Hux v. Butler

220 F. Supp. 35, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10188
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Tennessee
DecidedApril 12, 1963
DocketCiv. A. No. 4367
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 220 F. Supp. 35 (Hux v. Butler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hux v. Butler, 220 F. Supp. 35, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10188 (W.D. Tenn. 1963).

Opinion

ROBERT L. TAYLOR, District Judge.

John D. Hux, Receiver of the Federal Grain Company, Inc., filed an action [37]*37against Mrs. Sydney Butler to recover sums of money claimed to have been improperly withdrawn from Federal and paid to her under the directions of her husband, L. V. “Jimmie” Butler.

The case was tried to the Court and lasted for four days and some 800 or 900 pages of testimony were taken and 113 exhibits filed. At the conclusion of the oral argument, the attorneys were given time in which to file additional briefs. The briefs have been filed and the case is ready for decision on the merits.

We shall borrow freely from plaintiff’s trial brief in explaining the relationship of the parties and the history of what proved to be a short and turbulent life of Federal Grain Company, which ended in a receivership in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Southeastern Division upon the complaint of the Government. It was federally licensed under the provisions of the National Warehouse Licensing Act and a considerable amount of grain owned by the Government and its agency, Commodity Credit Corporation, was stored in its elevators. In the fall of 1960, it issued checks to various farmers in payment of grain purchased from them which were dishonored by drawee banks due to insufficient funds. Efforts of these farmers to obtain their money precipitated the receivership.

Federal owned five grain elevators, four located in southeast Missouri and one in Olive Branch, Illinois. The elevators were formerly owned by Foster-Butler Company in which Mr. L. V. Butler, who was referred to by the witnesses throughout the trial as “Jimmie”, owned a financial interest and were sold by his trustee in bankruptcy to Joel Montgomery, who in turn sold them to Leonard M. Bernes and V. C. Rasmussen in May, 1959. Bernes and Rasmussen paid $550,-000.00 for the elevators and certain equipment, $10,000.00 of which was paid in cash and the balance secured by first and second deeds of trust. Federal Grain Company was then chartered as a corporation by the State of Georgia and the elevators and equipment were transferred* to it in consideration of the issuance of common stock.

Butler was employed by Bernes and Rasmussen as a grain consultant to Federal with authority to buy and sell grain for the account of Federal. His authority to speculate in the grain futures market was a controversial issue. Rasmussen stated that he was given authority to speculate in the grain market, but Bernes stated that he was not. However, Bernes stated that he found out that he was speculating in his wife’s name for Federal some time in June, 1960, and ordered a discontinuance of the practice. Butler owned no stock of Federal but had an option from Bernes and Rasmussen to become one-third owner of the stock upon the payment of a pro rata share of the advancements and outlays made by Bernes and Rasmussen to the corporation.

Bernes and Rasmussen were residents of Atlanta, the former being a CPA and the latter a businessman. The entire stock of the corporation was owned equally by them subject to Butler’s option. Rasmussen sold his interest in the corporation in June, 1960. This stock was then held by the corporation subject to the option of Butler to purchase 50% interest under certain conditions, which included the payment of one-half of all advancements by Bernes to the corporation. At that time, Bernes had advanced about $65,000.00 and Rasmussen around $20,000.00, although the parties agreed in the beginning to make advancements upon an equal basis. The sale by Rasmussen made Bernes the sole stockholder.

Neither Bernes nor Rasmussen actively participated in the management and operation of Federal. T. E. Thompson of Morley, Missouri, who had formerly been employed by Butler when he owned an interest in the same elevators as Foster-Butler, was elected President, although he owned no stock. Butler was the dominant, if not the sole figure in the management and operation of the business. Thompson appeared to follow the instructions of Butler in toto except when he [38]*38found out that the corporation was in serious trouble and Butler asked hjm to remove some of the Government wheat from the elevators which he refused to do.

Federal was organized in January, 1960 and subsequent to this date Butler organized Best Gin and Land Company, a Missouri corporation, whose place of business was located in the general vicinity of the Missouri elevators of Federal. This corporation was operated and controlled by Butler. One share of the stock was issued to T. E. Thompson, one to Samuel Wyatt and 998 to J. J. Beatley, who was Butler’s accountant. On February 20, 1960, Beatley surrendered his shares and 449 shares were issued to Samuel Wyatt and 99 shares to T. E. Thompson and 499 shares to the Reynolds Cotton Company. On July 14, 1960, Wyatt sold his stock back to the company and surrendered the certificate. From that date, the Reynolds Cotton Company was the controlling shareholder.

Reynolds was chartered by the State of Tennessee on April 10, 1959. Butler is its President, Mrs. Butler its Secretary-Treasurer and Beatley one of its Directors. All of the outstanding stock is owned by Mrs. Butler as trustee for the minor children born of the marriage of her husband and herself.

The Receiver recovered judgment against Best Gin and Land Company for conversion in the amount of $141,700.35 on December 7,1961, which is unsatisfied. The conversion consisted primarily of 75,000 bushels of soybeans transferred at the direction of Butler from the elevators of Federal during the period from October 2, 1960 to November 14, 1960 which were loaded on railroad cars by Best at McMullin, Missouri and shipped and sold principally to B. C. Christopher and Company and P. R. Markley Company. At the direction of Butler, Best drew the drafts on the purchasers of these beans, with railroad bill of lading attached, and collected the proceeds of the drafts. Other items of conversion included in the judgment were corn and checks. The initial capital of Best was $500.00. It became defunct and went out of business about the same time Federal went into receivership.

The Henning Grain Company, a proprietorship operated by Butler, was located at Henning, Tennessee. Its property is held in trust by trustees subject to the orders and directions of Butler.

The plaintiff seeks to recover the sum of $21,833.64 under Count I of the complaint. This amount is represented by six checks, one dated May 9, 1960 for $2,000.00, another May 14, 1960 for $6,-006.00, another May 27, 1960 for $4,004.-00, another June 21, 1960 for $1,401.40, another June 28, 1960 for $2,000.00 and another September 28, 1960 for $6,422.-25. It is claimed that these checks represented money that belonged to Federal but were delivered to Francis I. DuPont and Company and Mitchell-Hutchins Company and credited to Mrs. Butler’s margin account. $10,422.25 of this amount was paid to DuPont and represented by three Federal checks, Exhibits 37, 38 and 39, and the balance of $11,-411.40 was transferred to Mrs. Butler’s commodity trading account at MitchellHutchins, through the use of three Federal checks that were used to purchase bank drafts. The three checks were all drawn by Federal and payable to the order of Oran State Bank, Oran, Missouri, and were filed as Exhibits 61, 62 and 63.

The Receiver concedes that Mrs. Butler is entitled to a credit of $7,500.00 against the money that was transferred to DuPont as he has recovered that sum from DuPont since the institution of the present action.

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220 F. Supp. 35, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10188, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hux-v-butler-tnwd-1963.