Ogden v. United States

67 F. Supp. 777, 35 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 387, 1946 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2236
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Arkansas
DecidedJuly 2, 1946
DocketCiv. No. 1235
StatusPublished

This text of 67 F. Supp. 777 (Ogden v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ogden v. United States, 67 F. Supp. 777, 35 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 387, 1946 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2236 (E.D. Ark. 1946).

Opinion

LEMLEY, District Judge.

The Court having heard and considered the evidence in the above-entitled cause, doth make the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:

Findings of Fact

I. Ben C. McGehee died on April 27, 1931. The Peoples National Bank of Little Rock, Arkansas, was appointed administrator in succession of his estate on January 22, 1935, and served as such administrator until discharged by the Pulaski Probate Court on April 14, 1941. The plaintiff, Fanny Rose McGehee Ogden, was the sole heir at law of Ben C. McGehee, deceased, and all assets were turned over to her prior to the discharge of the Peoples National Bank, administrator. Among assets of the estate of Ben C. McGehee which came into the hands of the said administrator were 211 shares of common stock of the Stcwart-McGehee Construction Company, of the value of $59,948.70. The other stockholders were as follows:

Owners Shares

Abner McGehee 33

George Harvey 5

Rose Dickinson McGehee 1

On April 26, 1935, stockholders of the Stcwart-McGehee Construction Company met for the purpose of dissolving the corporation and providing for the liquidation of its assets. The minutes as the said meeting include the following statement:

“And, whereas, at a meeting of the directors of the corporation held this date, a resolution was adopted that it is deemed most for the benefit of the corporation that it should be dissolved, and this meeting was called for that purpose, and to dispose of the assets of the corporation for the purpose of liquidation:

“Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved:

“That ail of the assets of the corporation, of whatever kind and character, be transferred to the Peoples National Bank of Little Rock, Arkansas, as Trustee, for the purpose of liquidation and distribution of the proceeds thereof among the stockholders in this corporation; and George S. Harvey is hereby appointed to make and execute, in the name of the corporation, all necessary bills of sale, transfers, endorsements of negotiable paper, and to do all other acts necessary to transfer full legal title and possession of all of the assets of the corporation to said Peoples National Bank, Trustee. The terms of said trust shall be:

“(1) It shall be in force for the period of ten years from this date, subject to prior termination at any time on written direction to the Trustee of a majority in value of the stockholders, their heirs or assigns, interested in the assets in the hands of the Trustee.

“(2) The Trustee shall have all the powers necessary to accomplish liquidation of the assets transferred to it, including the [778]*778power to sell, exchange, rent, or otherwise dispose of, for such consideration as it seems'satisfactory, any of the trust property, at such time and. on such terms as it deems best; and it shall have power to reinvest the proceeds of any sale or income from the trust property, in its discretion, including power to buy any preferred stock of McGehee Hotel Company.

“(3) The Trustee shall make distribution to the stockholders, their heirs, or assigns, of money or of said property in kind, in its discretion; but it shall distribute any part or all at any time when directed to do so by a majority in interest of the beneficial owners of the assets in its hands or their heirs or assigns. * * * and,

“Whereas, the corporation has ceased active business and has transferred all of its property to a trustee to be liquidated, and there is no occasion for its continued corporate existence:

“That the Corporation, Stewart-Mc-Gehee Construction Company, be dissolved, and that a copy of this resolution, together with a list of the names and residences of the directors and officers, certified by the President and Secretary, be filed with the Secretary of State, in duplicate originals, and one copy thereof, bearing the filing marks of the Secretary of State, be filed for record in the office of the County Clerk for Pulaski County, Arkansas, that being the county in which the office or principal place of business of the corporation is located. * * * ”

In pursuance of the above resolution, the corporation was dissolved and a certificate of dissolution was filed with the Secretary of State, and the assets were turned over to the bank under the Declaration of Trust which is included in the above-quoted resolution.

II. Among the assets of the Construction Company which came into the hands of the Peoples National Bank, as trustee, were 1,890 shares of common stock of the McGehee Hotel Company. Among the assets which came into the hands of the Peoples National Bank, as administrator of the estate, were 1,973 shares of common stock of the McGehee Hotel Company. By 1939 the administrator had purchased an additional 276 shares, at which time the bank, as trustee, and the bank, as administrator, became the only stockholders of the Hotel Company, since the total number of outstanding shares was 4,139.

III. The principal asset of the McGehee Hotel Company was the Ben McGehee Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Hotel Company sold this hotel to the Lamark Company in January, 1933, for $575,000. Of this amount $25,000 was paid in cash and the Lamark Company assumed the Hotel Company’s indebtedness to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in the amount of $296,250, and also issued 76 promissory notes payable to the order of the McGehee Hotel Company for the balance of $253,750. These 76 notes matured over a period of 19 years, according to the following schedule:

Notes Nos. 1 through 16, each in the amount of $2,500, the first due April 1, 1933—the 16th due January b, 1937;

Notes Nos. 17 and 18, each in the amount of $6,150, the 17th due April 1, 1937—the 18th due July 1, 1937;

Notes Nos. 19 and 20, each in the amount of $5,000, the 19th due October 1, 1937—the 20th due January 1, 1938;

Notes 21 through 40, each in the amount of $2,500, the 21st due April 1, 1938—the 40th due January 1, 1943;

Notes Nos. 41 through 72, each in the amount of $3,750, the 41st due April 1, 1943—the 72nd due January 1, 1951;

Notes Nos. 73 through 76, each in the amount of $5,362.50, the 73rd due April 1, 1951, and the 76th due January 1, 1952.

The Lamark Company executed a deed of trust securing the payment of these notes, conveying not only the McGehee Hotel but also, as additional security, the mortgagor’s interest in two other Little Rock hotels. This deed of trust was dated January 26, 1933.

IV. The estate of Ben C. McGehee was the principal creditor in this transaction as is shown above. The assets of the Construction Company, aside from the Hotel Company’s stock, consisted of negotiable securities and cash.

[779]*779V. The affairs of both the Construction Company trust and the estate of Ben C. McGehee were administered by two officers of the Peoples National Bank; W. E. Lenon, president, and E. B. Stokes, trust officer. All of the decisions respecting the management of both the trust and the estate were made by these two men.

VI.

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Bluebook (online)
67 F. Supp. 777, 35 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 387, 1946 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2236, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ogden-v-united-states-ared-1946.