Holton & Winn v. John A. Hubbard & Co.

22 So. 338, 49 La. Ann. 715, 1897 La. LEXIS 634
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedFebruary 1, 1897
DocketNo. 12,158
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 22 So. 338 (Holton & Winn v. John A. Hubbard & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Holton & Winn v. John A. Hubbard & Co., 22 So. 338, 49 La. Ann. 715, 1897 La. LEXIS 634 (La. 1897).

Opinions

[723]*723The opinion of the court was delivered by

Nicholls, C. J.

The first question submitted to us for decision is as to the respective rights of the plaintiffs, Holton & Winn, and those of the defendant, the Hibernia National Bank, touching one thousand nine hundred and sixty-nine sacks of rice which were placed on storage in the Rio Warehouse in New Orleans by John A. Hubbard in his own name, and for which John Holmes & Co., the proprietors of the said warehouse, issued ten warehouse receipts.

The plaintiffs allege that the idee in question belongs to them, that they shipped it to John A. Hubbard for sale; that their ownership has never been divested by sale; that Hubbard was without authority to pledge it; that belonging to them, they are entitled to have their ownership recognized and to have the rice delivered to them, and they so pray.

The Hibernia National Bank contest plaintiffs’ claims and set up their right to hold the rice; to sell it and to apply the proceeds of sale to the extinguishment of an indebtedness of Hubbard to them. They aver that they are the holders and owners under the endorse - ment of Hubbard of the ten warehouse receipts which John Holmes & Co. issued for the same; the said receipts having been pledged to them by Hubbard to secure payment of the said indebtedness. They maintain that whatever rights plaintiffs had in the rice originally must yield to those which have become vested in themselves as holders and owners of the receipts. There is no question as to the fact that the rice belonged to the plaintiffs; that it was shipped by them to Hubbard as a factor for sale, and that it had not been sold. It had been pledged through the warehouse receipts given for the same to the Hibernia National Bank to secure Hubbard’s individual debt to them. Plaintiffs, in addition to denying generally that Hubbard was authorized to pledge the rice, aver that at the time it was pledged by him to the bank they owed him nothing.

The bank contends that, independently of any question as to whether Holton & Winn were indebted to Hubbard at the time he pledged the receipts and cotton to them, they are protected as holders and owners of the receipts.in good faith under Hubbard’s endorsement from any adverse claims which could be urged.

The bank’s claims are based upon the provisions of Act No. 156 of 1888.

That act is entitled: “An act to define and regulate the business [724]*724of public warehouses and the issue of warehouse receipts; to define and punish-violations of this act, and to repeal conflicting laws.”

We make from the act such extracts as bear upon this controversy.

The third section declares that on application of the owner or depositor of the property stored in a public warehouse, the ware - houseman shall issue over his own signature and that of his duly authorized agent a public warehouse receipt therefor, to the order of the person entitled thereto, which receipt shall purport to be issued by a public warehouse, shall bear date of the day of its issue and shall state upon its face the name of the warehouse and its location; the description, quantity, number and marks of the property stored, and the date on which it was originally received in warehouse, and that it is deliverable upon the return of the receipt, properly endorsed by the person to whose order it was issued and upon payment of all charges for storage. All such receipts shall be numbered consecutively in the order of their issue, and no two receipts bearing the same number shall be issued from the same warehouse during the same year, nor shall any duplicate receipt be issued except in the case of a lost or destroyed receipt, in which case the new receipt shall bear the same date and number as the original, and shall be plainly marked on its face “Duplicate;” and provided that no such duplicate receipt shall be issued by any public warehouseman until adequate security be deposited with or to the order of said warehouseman to protect the party or parties who may formally hold the original receipt in good faith and for a valuable consideration.

The seventh section declares that the receipts issued against property stored in public warehouses, as herein provided for, shall be negotiable and transferable by endorsement in blank or by special endorsement and delivery in the same manner and to the same extent as bills of exchange now are, without other formality, and the transferee or holder of such warehouse receipt shall be considered and held as the actual and exclusive owner to all intents and purposes of the property therein described, subject only to the lien and privilege of the public warehouseman for storage or other warehouse charges; provided, however, all such public warehouse receipts as shall have the words “not negotiable” plainly written or stamped on the face thereof shall be exempt from the provisions of this section, and provided further that- no public warehouseman shall issue [725]*725warehouse receipts against his own property in his own warehouse; but upon sale of such property in good faith, may issue to the pur - chaser his public warehouse receipt in form and manner as herein provided, which issue and delivery of the receipt shall be deemed to complete the sale and shall constitute the purchaser full owner as aforesaid of the property therein described. Nothing in this last clause shall be construed to exempt the issuer of said receipt for his own goods in his own public warehouse from complying with and being subject in all respects to all the other sections and provisions of this act.

Section 8 declares that a public warehouseman who violates any of the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a criminal offence and upon indictment and conviction thereof shall be fined at the discretion of the court in any sum not exceeding five thousand dollars or imprisoned in the State penitentiary not exceeding five years, or •both.

Section 9 declares that nothing in this act shall be construed to apply to private warehouses or to the issue of receipts of their owners or managers under existing laws, or to prohibit public ware-housemen from issuing such receipts as are now issued by private warehousemen under existing laws, provided that such private receipts issued by public warehousemen shall never be written on a form or blank indicating that it issued from a public warehouse, but shall, on the contrary, bear on its face, in large characters, the words “ Not a public warehouse receipt,” in addition to any form of words imposed by laws heretofore in force.

The tenth section declares that all laws or parts of laws in conflict with this act were thereby repealed in so far as they conflicted.

At the time this act was passed there stood upon the statute books a statute bearing upon the subject of cotton press receipts and warehouse receipts, which was approved March 11, 1876, and known as Act No. 72 of that year. The title of the act was: “ An act governing the manner in which cotton press receipts, warehouse receipts, •or the receipts of other custodians of any property whatever, shall be issued in all cases where such receipts shall or may be used or pledged as collateral security for moneyjadvaneed or borrowed on faith of the property therein specified, and governing the delivery and disposal of the property for which such receipts may be issued.”

The fourth, fifth and eighth sections of that act are as follows:

[726]*726“ Sec. 4.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
22 So. 338, 49 La. Ann. 715, 1897 La. LEXIS 634, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holton-winn-v-john-a-hubbard-co-la-1897.