McCullough v. Walker Livestock, Inc.

220 F. Supp. 790, 7 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1173, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6926
District Court, W.D. Arkansas·Decided July 29, 1963·No. Civ. A. No. 1688·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

JOHN E. MILLER, District Judge.

On December 3, 1962, Horse Auctions, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Texas and qualified to do business in the State of Oklahoma, filed its complaint against defendants, Walker Livestock, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Arkansas and qualified to do business in Oklahoma, and Bud-die Walker, a citizen and resident of Arkansas.

The defendant Walker Livestock, Inc., was formerly the Fort Smith Horse Auction Company, with its corporate name being changed to Walker Livestock, Inc.

The amount in controversy exceeds the sum of $10,000, exclusive of interest and costs.

In its complaint the plaintiff alleged that on or about October 15, 1962, the plaintiff bought from Walker Livestock, Inc., for a cash consideration of $30,000 paid and $20,000 to be paid, certain physical assets, including “All stock of the American Appaloosa Association, Inc.,” which stock Walker Livestock, Inc., had failed and refused to deliver and assign to plaintiff. That as a further consideration, the defendant Buddie Walker, Individually, agreed to give to plaintiff his “advice, consultation, time and service to the advancement and betterment” of the plaintiff’s business and was employed by plaintiff for an indefinite period of time; that although the services of the defendant Buddie Walker were deemed to be very valuable to plaintiff, the defendant Buddie Walker continually and systematically worked, schemed and connived to detract, undermine, wreck and damage plaintiff’s business by publicly stating “that plaintiff would be out of business within 90 days.” That the said Buddie Walker contacted customers and prospective customers of plaintiff and attempted to have them refrain and desist from doing business with plaintiff, and further refused and neglected to assign a lease or contract pertaining to Texas Horse Auction Company, and further advocated, advised, fostered, and promoted present and future litigation against the plaintiff.

That by virtue of the defendants’ acts and actions, separately and concurrently, and the fact that defendant Buddie Walker, as majority and controlling stockholder in defendant Walker Livestock, Inc., pursued the course of conduct as herein alleged, the plaintiff is entitled to rescind said contract and other instruments and have returned to it the sum of $30,000 and such other sums as it has paid out in performing the contract, and in lieu thereof damages in the sum of $65,000.

The prayer was for judgment for $30,-000 and for damages in the sum of $65,-000.

The complaint was signed, “HORSE AUCTIONS, INCORPORATED, by Van K. Davis, Exec. V.P. & Sec., and Carl J. Schmolder, Attorney at Law, 505 Texas Bank Building, Dallas 2, Texas.”

Service of summons was had on the defendants at 7:30 p. m. on December 3, 1962.

On December 21,1962, the court granted the defendants until January 4, 1963, “within which to answer or otherwise plead to the complaint of the plaintiff * * On January 3, 1963, the day before the expiration of time for the defendants to answer or otherwise plead to the complaint, the present plaintiff, A. D. McCullough filed a petition for substitution of parties, in which he alleged, “that on the 27th day of December, 1962, the District Court of Sequoyah County, Okla[792] homa, appointed him Receiver for Horse Auctions, Incorporated, and that he should now be substituted as the party plaintiff in the captioned matter in accordance with Rule 25(c), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.”

The motion to substitute the Receiver as party plaintiff was represented to the court as being of extreme urgency in that the monthly sale of horses, which constituted the only source of income to the corporation (Horse Auctions, Inc.), had been scheduled and advertised for January 4 and 5, 1963.

Rule 25(c), Fed.R.Civ.P., provides:

“In case of any transfer of interest, the action may be continued by or against the original party, unless the court upon motion directs the person to whom the interest is transferred to be substituted in the action or joined with the original party. Service of the motion shall be made as provided in subdivision (a) of this rule.”

Subdivision (a) (1) of the rule provides :

“ * * * The motion for substitution may be made by the successors or representatives of the deceased party or by any party and, together with the notice of hearing, shall be served on the parties as provided in Rule 5 * *

Rule 6(d) provides:

“A written motion, other than one which may be heard ex parte, and notice of the hearing thereof shall be served not later than 5 days before the time specified for the hearing, unless a different period is fixed by these rules or by order of the court.”

Thus, upon the plea that a real emergency existed, the order of substitution was entered the same day that the motion therefor was filed. Immediately following the entry of the order of substitution, another motion was filed by. the substituted plaintiff, A. D. McCullough, Receiver for Horse Auctions, Inc., in which he was joined by the defendants Walker Livestock, Inc., and Buddie Walker, individually, in which they alleged that on. December 31, 1962, “they entered into a. stipulation of settlement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A, and by this reference incorporated herein, and. that on the 31st day of December, 1962, this stipulation was approved by order of the District Court of Sequoyah County,. Oklahoma, a certified copy of said order-being attached hereto as Exhibit B, and by this reference incorporated herein.

“WHEREFORE, the parties move the court to enter an order dismissing the captioned case with prejudice in accordance with the stipulation and the order-of the District Court of Sequoyah County, Oklahoma.”

The above motion was signed by-Franklin Wilder, Attorney for A. D. McCullough, Receiver, and Messrs. Hardin,. Barton & Hardin, Attorneys for Walker-Livestock, Inc., and Buddie Walker, Individually.

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McCullough v. Walker Livestock, Inc., 220 F. Supp. 790, 7 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1173, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6926 (W.D. Ark. 1963).

220 F. Supp. 790 (McCullough v. Walker Livestock, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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