Hagan v. Continental National Bank

81 S.W. 171, 182 Mo. 319, 1904 Mo. LEXIS 179
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedJune 2, 1904
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 81 S.W. 171 (Hagan v. Continental National Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hagan v. Continental National Bank, 81 S.W. 171, 182 Mo. 319, 1904 Mo. LEXIS 179 (Mo. 1904).

Opinion

GANTT, J.

In 1891 the Hagan Opera House Company was organized as a corporation under the laws of this State with a capital stock of 1,000 shares of the par value of $100 each and aggregating $100,000.

On this capital stock $83,000 was at once paid in. A long term lease was secured by the corporation on a lot of ground at the corner of Tenth and Pine street, in St. Louis, having a front of one hundred and twenty-five feet on Pine street. A building was constructed in which there were stores and offices on the ground floor fronts, and also on the upper floors, and a large theatre in the central back portion. This building and the equipment of the theatre cost $156,000. After the completion of the building, the capital stock of the corporation was increased to 1,500 shares, that is to say to $150,000. Of these 1,500 shares, Hagan held 770 shares, a clear majority, which gave him the control of the corporation and all of its financial affairs. As is usual with the holder of the majority of shares in corporations, Hagan elected a board of directors, which latter elected him president, with a salary.

The corporation made a profit from its rents and from its theatrical department conducted along the line of the “legitimate” show prior to the theatrical season of 1896-1897. The ‘ ‘ continuous show ’ ’ craze had reached [327]*327St. Louis, and had had a profitable run. Some of the stockholders in the Hagan Opera House thought the “legitimate” show too slow, that it did not earn money fast enough, and after bookings had been made on old lines for the season, these stockholders insisted upon their abandonment and upon a resort to the “continuous.” Hagan and Havlin unwillingly yielded to the pressure, and the character of the entertainment offered to the public was changed, December, 1896. It turned out, however, that the “continuous” show business was on the wane, at least in first-class theatres, and the corporation, instead of making its profits and dividends, made a loss on the season of $2,700, and there was a temporary cessation of income to the stockholders. •

Hagan had been a customer of the Continental National Bank for some years prior to this. At various times the bank had loaned him money, as much .as $40,000 at one time, and as security for the loan, Hagan had pledged to the bank his 770 shares of stock of the Hagan Opera House Company, accompanied by a collateral contract in which there was embodied a “power” as follows:

“Now, in the event of non-payment of said note when due, or 'of non-payment at maturity of any other note or claim held by said bank against the maker of the above note . . . the said Continental National Bank, by its officers or agents, is hereby invested with full power and authority to use, transfer, hypothecate, sell and convey the said property, or any part thereof, at public or private sale, with or without notice to me or us, at such place and on such terms as it may deem best, and to deliver the property sold, and to transfer on the books of the company the stocks named to the purchaser or purchasers of the same. The bank shall also have power at such sale to bid for and purchase said property, or any part thereof, in its own name and for its own use and benefit. . . .”

Sometime previous to 1897 Hagan had also deliv[328]*328ered to the bank some second deeds of trust on real property, and some shares of stock in an Underground Service Company.

Prior to the first of January, 1897, Hagan had reduced his indebtedness from $40,000 to a sum exceeding a little over $23,000. This indebtedness was represented by a single note, executed by Hagan, for $15,340, and the balance of the $23,000 was represented by two notes, made by Hagan, indorsed by Havlin, approximating in the aggregate $6,500, and by another note for $1,500. The interest was all paid up. As the season progressed under the. new form of entertainment, the bank appeared to become uneasy about its security, and in March, 1897, began to press Hagan to reduce his indebtedness. It did not demand of him the payment of all of it. On March 4, 1897, the bank addressed a letter to Hagan, renewing his note for $15,340, which matured that day, but stated to him that the renewal was made upon the express condition that another note of Hagan’s for $1,500 indorsed by Havlin, which would become due on March 10, 1897, should be paid at maturity, and that the bank would require that Havlin note to be paid when due.

On March 17, 1897, the bank wrote another letter to Hagan, calling his attention to an overdraft, and to the past due Havlin note of $1,500, and telling him he must pay both of them. On March 29, the bank sent another letter to Hagan, calling his attention-again to the overdraft and to the fact that the $1,500 Havlin note still remained unpaid. This letter contained the first threat made by the bank — for they notified him that unless this matter, the overdraft and the Havlin $1,500 note, were not attended to immediately the bank would put Hagan’s affairs in a broker’s hands, as Baker said, “and see if I can not get this matter attended to, as we are unwilling to carry overdrafts for anyone.” The bank also notified him if the Havlin note was not attended to they would take steps to collect it at law. All [329]*329those letters are found in the record. On May 12,1897, the bank wrote to Hagan that it had received an intimation that he had sold his property, presumably the stock, and asking information on that subject. The letter proceeded to state, “We are still holding a $1,500 note of yours past due, indorsed by Havlin, which I have notified your attorney must have attention. ’ ’ The reference to Hagan’s rumored disposition of his property seems to have arisen out of some hint received by the bank of Jannopoulo’s offer of $50,000 to Hagan for his stock.

The first demand made by the bank for the payment of the $15,340, for which the 770 shares of stock were pledged, was made June 10, 1897, at which time the bank formally demanded payment not only of this large note, but of a $1,500 note, and a $5,000 and a $1,500 note indorsed by Havlin. Pressed to pay his indebtedness Hagan employed Bauer, a broker, to see what could be done with his stock in St. Louis, which resulted in Jannopoulo’s offering $50,000 for Hagan’s 770 shares, provided the bank would take his notes for the amount of Hagan’s indebtedness, and take the stock as collateral, and he would give Hagan his notes for the remainder of the $50,000 and secure him by a second lien on the stock.

This proposition came to the knowledge of the bank prior to June 10, 1897. It seems the bank was willing to make this arrangement, but Hagan declined it, because it brought him no cash, and because he would thus lose all his voice in the control of the theatre while his money was invested in it.

Mr. Baker, the president, says that he personally notified Hagan that his stock would be sold at public sale. The answer of the bank in this case alleges that this stock was sold at public salé, and it is clear that the bank intended, after the demand of June 10, 1897, to give Hagan notice that his stock would be sold at public sale. The bank followed the demand of June 10, 1897, with the letter dated the twelfth of June, giving Hagan a notice that his stock would be sold on the Merchants [330]*330Exchange, on June 18, between the hours of 12 and 1 o’clock.

Hagan testified that this action of the bank was entirely unexpected, and greatly shocked him.

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Bluebook (online)
81 S.W. 171, 182 Mo. 319, 1904 Mo. LEXIS 179, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hagan-v-continental-national-bank-mo-1904.