the mines and properties situated in the republic of Mexico belonging to the Cobre Grande Company, to which under the Mexican laws it was unable to hold legal title, unless it incurred heavy taxes and expenses of legalization. As such it is engaged in the mining, reducing and refining of ores at and near the city of Cananea in the state of Sonora, in the republic of Mexico, and the ores produced from such mines as soon as smelted and treated are transferred and delivered to the Greene Consolidated Copper Company, which company causes the same to be sold and shipped to such parts of the world as the purchasers may order.- The Cananea corporation also owns and controls the Banco de Cananea, a bank doing business in the city of Cananea, which bank at times has credit balances with its correspondent bank in the city of Mew York. The Cananea Company draws drafts upon the Greene Consolidated Company for the purpose of meeting its expenses in the working of the mines, and at the time this motion was made it had a sum of money to its credit with the Greene Consolidated Company. While the Cananea Company maintains no office, clerk or employee in this state, and does not transact business here other than that referred to, the stock of the Cananea Company is owned by the Greene Company, and the business of the former company is managed, controlled and its busi *246 ness conducted by the Greene Company through its president and officers at its office in Broad street in the city of New York. The question is thus presented as to whether, under the facts here presented, the courts of this state acquired jurisdiction of the plaintiff’s cause of action by the service of a summons upon the president of the Canauea Company.

It will readily be seen that the situation is peculiar and differs from that of any other reported case, either in our own or the Federal courts, to which our attention has been called. The Canauea Company certainly is a proper party in an action for an accounting. Whether it be a necessary party, we do not now determine. If it is a necessary party and the courts of this state have not acquired jurisdiction Q'f it by the service of a summons in the manner set forth, it is not apparent how the minority stockholders of the Cobre Grande Company can obtain relief. Should they commence their action in the Federal court, they would be met with the same difficulty with reference to the acquiring of jurisdiction over the Mexican corporation, and should they go to Mexico and institute their action there, they would meet with a similar difficulty with reference to acquiring jurisdiction over the Cobre Grande and the Greene Consolidated corporations. We are not now concerned with the question as to whether the complaint states a cause of action, for the motion to set aside the service of the summons was based upon the grounds that the Cananea Company was a Mexican corporation which did not carry on business or maintain an office or possess property within this state, and did not have any officer, agent or employee authorized to accept service of papers, and that the service made was in violation of the first section of the 14th amendment of the Constitution of the United States, and consequently did not give our courts jurisdiction. The provision of the Constitution referred to is that which prohibits the depriving of any person of property without due process of law. If the defendant Cananea Company is here to such an extent that we may acquire jurisdiction of it by the service of a summons, then our courts may *247 determine as to the rights of the company in so far as it has property here over which the courts may acquire jurisdiction. If it has property or profits arising from the mining of ores in the hands of the Greene Consolidated corporation which in equity belongs to our own citizens, they may apply to the courts, either State or Federal, to recover that which belongs to them, and such application is the due process of law which the Constitution recognizes and requires.

Section 1780 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that an action against a foreign corporation may be maintained by a resident of the state for any cause of action, and section 432, subd. 1, provides that personal service of a summons upon a foreign corporation may be made within the state by the delivering of a copy thereof to its president, vice-president, treasurer or secretary. The service made herein strictly conforms to the requirements of the Code, and thereby operates to give our courts jurisdiction to hear and determine thej claims of the parties and award the proper judgment, upon, which process may issue to reach any property of the judg-t merit creditor that may be within this state and subject to our jurisdiction. (Pope v. Terre Haute Car & Mfg. Co., 87 N. Y. 137; Atl. & Pac. Tel. Co. v. Balt & O. R. R. Co., 87 N. Y. 355.) But it is contended that the provisions of the Code are violative of the provision of the Constitution of the United States, already referred to. This we cannot admit.

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Bluebook (online)
82 N.E. 191, 189 N.Y. 241, 27 Bedell 241, 1907 N.Y. LEXIS 937, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grant-v-cananea-consolidated-copper-co-ny-1907.