Levering v. Indemnity Ins. Co. of North America

50 F.2d 151, 1931 U.S. App. LEXIS 4432
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedMay 8, 1931
DocketNo. 6199
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 50 F.2d 151 (Levering v. Indemnity Ins. Co. of North America) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Levering v. Indemnity Ins. Co. of North America, 50 F.2d 151, 1931 U.S. App. LEXIS 4432 (9th Cir. 1931).

Opinion

WILBUR, Circuit Judge.

This action is brought upon an indemnity bond given January 26,1924, on behalf of the sellers to the purchaser, the appellant, in connection with a sale and as an inducement to the purchase of a majority of the shares (679) of the National Bank of Bakersfield, at $140 per share. Judgment was rendered for the defendants, and the plaintiff appeals. The case was tried by the court without a jury in pursuance of a stipulation in writing, and written findings of fact were made by the court. It appears from the written agreements made at the time of the sale that the primary purpose of the parties was to provide the bank with liquid assets in an amount necessary to satisfy the comptroller in lieu of frozen assets of the bank. These frozen assets already amounted to $133,000 at the time of the sale, and it ufas anticipated might amount to $299,641.88 more, a total of $432,-641.88. The bank capital was divided into 1,000 shares, apparently of $100 each, although that does not clearly appear in the record. The liquid assets were to be furnished in cash to the hank by the appellant, to the extent of the purchase price he agreed to pay therefor, $90,060, if necessary. The purchase price was impounded in escrow for that purpose. The balance when needed was to be paid by the sellers. The latter agreement was guaranteed to the extent of $50,000 [152]*152by the appellee Indemnity Insurance Company of North America by the surety bonds herein sued upon. The frozen assets and those which subsequently became so were to be the property of the sellers, pro tanto, as soon as cash was supplied to take the place of such assets, although the bank was to retain title and possession thereof for the purpose of collection, the proceeds thereof to be turned over by the bank to the sellers. The defendants, other than the Indemnity Insurance Company, are the sellers. The bank was not a party to those agreements, although it was to be the beneficiary thereof, and was to pay to the sellers a part of the consideration moving to them therefor, that is, the sums realized from the frozen assets, when collected. It was agreed that an assessment of $27 per share to cover a portion of that amount would be paid by the appellant as a part of his purchase priee. The purchase price of $140 per share was agreed to on the express understanding that $299,641.88 of assets were good.

In view of the fact that the value of these assets was somewhat impaired and SO' recognized, stipulations were entered into in the contract, and the bonds herein sued upon were given on January 26,1924, to make good to the purchaser any loss which might be suffered by reáson of the loss or diminution of these assets. The importance of these agreements will be observed when it is noted that the book value of these assets considered good was twice as great as the total value of the stock of the bank, estimated at the contract price of $140 per share, and that assessments aggregating$182 per share were subsequently levied upon this stock as a result of the charging off of these assets, although the contract of purchase and sale was predicated upon the assumption that these obligations are worth their face values. Before the payment of the purchase price by appellant had been completed as ¡had been anticipated, the comptroller had directed that an additional amount of $92,000 should be charged off because of items embraced within the total of $299l,641.-88 of guaranteed but doubtful value. In order that this assessment on the 679 shares should be paid off, a supplemental agreement dated March 10, 1924, was entered into by all parties to this action whereby the vendors of the stock agreed to the application of the $25 per share that had already been paid into escrow by the appellant to discharge this new assessment, and the appellant was to pay and did pay the balance of $42,128. The capital of the bank had thus been augmented by $119 ' per share. The total amount thus paid by the appellant to the bank was sufficient to constitute the entire purchase priee on 553 shares of the stock at $140 per share, and in aeeord- ' anee with this supplemental, agreement this stock was delivered to the appellant as purchaser as having been fully paid for by him. The delivery of the other one hundred twenty-six shares was not made as agreed by the appellees in the original and supplemental agreements because they were not able to secure possession thereof. The effect of this failure is not discussed in the briefs, and for that reason we ignore it in our decision.

After the agreements of January 26,1924, the comptroller directed that $90,000 more of the guaranteed indebtedness of $299,641.88 be charged off the books of the national bank. This was done, and subsequently an assessment of this amount was levied in pursuance of such order. This assessment was paid by the appellant on the 553 shares sold to him, amounting to $49,770', and he sues to recover the amount so paid in accordance with the provisions of the contract and bond by which the appellant was guaranteed against loss due to the charging off of these accounts, less about $553 which had been collected by the bank upon the guaranteed accounts which, under the terms of the agreement, were applicable to diminish the amount the vendors had agreed to pay. Appellant thereupon demanded from his vendors and surety the repayment of the amount of the charge off and of the assessment which he had paid, and upon their failure so to do brought this action. The appellees answered his complaint claiming that they were not acting on their own behalf in making such sale, but were merely trustees for the Valley Bank of Fresno. The-appellee Indemnity Company claimed it had been induced by representations to the contrary in executing the bond. The other ap-pellees, claiming to be acting as trustees or dummies in making the sale to the knowledge of the appellant, also seek thus to escape the consequences of their default. It was also claimed that the app ellant had purchased as a trustee for divers persons unknown to the defendants. Allegations of the charge off and assessment of the $90,000 were denied for lack of information and belief, and it was claimed that the appellant had violated his contract of purchase because the bank had failed to use due diligence in the collection of its frozen assets. Apparently the appel-lees also claim fraud by concealment of the fact of appellant’s trusteeship and also mistake as to the actual contract guaranteed in [153]*153the effecting of the agreements and bond herein sued upon, although such fraud and mistake are not very clearly alleged and were not established. They also alleged lack of notice. These allegations and others are not very clearly set forth and in the main are statements or allegations as to the legal effect of the contracts entered into. They need not be further considered, however, as the trial court found the law and the facts on all these issues in favor of the appellant. However, upon the trial it developed that appellant had resold 543 shares of the stock purchased by him for the sum of $150 per share. For that reason the trial court concluded that he had not been damaged by the charging off or loss of assets of the bank, and that his payment of the amount of the assessment had been voluntary, and for that reason gave judgment for the defendants. The sole question presented by the appeal is as to the decision of the court upon this point. The facts are not in dispute, and the question presented is thus one of law. This point we-will now consider.

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Bluebook (online)
50 F.2d 151, 1931 U.S. App. LEXIS 4432, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/levering-v-indemnity-ins-co-of-north-america-ca9-1931.