In Re Canal Bank & Trust Co.

155 So. 760, 179 La. 1018, 1934 La. LEXIS 1473
Supreme Court of Louisiana·Decided May 21, 1934·No. No. 32756.·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

BRUNOT, Justice.

The intervener is a nonresident corporation, organized under the laws of Mississippi, and domiciled and doing business in that state. On December 18, 1932, it entered into a written agreement with the Canal Bank & Trust Company for the sale to said bank of certain described bonds for $75,000, the par value thereof, and for the repurchase of said bonds, on or before March 15, 1933, for the same price plus interest thereon at the rate of 5% per cent, per annum. To guarantee its obligation to repurchase said bonds, intervener deposited with the Canal Bank & Trust Company other enumerated and described bonds of the par value of $32,000, and also agreed that “any securities or property now or hereafter in the possession or under the control of or held by vendee for any purpose whatsoever or in transit to or from vendee by mail or carrier, to the credit of or for account of vendor shall and are hereby declared to be additionally pledged as security hereunder.” On or about December 19, 1932, the intervener paid the Canal Bank & Trust Company $5,000, on account of the repurchase price of said bonds, and received from said bank certain of the said bonds of the par value of $5,000. On or about March 9, 1933, the intervener paid the Canal Bank & Trust Company $35,000, on account of the said repurchase agreement, and the bank released from its pledge and surrendered to intervener certain other 'bonds of the par value of $51,000, retaining in pledge bonds of the par value of $51,000. It is shown that all accrued interest on the repurchase price, or on so much' of it as remained unpaid after crediting the two payments mentioned supra, was regularly deducted by the bank from intervener’s funds on deposit therein. It is shown that intervener, in anticipation of its obligation to fully pay the repurchase price of said bonds, on the maturity date of the repurchase agreement, had accumulated a cash balance on deposit in the Canal Bank & Trust Company of $21,321.83, which, to the knowledge of the officials of the bank, was to be applied toward the payment of the repurchase price of the bonds.

On March 15, 1933, the due date fixed in the repurchasing agreement, and again on March 17, 1933, the intervener, through its officials, demanded that the Canal Bank & Trust Company apply its balance in said bank to its obligation to redeem its bonds, and offered to pay said bank $13,g/8.17 in cash, the difference between intervener’s actual balance in the bank and the sum of the unpaid balance then due the bank under the repurchasing agreement. The bank refused to comply with intervener’s demand or to accept its offer. Thereafter, on May 20, 1933, the Canal Bank & Trust Company was taken over by Hon. J. S. Brock, state bank commissioner, who, through Harry G. Thompson, special agent in charge, and John F. Finke, as coliquidator, were regularly appointed, confirmed, and qualified as such, and are now lawfully in charge of the property, records, and affairs of said bank and are liquidating the same.

Following these proceedings, the Bank of Picayune intervened and prays that:

“Hon. J. S. Brock, State Banking Commis *1021 sioner, through Harry G. Thompson, Special Agent in Charge, and John F. Finke, Liquidator, be cited to show cause, if any they can, in open court, at a day and hour to be fixed, why they be not ordered and required to accept from intervenor the sum of thirteen thousand, six hundred and seventy-eight dollars and seventeen cents ($13,678.17) and forthwith surrender and deliver to intervenor all of the bonds with coupons attached thereto, more particularly described in paragraph XIII of this petition of intervention.”

By a supplemental and amended petition of intervention, the Canal Bank & Trust Company, in liquidation, and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation were made parties defendant in these proceedings, and, as to them, the prayer of the petition of intervention is' reiterated. The original and supplemental petitions of intervention were answered by the respondents. The issues were heard, argued, and submitted, and judgment was rendered in favor of the intervener and against all of the respondents, as prayed for in intervener’s petitions. From this judgment Hon. J. S. Brock, state bank commissioner, and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation appealed.

It is conceded that this case presents the same question of compensation, or offset of deposits against the liability of the depositor to the bank, as was presented in the case entitled In re Liquidation of Canal Bank & Trust Co. (Intervention of Harry Wainer), reported in 178 La. 961, 152 So. 578, 579, in which case an application to the Supreme Court of the United States for certiorari was recently denied by that court. The only difference in the facts of the two cases is that, in the Wainer Case, the obligation to the bank was represented by a note, while in this case the obligation to the bank is represent-: ed -by a repurchasing agreement, and in the Wainer -Case the maker and indorser of the note had in their combined deposits in the bank sufficient funds to pay the note, while in this case the sum of the difference between the intervener’s indebtedness and deposit was tendered to the bank in cash.

From the decision in the Wainer Case we quote the following:

“On March 1, 1933, H. Wainer & Co. had on deposit with the Canal Bank & Trust Company the sum of $18,490.45, and H. Wainer, individually, had on deposit with that bank the sum of $5,551.02.
“From March 1, 1933, until March 20, 1933, the Canal Bank & Trust Company remained closed and did no business, except that on Friday March 3, 1933, pursuant to a resolution adopted by the New Orleans Clearing House Association, with the approval of the state banking commissioner and the acting Governor of the state, permitted withdrawals by its depositors not exceeding 5 per cent, of the -balance to the credit of the depositors as of March 1, 1933. During this period the Canal Bank & Trust Company remained closed, except as above stated, acting under the orders of the state authorities and the Proclamations of the President of the United States, of date Márch 6 and March 9, 1933 (see 12 USOA § 95 note), declaring and extending a national banking holiday.
“On March 10, 1933, the President by Executive Order (see 12 USCA § 95 note) authorized the Secretary of the Treasury, under such regulations as he may prescribe, to *1023 permit any member bank of the Federal Reserve System to perform any and all of its usual banking functions.
“The President in this Executive Order further directed that all banks who are members of the Federal Reserve System, desiring to reopen for the performance of all of their usual or normal banking functions, should apply for a license therefor to the Secretary of the Treasury.
“The Canal Bank & Trust Company was at that time a member of the Federal * Reserve System, and promptly applied for a license to be permitted to reopen for the performance of all its usual and normal banking functions, but was refused a license by the Treasury Department.
“On March IS, 1933, the Secretary of the Treasury issued and promulgated a regulla-, tion, designated as No.

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In Re Canal Bank & Trust Co., 155 So. 760, 179 La. 1018, 1934 La. LEXIS 1473 (La. 1934).

155 So. 760 (In Re Canal Bank & Trust Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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