Pacific Finance Co. of Caddo v. Benson

149 So. 2d 239, 1963 La. App. LEXIS 1273
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 2, 1963
DocketNo. 9853
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 149 So. 2d 239 (Pacific Finance Co. of Caddo v. Benson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pacific Finance Co. of Caddo v. Benson, 149 So. 2d 239, 1963 La. App. LEXIS 1273 (La. Ct. App. 1963).

Opinions

BOLIN, Judge.

Plaintiff instituted suit against defendant for an accounting on specified loan transactions handled by defendant while em[240]*240ployed as manager of plaintiff’s office. It was alleged defendant acted for his personal benefit and violated his fiduciary relationship, entitling plaintiff to an accounting and recovery of judgment for the sum thus realized. Defendant filed a plea of res judicata, contending this same issue was adjudicated adversely to plaintiff in prior proceedings between the same parties wherein an exception of no cause of action was sustained, which judgment is now final. The lower court sustained the plea of res judicata and plaintiff appeals.

In order to accurately and fairly state the case we deem it necessary to set forth most of the pleadings verbatim, having reached this conclusion only after several unsuccessful attempts to more briefly state the issues. In the first suit plaintiff’s allegations were:

“1.

“That the defendant herein, Wilburn Benson is a resident of Caddo Parish, Louisiana, employed at 808 Jordan Street, Shreveport, Louisiana, and that the defendant is justly and truly indebted unto your petitioner in the full sum of $300.00 plus costs and legal interest from date of judicial demand, for this, to-wit:

“2.

“That the defendant, for the period May 30, 1960 to August 19, 1961, was an employee of your petitioner, being employed as the manager of petitioner’s finance office located in Shreveport, Louisiana, for the period May 30, 1960 to. June 30, 1961, and that in such position as manager, the defendant was responsible for the approval of loans.

“3.

“That the defendant, on or about November 5, 1960, did for the purpose of selling a 1952 Fordor Cadillac owned by him approve in his capacity as manager and make a loan of your petitioner’s funds to one, L. C. Flipping, which loan was in an amortized amount of $651.60, or a net cash amount to L. C. Flipping of $422.97, and that the defendant did then sell said car to L. C. Flipping, applying $122.97 of the net cash amount of the loan to a prior account of L. C. Flipping with your petitioner and retaining $300.00 of the net cash amount of the loan for his own personal use and benefit, being part of the cash amount of the cash sales price of the automobile.

“4.

“That L. C. Flipping did subsequently default on said loan after reducing the amortized balance to $566.60, and that the defendant did take back said automobile in his own name and did re-sell said automobile to one, Meyer Schwartz, Jr., on or about March 9, 1961, marking the L. C. Flipping account as satisfied, and having Meyer Schwartz, Jr. execute a note in the amortized amount of $410.25 in favor of your petitioner, secured by a chattel mortgage on said automobile, and that said note of Meyer Schwartz was intended by the defendant to represent the balance on the cancelled loan to L. C. Flipping.

“5.

“That the defendant did resign from your petitioner’s employ on August 19, 1961, at which time the defendant did verbally agree with your petitioner to pay the sum of $300.00 to your petitioner should there be any difficulty in collecting on the above loan.

“6.

“That said agreement to pay $300.00 is an independent agreement and undertaking which was impelled by pecuniary motives accruing to the defendant in that defendant had benefited directly from the sale of his car and the loan made to L. C. Flipping for the purpose of financing the purchase of the car.

“7.

“That the loan to Meyer Schwartz, Jr. is now in default and that the last payment [241]*241received by your petitioner on this loan was $10.00 on September 5, 1961, and that the total amount paid on said loan to date is $97.90, whereas Meyer Schwartz should have paid as of the date of the filing of this petition the sum -of $246.15.

“8.

“Petitioner alleges amicable demand in vain.”

To this petition defendant filed a plea of vagueness, following which plaintiff supplemented and amended his original petition by alleging, among other things, as follows:

* * * * * $

“The Defendant, Wilburn Benson, received for his own use and benefit the sum of Three Hundred ($300.00) Dollars as a result of the sale of his own personal automobile, which sale was accomplished and perfected only through the use of your Petitioner’s funds. The defendant approved, as an employee of your Petitioner, a loan of Petitioner’s funds to the purchaser of the Defendant’s car. The Defendant, in approving this loan, was acting for his own personal benefit and contrary to the interest of his employer, your Petitioner, and that the Defendant realized his fiduciary relationship to your Petitioner.

“Petitioner has not foreclosed upon the note and mortgage given by Meyer Schwartz, Jr. That Meyer Schwartz, Jr. is indebted unto your petitioner on a prior loan, which loan was in existence at the time of the alleged transactions approved by the Defendant, and which loan was in default at the time of the alleged transactions.

“The Defendant’s promise to Petitioner to pay $300.00 is a solidary obligation with-the obligation of Meyer Schwartz, Jr., up to and including the sum of $300.00, said solidary obligation being conditioned upon the fact that your Petitioner should have any difficulty in collecting on the loan to Meyer Schwartz, Jr.”

To the original and supplemental petitions defendant filed an exception of no cause of action in that plaintiff’s pleadings “alleged no legal liability of your respondent to plaintiff herein.” Without assigning written reasons, the lower court sustained the exception and dismissed plaintiff’s suit, from which judgment no appeal was taken.

Several months thereafter plaintiff, the successor to the finance company in the first suit, filed a new action against defendant alleging:

“That the defendant, Wilburn Benson, is a resident of and domiciled in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, with his place of employment at 808 Jordan Street, Shreveport, Louisiana.

“That the defendant, Wilburn Benson, was an employee of your petitioner for the period May 30, 1960 through August 19, 1961, and that, as an employee of your petitioner, the defendant was. employed in the position of manager of the petitioner’s finance office in Shreveport, Louisiana, for the period May 30, 1960 to June 30, 1961.

“That the defendant, as manager of petitioner’s finance office, was charged with the responsibility for lending petitioner’s funds to suitable loan applicants, said loans to be for the benefit of your petitioner, and that the defendant, as manager, was responsible for the approval of all loans and particularly the suitability and desirability of the loan applicants and the purpose for which the loan was made.

“That your petitioner desires an accounting from the defendant, stating the nature [242]*242of certain loan transactions and accounting for certain loans made by the defendant for your petitioner and with your petitioner’s funds during the time that the defendant was manager of petitioner’s finance office.

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Pacific Finance Co. of Caddo v. Benson
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Bluebook (online)
149 So. 2d 239, 1963 La. App. LEXIS 1273, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pacific-finance-co-of-caddo-v-benson-lactapp-1963.