In re Peoples Loan & Investment Co.

292 F. Supp. 594, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8429
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Arkansas
DecidedNovember 7, 1968
DocketCiv. A. No. FS-68-B-15
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 292 F. Supp. 594 (In re Peoples Loan & Investment Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Peoples Loan & Investment Co., 292 F. Supp. 594, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8429 (W.D. Ark. 1968).

Opinion

OPINION

WILLIAMS, District Judge.

On July 19, 1968, the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 328 of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C., See. 728 filed motion to dismiss Chapter XI proceeding unless, within a time specified by the Court, the debtor amends its petition, or a creditor’s petition is filed, to bring the proceeding within Chapter X of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C., Sec. 501 et seq.

Inasmuch as the Referee in Bankruptcy had already scheduled the first meeting of creditors for August 6, 1968, the motion was referred to the [596]*596Referee as Special Master to hear the evidence and testimony concerning it contemporaneously with the examination of debtor’s officers at first meeting of creditors. The Special Master heard testimony and evidence on August 6 and 7, 1968, and conducted a further hearing on September 13, 1968. On September 18, 1968, the Special Master filed findings of fact and conclusions of law, and a recommendation that the motion of the Securities and Exchange Commission be denied.

The findings of fact and conclusions of law on this motion are not separately stated but are incorporated in this opinion as permitted by Rule 52, Fed.R.Civ.P. This also makes it unnecessary for the Court to deal with specific objections to the findings and conclusions of the Master. For clarity, Peoples Loan & Investment Company, is hereafter referred to as “Peoples” or “debtor” and Community National Life Insurance Company is referred to as “Community.”

Debtor institutes this proceeding by a voluntary petition under Section 322 of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C., Sec. 722 in which it sought to effect an arrangement by extension of its unsecured debts. The petition reflects that debtor is solvent with assets of $8.7 million and liabilities of $8.2 million. This circumstance is unusual, but debtor, for reasons that appear hereafter, alleged also that it was unable to pay its debts as they matured. Despite the rather substantial net worth of debtor its assets were composed, in general categories, of real estate mortgages maturing several years hence, cash, land, unmatured debentures, restricted and optioned common stock and miscellaneous personal property. Most of these assets are not readily convertible to cash and debtor faced immediate demands from depositors, the major unsecured creditors, for payment on their thrift certificates and pass book accounts.1

Prior to this proceeding and in order to protect against excessive depositor demands for payment, Peoples consented to an order in the Sebastian County Chancery Court, Fort Smith, Arkansas, upon application of the Arkansas State Bank Commissioner, which enjoined it from either accepting or paying out deposits. On May 16, 1968, a similar order was entered in this case and also an order was entered permitting debtor to remain in possession of its property, continue routine business and continue to conduct its affairs.

In addition to the arrangement proceeding involving a requested extension, or moratorium, on payment of depositors, Peoples has pursued causes of action to complete pending transactions and has instituted a suit involving a substantial portion of its assets.2

[597]*597It is the contention of the Securities and Exchange Commission that the Bankruptcy chapters involved, X and XI, are mutually exclusive. As grounds for the utilization of Chapter X, it is asserted that there is evidence of mismanagement, need for readjustment of capital structure, the unresolved litigation arising from uncompleted transactions and self dealing by the debtor with its prior and present officers. Thus, it is claimed, the need for an investigation by an independent trustee under Chapter X, even with the additional time and expense involved, outweighs the speed and economy possible under Chapter XI.

Peoples commenced existence in 1923 as an ordinary business corporation under the laws of Arkansas with broad powers in its charter to engage in, among other things, the business of making industrial loans. It became regulated under the Arkansas laws relating to industrial loan institutions, and at the time of the proceeding it was subject to statutory provisions contained in the Arkansas Industrial Loan Institution Act.3

More recently Peoples loaned funds on “shell homes,” i. e. those where the purchaser completes and finishes the inside of the house. These loans are secured by mortgages on the land and improvements and usually are repayable in installments over an extended period of time — 10 to 20 years. American Home Builders, Inc., owned Peoples for a period of time and sold its shell home mortgages to Peoples. Commencing in late 1955 and until early 1967 Peoples purchased shell home mortgages from Markham Homes, Inc., while its half owner, Maurice Markham, was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Peoples. Peoples discontinued such practices upon notification from the State Bank Commissioner although such practices had been approved by the Commissioner as to dealings with American Home Builders, Inc.4

Various transactions by Peoples came under the scrutiny of the Arkansas Banking Commissioner and as a result of which certain directives were issued, and litigation involving these various transactions thereafter ensued. These various transactions form the basis of the claim of the Securities and Exchange Commission that a Chapter X proceeding is mandatory.

We are not here concerned with whether all the misdeeds of Peoples can be best exposed by a Chapter X proceeding, but whether under the facts as presently revealed the Court has a discretion to proceed with this cause as filed under Chapter XI of the Bankruptcy Act or whether it is required to dismiss the action pursuant to the motion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, unless the petition is amended by the debtor, or further petition is filed by a creditor, seeking relief under the provisions of Chapter X of the Bankruptcy Act. The Court has concluded that it has a discretion and that the motion should be denied.

[598]*598Two separate series of transactions must be discussed. The first involves AMCO Industries and the second involves what we refer to collectively as the transaction with Community National Life Insurance Company, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In 1966 Peoples purchased a hotel and office building in Los Angeles, California. Its total investment was $450,-000.00 plus assumption of first mortgages. Peoples formed subsidiaries to hold title to these properties and made loans to the subsidiaries to improve the properties. Peoples sold these properties to AMCO Industries and took in exchange for its equity a debenture for $1.0 million, convertible into common shares of AMCO Industries. Ultimately, to enable new management to take over AMCO Industries and because of its precarious financial condition, Peoples accepted in settlement of disputes with AMCO Industries 150,000 common shares of AMCO Industries subject to an option to IRVRU, Inc., the new management, at $5.00 per share until August 31, 1969 and at $6.00 per share until June 30, 1970. This option Peoples now seeks to reject. It also seeks to remove the investment legend from the stock so that it will be free trading and can be sold immediately by obtaining a “no action” letter from the Corporate Finance Division, Securities and Exchange Commission.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
292 F. Supp. 594, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8429, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-peoples-loan-investment-co-arwd-1968.