Morris v. Gibson

30 Cal. App. 2d 684
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 7, 1939
DocketCiv. 5742
StatusPublished

This text of 30 Cal. App. 2d 684 (Morris v. Gibson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morris v. Gibson, 30 Cal. App. 2d 684 (Cal. Ct. App. 1939).

Opinion

PULLEN, P. J.

—This ease was taken over upon a petition for rehearing. In a former opinion (Cal. App.) 65 Pac. (2d) 956, a writ of mandate was issued directing California Gibson, as treasurer of Colusa County, to make certain payments upon bonds issued by Reclamation District No. 108, and secured by assessment No. 5 of that district.

In that opinion the conclusion was reached that the district was insolvent and could not pay its obligations as they accrued, and the treasurer was directed to distribute to all bondholders and claimants of the district, proratedly rather than in order of maturity, a sum of approximately $141,000 which had accrued to the district as rentals and proceeds from 1935 and 1936 crops from lands that had passed into the ownership of the district.

The petition for rehearing was granted for the purpose primarily of having an accounting in order that it might be determined definitely whether the bond fund of the district was or was not insolvent. Such an accounting was had; the report of the accountant and referee has been filed; the cause has been fully argued, supplemental briefs filed, and the matter is again ready for consideration.

Two groups of bondholders are involved in this controversy. Petitioner, Mary E. Morris, as a holder of bonds of the district in excess of $300,000, contends the district is insolvent and that the accumulated securities will not pay the bonds in full, and therefore all bondholders should be *686 treated equally, and the funds on deposit paid pro rata to bondholders, irrespective of bond maturity.

The interveners, a committee of bondholders, representing bonds in excess of $600,000, contend that the funds on deposit in the bond fund should be used to pay the bonds of the district in the order of their maturity. The district and its trustees are not legally interested as to the order of payment but are vitally concerned as to whether or not the district shall be determined to be insolvent.

To properly understand this controversy, we quote from our former opinion:

“At all the times mentioned in the proceedings in this cause Reclamation District No. 108 was, and now is a regularly organized and existing reclamation district under the laws of the state of California. The lands embraced within the exterior boundaries of the district aggregate approximately 60,000 acres.
“On December 8, 1923, there was levied upon the lands lying within the exterior boundaries of said district an assessment in the sum of $3,407,800.69, known as ‘Assessment No. 5’. Thereafter, proceedings were had under the provisions of section 3480 of the Political Code, providing for the issuance of bonds upon the unpaid portion of said assessment which amounted to the sum of $3,142,000. On January 1, 1925, bonds were issued in the sum of $2,542,000, and on January 1, 1927, a further issue of bonds was made in the sum of $600,000, making a total of the bonds issued by said district of the sum of $3,142,000. The bond issues were secured by assessment No. 5. The bonds so issued began to mature on January 1, 1935, and on the 1st of January thereafter, until and including January 1, 1943, each of said series of bonds being in the total sum of $350,000, save and except the last maturing series, which was in the sum of only $342,000. Interest on said bonds was provided to be paid semi-annually, to wit: On July 1st and January 1st of each year, the interest being represented by coupons in the sum of $30 each.
“The petitioner alleges that she is the holder of bonds of said district based upon assessment No. 5, in the sum of over $300,000. The petitioner further alleges that she is the owner of unpaid matured coupons in the sum of '$69,750. The petitioner further sets forth that under the provisions *687 of section 3480 of the Political Code, bonds have been employed by landowners in the discharge of said assessment in the sum of $1,378,000, and in buying lands at delinquent sales in the sum of $225,000, leaving the amount of said bonds unpaid in the approximate sum of $1,539,000.
“It further appears from the pleadings in this cause that under and by virtue of defaults in payment of installment calls based upon assessment No. 5, 20,020 acres have passed from the original owners into the ownership of the district; that approximately 20,000 acres have been eliminated from the burden of assessment No. 5 by reason of the employment of bonds, as heretofore stated, in the discharge of the assessment. That there now remains within the district lands paying assessment calls, an acreage of less than 20,000, estimated in some portions of the pleadings as being 17,500 acres.
“It further appears from the records in this cause that there are unpaid state and county taxes and other assessments, in a sum exceeding $200,000.
“At the date of the submission of this cause it appears from the allegations of the petition that there were unpaid and matured bonds as follows, to-wit:
“January 1, 1935...............................$170,000
January 1, 1936............................... 228,000
January 1, 1937............................... 196,000
“The pleadings submitted by the interveners differ from the figures just set forth in the sum of $4,000. Unpaid interest coupons on said bonds are alleged as follows:
“January 1, 1935................................$54,442
July 1, 1935................................... 49,342
January 1, 1936................................ 49,342
July 1, 1936................................... 42,500
“The amount of interest falling due January 1, 1937, does not appear. The total of the five installment calls made by the district is the sum of $932,088.55, upon which it is alleged only the sum of $29,613.18 has been paid. That thereafter total redemptions amounted to the sum of $87,-875.97. The deficiency in the yield from the calls referred to is alleged by the petitioner to be the sum of $814,583.21. The accuracy of this calculation we have not verified, but the figures which we have set forth show that the deficiency is considerably in excess of half a million dollars.
*688 “It is further set forth that the rentals or profits of the lands that had passed into the ownership of the district for the crop years of 1935 and 1936, yielded the sum of $141,000. Whether this sum includes all of the yield of crops for the year 1936, does not definitely appear, but it does represent the amount of money that was in the hands of the respondent, California Gibson, available for payment upon the obligations of the district, including, also, bonds and coupons.

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30 Cal. App. 2d 684, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morris-v-gibson-calctapp-1939.