Hibbett v. Charleston Heights Co.

161 S.E. 499, 163 S.C. 327, 1931 S.C. LEXIS 26
CourtSupreme Court of South Carolina
DecidedDecember 15, 1931
Docket13303
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 161 S.E. 499 (Hibbett v. Charleston Heights Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hibbett v. Charleston Heights Co., 161 S.E. 499, 163 S.C. 327, 1931 S.C. LEXIS 26 (S.C. 1931).

Opinion

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

Mr. Justice Boni-iam.

For the orderly understanding of the matters involved in this appeal, it will be necessary to state, somewhat at length, the issues made by the pleadings.

The appeal is from orders of Judge Mauldin, dated March 9, 1931, overruling a motion of defendants to require the plaintiff to make her complaint more definite and certain by setting up as separate causes of action the cause of action based upon the alleged fraud of H. H. Ficken and the South Carolina Doan & Trust Company. The cause of action for the foreclosure of the mortgage mentioned and-described in the complaint, and the cause of action based upon the alleged liability of the Charleston Heights Company, by reason of its alleged assumption of the payment of the indebtedness secured by the said mortgage. This appeal is also from orders of Judge Mauldin overruling the demurrer of the Charleston Heights. Company to the complaint, and from an order overruling the demurrer of the Mortgage Doan Company.

It is agreed by counsel that these appeals shall be combined and heard together.

The complaint alleges:

That Charleston Heights Company was, on the 30th of April, 1923, and still is, a corporation created by the laws of South Carolina. •

That defendant, the Mortgage Doan Company, is a corporation, and was such on the 24th of January, 1927.

That by deed dated June 30, 1913, John F. Ficken, upon the expressed conditions of $5 and other valuable considerations not named in the deed, conveyed to Union Corpora *331 tion, inter alia, two certain tracts of land therein described; and that Union Corporation was owned, managed, and controlled by South Carolina Loan & Trust Company; that Union Corporation by deed dated December 26, 1918, for five dollars and other valuable considerations not stated in the deed, conveyed this same property to Security Savings Bank; a fifty cents United States stamp being attached to the deed. That said Security Savings Bank was then a banking corporation controlled and largely owned by H. H. Ficken, the son of John F. Ficken; and that Security Savings Bank was a subsidiary of South Carolina Loan & Trust Company, operated in connection with it in the same building. John F. Ficken was president of South Carolina Loan & Trust Company.

That on November 15, 1924, said Security Savings Bank in consideration of $10, and other valuable considerations not expressed in the deed, conveyed this same property to Dariel Corporation. To this deed were attached $35 each, of Federal and State revenue stamps. That said Dariel Corporation was owned and controlled by said South Carolina Loan & Trust Company; that the consideration of $35,000 represented .by the said revenue stamps was a pretensive one, and was never received by said Security Savings Bank, nor was it paid by Dariel Corporation. That on the 15th of November, 1924, Dariel Corporation executed eight bonds in the sum of $5,000 each, payable to bearer, on the first day of December, 1930, with interest from date at seven per cent, per annum payable quarterly; and, to secure the payment of said bonds, on the- same day executed and delivered to said South Carolina Loan & Trust Company, trustee, its deed by way oí mortgage of the same premises therein before referred to and described in the complaint. That the bonds were turned over by Dariel Corporation to South Carolina Loan & Trust Company, and carried by it as part of its assets. That said property was not worth then, and is not worth now, more than $6,000.

*332 That about November 21, 1925, and prior thereto, South Carolina Toan & Trust Company was the agent of this plaintiff and her mother, and through its officer, H. H. Ficken, handled their financial affairs and invested their money for them. That on or about December 21, 1925, South Carolina Toan & Trust Company, as such agent for plaintiff and her mother, through its officer Henry H. Ficken, invested $5,000' for them and purchased from South Carolina Toan & Trust Company one of these bonds, although it knew that the value of said bond was less than $1,000; nevertheless it received this money from Dariel Corporation, which it owned and controlled, and it thereby represented and guaranteed the validity of said bond and that it was worth the amount paid for it. That neither plaintiff nor her mother knew the value of this mortgaged property, and relied wholly upon "the representations of the said bank, and only recently has plaintiff been advised of the true value of the property. That from the time of the sale of the bond till December 1, 1926, South Carolina Toan & Trust Company paid to plaintiff the interest on said bond. In January, 1927, South Carolina Toan & Trust Company was declared insolvent, and a receiver therefor was appointed. By order of the Court, the receiver was authorized to- transfer to the Mortgage Toan Company all of the assets of the said South Carolina Toan & Trust Company, including said seven bonds, and the Mortgage Toan Company was made liquidating agent to wind up the affairs of said South Carolina Toan & Trust Company, in place and stead of the receiver. Mrs. Kate T. McDow, the mother of plaintiff, died December 17, 1928, leaving plaintiff as her sole heir and distributee, and sole owner and holder of the bond sold to' them as aforesaid; that the investment of the fund and sale of the bond to plaintiff and her mother was a fraud on their rights committed by die bank and its officer; and that neither the said bank, nor its successor, has the right to share equally with plaintiff in the proceeds of the sale of the mortgaged prop *333 erty, but that in equity and good conscience the plaintiff should have a lien securing her bond in preference to the lien of the bonds held by the Mortgage Loan Company as successors to South Carolina Loan & Trust Company. That South Carolina Loan & Trust Company resigned March 31, 1927, as trustee of said bonds, and no successor has been appointed. That the condition of the bond has been broken and the bond is past due and there is due on it $5,000 with interest from December 1, 1926. By deed dated November 29, 1924, Dariel Corporation conveyed the said property to Charleston Heights Company subject to said mortgage. That Charleston Heights Company was then a corporation owned and controlled by South Carolina Loan & Trust Company, and assumed by said deed the payment of said mortgage.

The prayer of the complaint is: (1) That the lien of the bond owned by plaintiff be declared to be superior and prior to the liens of the seven bonds secured by the same mortgage and owned by the defendant, the Mortgage Loan Company.

(2) For judgment against the defendant Charleston Heights Company for $5,000 and interest.

(3) For foreclosure of the mortgage and the sale of the mortgaged premises, and the application of the proceeds to the payment of the costs and expenses of the suit, plaintiff’s bond and interest, and any surplus to the Mortgage Loan & Trust Company.

In due time after the service of the summons and complaint, defendants served notice of a motion to require plaintiff to make her complaint more definite and certain by setting up as separate causes of action: (1) The cause of action based upon the alleged fraud of H. H.

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Bluebook (online)
161 S.E. 499, 163 S.C. 327, 1931 S.C. LEXIS 26, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hibbett-v-charleston-heights-co-sc-1931.