Morris v. Bowman

1 S.W.2d 549, 175 Ark. 1073, 1928 Ark. LEXIS 20
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 16, 1928
StatusPublished

This text of 1 S.W.2d 549 (Morris v. Bowman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morris v. Bowman, 1 S.W.2d 549, 175 Ark. 1073, 1928 Ark. LEXIS 20 (Ark. 1928).

Opinion

Smith, J.

'The decree from which this appeal comes contains findings of fact the correctness of which is not questioned, except as to certain details which we think are unimportant, and from which we quote the material facts, which are as follows:

The suit was brought by Bowman & Brown, who are dealers in seed rice, against C.. 0. Wofford, the First National Bank of Jonesboro, and R. S. Morris, as receiver of the bank, to recover the purchase price of a quantity of seed rice sold by the plaintiffs to Wofford in the year 1926. The plaintiffs claim the sale was made to the bank direct, but the court found that the sale was made to Woff ord upon the promise of the bank to advance Wofford the money to pay for the rice. The rice was purchased for the purpose of being planted by Wofford on four rice farms which Wofford was operating, substantially for the use and benefit of the bank, as well as for himself, under separate contracts, one of which covered each of the farms.

The bank furnished Wofford the money necessary to grow the crops of rice, and. had done so prior to 1926, and it was the intention of the parties, including the bank, that payment should be made to Bowman- & Brown in cash for the rice immediately after its delivery, and it is admitted that the bank would have paid for the rice, or have furnished the money for that purpose, but for the fact that it failed, and was taken in charge by a receiver before the payment was made. The bank made advances on the rice crops before its doors were closed. After the failure of the 'bank it was necessary to make other advances to mature and gather the crops, and the receiver himself made certain advances. Other advances were made by three other creditors of Wofford in making’ the crops, under an arrangement made by the receiver after taking charge of the bank, and all parties.concede the priority of the claims of these three last-mentioned creditors.

Wofford was a member of the Rice Growers’ Association, and had a contract with that organization whereby he was required to deliver his rice to1 it for -sale. The court permitted this contract to be performed, and the rice was delivered to and sold by the association, which made a report showing the net proceeds of the sale, and this money is now, in effect, a fund in court, to be distributed as ordered by the court.

The court found the amount dué Bowman & Brown for the rice was $2,726.80, with interest, and that the bank and its receiver had made advances against the rice crop aggregating $30,709'.62, and that the bank had, as security for its advances, the lien of a landlord on the crop of rice grown on one of the farms and chattel mortgages on the other crops of rice. The court deducted from the net proceeds of the sale of the rice, as reported by the Bice Growers’ Association, the advances by the three preferred creditors, and directed that the balance be apportioned between the bank and its receiver, on the one hand, and Bowman & Brown, on the other, in proportion to the advances each had made to enable Wofford to make and gather the crop.

It was ascertained that the indebtedness due Bowman & Brown for the seed rice was .0986 per cent, of the total cost of producing and marketing the rice, and it was ordered that that per cent, of the net proceeds of the rice be paid them, and that as to the balance they have judgment against the bank and its receiver, with the proviso, “that, as against the bank and its receiver, no execution may issue, but said judgment shall participate in dividends and distributions with other general debts and obligations of the bank. ’ ’ From this decree all parties have appealed.

It is immaterial whether the bank agreed to pay for the rice or to furnish Wofford money for that purpose, as the fact is undisputed that, if the bank did not promise to pay Bowman & Brown, the rice was sold upon the faith of the promise of the bank that the rice would be paid for. It is true that the bank has liens upon the rice crop, while Bowman & Brown have no lien, but it was the theory of the court below that the bank was surety for Wofford, and had securities for the repayment of advances to Wofford sufficient to indemnify it for its advances to him in making the crop, and that therefore the rights of Bowman & Brown should be worked out through these securities.

The question of remedy is unimportant here, as we have, in effect, a fund in court, and the question is how •to disburse this fund so as to administer equity. 38 C. J., § 28, page 1382.

The court below found all the indebtedness which had been incurred in producing the rice, and decreed that the persons to whom the indebtedness was due should be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of the rice a per cent, equaling the proportion which a particular indebtedness bore to the whole indebtedness.

It is the insistence of the bank and its receiver' that; as Bowman & Brown had no lien on the rice crop, they should be treated as common creditors of the bank and be required to prove their demand and accept the dividends paid all other common creditors. On behalf of Bowman & Brown it is insisted that they should be paid the entire balance of the purchase price of the rice due them, for the reason that no crop would have been made but for the seed rice which they furnished.

We are of the opinion, however, that the findings and directions of the court below more nearly conform to the equity of the case than do either of tlie contentions of the litigants. We think it would no.t be equitable to permit the bank or its receiver to appropriate the entire proceeds of the rice crop, nor would it be equitable to permit Bowman & Brown to receive a larger per cent, of the proceeds of the rice crop than the amount their advances bore to the total sum advanced.

The bank was Wofford’s surety, and it held securities against the rice crop, and the equities of Bowman & Brown must be worked out through these securities. It is permissible to do this where the equities of the parties require that it should be done.

In the case of Whitehead v. Henderson, 67 Ark. 200, 56 S. W. 1065, it was said:

“ ‘The general doctrine,’ says the Supreme Court of the United States, ‘that a creditor has a right to claim the benefit of a security given by his debtor to a surety for the latter’s indemnity, and which may be used, if necessary, for the payment of the debt, is not questioned. The security in such case is in the nature of trust property, and the right of the creditor arises from the natural justice of allowing him to have applied to the discharge of his demand the property deposited with the surety for that purpose, if required by the default of the prineipal.’ Chamberlain v. St. Paul, &c., R. Co., 92 U. S. 299, 306, 23 L. ed. 715; 1 Story Eq. Jur., § 502, and authorities there cited.”

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Bluebook (online)
1 S.W.2d 549, 175 Ark. 1073, 1928 Ark. LEXIS 20, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morris-v-bowman-ark-1928.