National Bank of Commerce of Houston v. Moody

90 S.W.2d 279
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 5, 1935
DocketNo. 10190.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 90 S.W.2d 279 (National Bank of Commerce of Houston v. Moody) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Bank of Commerce of Houston v. Moody, 90 S.W.2d 279 (Tex. Ct. App. 1935).

Opinion

PLEASANTS, Chief Justice.

This suit was brought by appellant against the appellees, W. L. Moody, Jr., a resident of Galveston county, and American National Insurance Company, a Texas corporation having its domicile in Galveston county, with an agency located in Harris county, and against Moody-Seagraves Company, a corporation, R. Wayne Lawler, receiver, and O. R. Seagraves, all residents of Harris county, and W. L. Moody, III, a resident of Galveston county.

The suit was primarily to recover upon obligations of the Moody-Seagraves Company, W. L. Moody, III, and O. R. Sea-graves, which were among the assets of the Public National Bank of Houston transferred to appellant bank when it took over the assets of said Public National Bank for liquidation on October 27, 1931. A full list of all of these obligations is set out in plaintiff’s petition. These obligations were *280 secured by various stocks and bonds pledged by the makers to the Public National Bank, and by repurchase agreement pursuant to the pledge agreement and contained in the notes given for the several obligations, and in an independent pledge agreement dated Tune 19, 1931, executed by said Moody-Sea-graves, O. R. Seagraves, and W. L. Moody, III.

At the time of this suit, all of said securities, with the exception of 100 shares of the capital stock of City National Bank of Cle-burne, 8,000 shares of the capital stock of Fire Protection Company of America, and 2,500 shares of the stock of Duvall-Texas Sulphur Company had been sold and the proceeds applied to said notes and obligation.

Appellant sought judgment for debt against Moody-Seagraves Company, O. R. Seagraves, and W. L. Moody, III, on said Moody-Seagraves Company note, and on said repurchase agreement, and also sought foreclosure 'of its lien on said Cleburne Bank, Fire Protection Company, and Du-vall-Texas Company stocks. Personal judgment was not sought against W. L. Moody, III, on his $110,000 note, it being alleged that he was a bankrupt and a claim had been filed in his estate on the said note.

As against the appellee, W. L. Moody, Jr., appellant declared on a certain agreement evidenced by a telegram of date October 26, 1931, which appellant declared constituted a contract in writing by which said appellee had agreed to deliver to appellant at its banking house in Houston, Harris county, Tex., as additional security to all of the above obligations, 175 shares of the capital stock of American National Insurance Company, which stock, appellant alleged, was owned by W. L. Moody, Jr., at the time said telegram was sent and at all times since then.

After alleging the failure of appellee W. L. Moody, Jr., to deliver the stock of ap-pellee insurance company, plaintiff prayed for recovery of the sum of $250,000 balance due on the obligations of Moody-Seagraves Company, and for foreclosure of an equitable lien on the 175 shares of stock of the insurance company agreed to be delivered to appellant by appellee, W. L. Moody, Jr., to secure said obligations, and, in the alternative, that if said stock should be found not available and subject to a foreclosure decree, that it have judgment against W. L. Moody, Jr., as damages for conversion in the sum of $175,000, the alleged value of the stock.

Appellant also prayed for an injunction against appellees, W. L. Moody, Jr., and American National Insurance Company, enjoining them from transferring or permitting to be transferred or otherwise disposed of the 175 shares of the American National Insurance Company stock belonging to ap-pellee W. L. Moody, Jr., on which appellant claimed its equitable lien, and ordering said appellees to deliver into the registry of the court a certificate for the 175 shares-of stock to be there impounded and held subject to the outcome of this suit.

A temporary injunction was issued on-said application restraining said appellees-from transferring or permitting to be transferred or disposed of said l75 shares of stock, and ordering said appellees to appear and show cause why the temporary injunction as prayed for in said petition should not be granted.

Appellees each filed pleas of privilege to be sued in Galveston county, and these were duly controverted by appellant. Appellees also filed an answer to said temporary restraining order and order to show cause.

Hearings on the temporary restraining order and order to show cause and on the pleas of privilege were by agreement held, at the same time and before the court.

The trial court, from the evidence adduced on the hearing of the pleas of privilege, found, in substance, that the residence- and domicile of the parties were as alleged, in plaintiff’s petition; that the telegram upon which appellant declared against W. L. Moody, Jr., did not constitute a contract in writing “obligating said appellee to perform an obligation in Harris County”; that the cause of action asserted by appellant against all of the other defendants on their obligations to appellant, and the cause of action asserted against appellee W. L. Moody; Jr., were separate, distinct, and sever-able, and that venue for the cause of action-against W. L. Moody, Jr., did not lie in-Harris county.

The court further found that appellant showed no cause of action against appellee-insurance company, and no grounds for injunction against either of these defendants..

Upon these findings, judgment was rendered sustaining appellees’ pleas of privilege, and ordering the case as to them; *281 transferred to Galveston county. The judgment also dissolved the temporary restraining order theretofore issued. against th.e defendants, and refused to grant the appellant’s application for temporary injunction, “but without prejudice to the right of plaintiff, if any it has, to urge the same in the proper venue.”

The court, at the request of appellant, made and filed conclusions of fact and law, which contain the following fact findings:

“On October 24, 1931, after banking hours, The Public National Bank and Trust Company of Houston (for convenience called Public National) was in financial difficulties. A meeting was called in the office •of Jesse H. Jones, and was participated in by representatives of all the banks and trust companies of Houston, as well as certain business interests. It was decided, if possible, to prevent the closing of the said bank and attempt, for the benefit of the other banks, as well as of the depositors of the Public National, to save the situation. A tentative plan was considered for taking over and liquidating the Public National by the National Bank of Commerce, plaintiff herein.
“I find that the bankers and, other interested persons stayed in almost continuous session from the evening of October 24, 1931, until the early morning hours of October 27; that it was first considered that the Public National had suffered a loss besides its capital structure of approximately $1,500,000.00. In reaching this figure, the notes and obligation hereinabove set out — . ■called by the witnesses, ‘Moody-Seagraves Line’ — were not appraised because of latk of information with regard thereto.
“Early in the morning of the 26th of •October, 1931, Carter Stewart, president of the Public National, called one A. A.

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90 S.W.2d 279, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-bank-of-commerce-of-houston-v-moody-texapp-1935.