Mobley v. Minter

145 S.E. 894, 38 Ga. App. 798, 1928 Ga. App. LEXIS 462
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedDecember 11, 1928
Docket18857
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 145 S.E. 894 (Mobley v. Minter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mobley v. Minter, 145 S.E. 894, 38 Ga. App. 798, 1928 Ga. App. LEXIS 462 (Ga. Ct. App. 1928).

Opinion

Luke, J.

A. B. Mobley, superintendent of banks for the State of Georgia, brought an action against certain officials of the Bank of Cusseta to recover money alleged to have been lost on account of the negligence of the defendants. The defendants demurred to the petition upon both general and special grounds. The court adjudged “that said demurrers be sustained, and said petition of the plaintiff be dismissed/’ and the plaintiff excepted.

The petition by paragraph is substantially as follows: (1) Petitioner took charge of said bank in his official capacity on July 14, 1926. (2) At the time petitioner took over the affairs of the bank, its officers were C. C. Minter, president; O. C. Stephens, vice-president, and W. A. Gaylor, cashier; and said officers and E. M. Lightner and S. D. MeMurrain constituted its directors; said Minter, Stephens and MeMurrain having been members of the board of directors of said bank continuously for more than fifteen years before the closing thereof; and said Gaylor and Lightner having been members of said board continuously for more than seven years before the closing thereof. (3) “All of said directors are residents of Chattahoochee county, and all of said parties are named as defendants in this suit.” (4) As directors and officers of said bank, defendants were charged with the administration of its affairs, the investment of its funds, including amounts deposited with it, and the protection of its depositors and stockholders, and it was their duty to give their personal attention to the trust eommitteed to them, and to use their best judgment and business ability in the handling of the affairs of said bank, and the investment of its funds so that the business might be safely conducted without loss to depositors and with profit to the stockholders of the bank. (5) “Said officers and directors as aforesaid grossly neglected the duties devolving upon them . . and so mismanaged and neglected tlie affairs of said bank as that it became insolvent and was forced to close its doors; by reason of which neglect and misconduct the depositors sustained large losses, investment of the [800]*800stockholders was swept away, and they became liable upon assessment of 100% on their stock for the benefit of the depositors.” (6) “Defendants, acting as a board of directors, entered into a contract with Bankers Trust Company, a corporation having its place of business in Atlanta, Fulton county, Ga., by which said trust company was constituted the financial agent of said Bank of Cusseta, and the said defendants allowed said trust company to invest a very large proportion of its funds and'to manage and control as it saw fit all of the business of said bank save its purely local affairs.” (7) Said trust company undertook to place for said bank such funds as were not presently needed to care for the demand of the local customers of the bank, and, “as often as the bank had any accumulated funds on hand, sent to it commercial paper, which paper the defendants as officers and directors of said bank took and paid for without question.” Such paper, amounting to $46,443.50, besides .interest, was held by the Bank of Cusseta when it closed its doors. (8) Most of said paper “was that of corporations closely affiliated with the trust company and in which it or its officers were largely interested, in many instances being the only stockholders, and the paper of its officers and their close business associates.” (9) “Any investigation on the part of defendants would have disclosed the fact that the trust company was directly or indirectly interested in the paper which it offered the bank, and . . that most of the corporations and individuals were insolvent or were not entitled to the amount of credit they were securing. An investigation would also have shown that few, if any, of the papers offered for discount were properly secured.” (10) “Defendants made no investigation whatever of any of the paper offered to said bank by the Bankers Trust Company, but accepted the same when it was offered without investigation and without question.” (11) “In almost every instance the paper held by the bank at the time it closed has been renewed from time to time. Almost all of it had been carried for a period of two years, and a large portion of it had been carried from four to fifteen years. In most instances no reductions or payments on account had been made.” (12) “The fact that the paper had been renewed o'ver such a long period of time was of itself sufficient to put the defendants on notice that the makers of the paper were not proper business risks, and any attention to the affairs of the bank would have required the de[801]*801fendants to take appropriate steps for the collection of the paper, but said defendants continued through a long period of years to accept renewals every ninety days, and made no effort whatever to collect the paper, to have it better secured, or to require its reduction.

(13) “The paper which had been placed in the bank by the Bankers Trust Company which was held among its assets at the time it closed and upon which the bank sustained large losses was as follows: (a) Amortization Corporation, Atlanta, Ga., endorsed by Georgia Bealty Company, $2,060. This loan was placed in the bank on November 1, 1922, and had been renewed eight times prior to the closing of the bank. The Amortization Corporation was organized by the officers of the Bankers Trust Company for the purpose of financing large losses which they had sustained in an automobile enterprise. The company at no time had any substantial assets, but did assume very heavy liabilities. Its officers were officers of Bankers Trust Company, and its business was conducted from the office of the Bankers Trust Company. It has been liquidated through a receivership in Fulton superior court, and no dividends whatever have been paid to general creditors. Georgia Bealty Company, a real-estate corporation organized by the Bankers Trust Company, and the business of which was conducted from the office of that company. It was insolvent at the time this loan was placed in the bank and had been insolvent some time prior thereto. It has been adjudged a bankrupt and has paid its eredtors 4%. Except for the small dividend paid by the Georgia Bealty Company, this loan will be a total loss to the bank. (&) Bankers Investment Company, Jacksonville, Fla., secured by stock in Bankers Guaranty Company, Miami, Fla., $2,000. Both these corporations were subsidiaries of the Bankers Trust Company, through which it served Florida banks belonging to its chain, and financed its Florida operations and speculations. Both companies have been adjudged bankrupt. The liquidation of the Bankers Investment Company has been completed and creditors have been paid no dividend. The stock of the Bankers Guaranty Company of Miami is worthless. The loan was placed in the bank June 25, ’ 1925, and was renewed three times. The loan will be a total loss to the bank, (c) Bankers Financing Company, Atlanta, Ga., secured by stock in sundry banks, $4,000. The stock of the Bankers [802]*802Financing Company was all owned by the Bankers Trust Company. It had no assets except the stock in certain banks belonging to the Bankers Trust Company chain, all of which was hypothecated. The company has been adjudged a bankrupt and no dividend has been paid to its creditors. The stocks securing this loan are worthless, except the ten shares of stock of the First National Bank of Amity-ville, N. Y., which has been sold, and litigation is pending in the courts of New York over the proceeds, and two shares' of stock in the Bank of Irwinton.

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Related

Cheatham v. Gormley
190 S.E. 38 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1937)
Duncan v. Mobley
159 S.E. 129 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1931)

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Bluebook (online)
145 S.E. 894, 38 Ga. App. 798, 1928 Ga. App. LEXIS 462, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mobley-v-minter-gactapp-1928.