Pearce v. Charles J. Upton Co., Inc.

196 S.W.2d 761, 210 Ark. 524, 1946 Ark. LEXIS 387
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedOctober 21, 1946
Docket4-7965
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 196 S.W.2d 761 (Pearce v. Charles J. Upton Co., Inc.) 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
Pearce v. Charles J. Upton Co., Inc., 196 S.W.2d 761, 210 Ark. 524, 1946 Ark. LEXIS 387 (Ark. 1946).

Opinion

RobiNS, J.

This suit was begun in the court below by Elizabeth Baker Crawford, as executrix of the estate of E. B. Crawford, deceased, against E. B. Crawford So Company, Incorporated. The substance of her complaint was that on May 1, 1939, F. S. Hubbard and B. E. Lawson had executed their promissory note for $2,500, payable in $50 monthly installments, to E. B. Crawford So Company, hut that in truth said note really belonged to E. B. Crawford personally, having been given by Hubbard and Lawson for the purchase money of E. B. Crawford’s interest in National Funeral Home, of West Memphis; and that after the death of her testate, E. B. Crawford & Company, with knowledge that the note really belonged to the Crawford estate and without notice to her, accepted a settlement from one of the makers of the note on a basis of a discount of $500, and credited its account against Mr. Crawford with the proceeds of said note as thus discounted. She further alleged that said discount was improper and unnecessary for the reason that collection of the entire amount could have been made from at least one of the makers of the note; and she prayed • judgment against E. B. Crawford & Company for the sum of $500 to reimburse the estate for this improper discounting of the note belonging to it.

The answer of E. B. Crawford & Company admitted that the' note, while payable to it, was in reality the property of E. B. Crawford, but alleged that E. B. Crawford himself had put up the note as collateral with the Bank of West Memphis to secure the overdraft of E. B. Crawford So Company, which had been caused by his (E. B. Crawford’s) withdrawal, of company funds. It also admitted that E. B.- Crawford & Company did accept $1,900 as payment in full of said note on which there was at the time due $2,400 and alleged that this was done without notice to Crawford’s executrix, because the bank was demanding payment of the indebtedness which the note secured and was threatening to sell the note and apply the proceeds thereon, and that it was necessary to make the discount and collect it while the opportunity to do so existed.

Appellant, Nell Elkins Crawford Pearce, filed intervention on March 17, 1941, in which she alleged that she was the mother of E. B. Crawford, deceased, and that her son managed her affairs under a power of attorney; that one of the investments made by E. B. Crawford fo,r her was the purchase of an interest in the National Funeral Home, title to which was taken in the name of E. B. Crawford, but that same belonged to intervener. She denied that her son owed E. B. Crawford & Company $2,500 or any other sum; alleged that there was no necessity for the discount,' and that E. B. Crawford & Company knew of her equitable ownership of the note; and she asked for judgment against E. B. Crawford & Company, either for the entire amount of said note or for $500, the amount of the improper discount.

E. B. Crawford & Company responded to the intervention, denying that it knew that intervener had any interest in the National Funeral Home or in said note. It also pleaded laches and estoppel as defenses against the intervention.

After the filing of the suit E. B. Crawford & Company, Inc., changed its corporate name to that of Charles J. Upton & Company, Inc.

E. B. Crawford acquired the interest in National Funeral Home in 1937. At least a part of his investment therein was represented by three checks, one for $2,000, one for $200 and one for $1,000, drawn by him on his own bank account. He sold this interest in National Funeral Home to F. S. Hubbard and K. E. Lawson on May 1,1939, taking from them in part payment the $2,500 note involved in this controversy.

Mr. Crawford was managing officer and a stockholder of E. B. Crawford & Company. He owned two of the five shares of the company (the amount of the entire capital stock being $20,000), two shares being owned by C. J. Upton and one share by appellant, Mrs. Pearce. Owing to Crawford’s personal use of funds of the corporation it became necessary for it to borrow. A loan for it from the Bank of Wést Memphis was negotiated and E. B. Crawford put up as collateral the note for $2,500, executed by Hubbard and Lawson, which was in form payable to E. B. Crawford & Company, though it is conceded by all parties tliat it did not belong to tire corporation.

E. B. Crawford died November 12, 1939. At that time there was a balance of $2,268.27 due on his overdraft with the corporation. It developed that much of the other collateral put up with'the bank to secure the above mentioned loan of E. B. Crawford & Compaq was worthless, and the bank began to insist on collection of the $2,500 note, installments of which were in arrears. Hubbard, who seemed to be the only solvent maker, disputed liability, asserting that misrepresentations had befen made to him by Crawford as to the amount Lawson (Hubbard’s co-purchaser) had paid. Hubbard claimed that Crawdord told him Lawson was paying him $700, which amount Hubbard also paid Crawford, in addition to the amount of the note. Hubbard insisted that after giving the note he had discovered that Lawson had not been required to pay any cash whatever. To settle the dispute and to' effect collection of the note, Mr. Upton, who had succeeded to the management of E. B. Crawford & Company, agreed to let Hubbard pay the balance of the note, less a discount of $500..

After her son’s death and after the settlement of the Hubbard and Lawson note, the proceeds of which were credited to E. B. Crawford’s overdraft with E. B. Crawford & Company, appellant, Mrs. Nell Pearce, sold her share of stock in E. B. Crawford & Company to S. T. Lockhart.

The lower court found that the note involved herein was not the property of the estate of E. B. Crawford, deceased, and dismissed the complaint of the executrix. The court also found that E. B. Crawford & Company had no knowledge of Mrs. Nell Pearce’s interest in tire note, but that since it failed’ to no thy the executrix of Crawford’s estate of its intention to discount the note it was liable to Mrs. Pearce, who was found by the lower court to be the owner of the note, in the sum of $500, representing the amount which it failed to collect on the note from Hubbard and Lawson.

From a decree in accordance with, these findings Mrs. Nell Pearce has appealed, and urges here that the decree of the lower court in her favor should have been for the full amount of the note, and not merely the amount; of discount thereon.

Charles J. Upton & Co., Inc. (successors to E. B. Crawford & Co.), has cross-appealed, and its insistence is that it is not liable to appellant in any sum whatever.

Mrs. Elizabeth Crawford, executrix, has not appealed.

This controversy presents two questions: First, was the interest in National Funeral Home, ostensibly owned by E. B. Crawford, in .fact the property of appellant so as to entitle her to the proceeds of the note executed by Hubbard and Lawson for purchase money of this interest? And, second, was the conduct of appellant such as to estop her from asserting, when she did, her claim to this note and its proceeds ?

As to the first question posed, it may be said that there, was a dispute' in the testimony.

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196 S.W.2d 761, 210 Ark. 524, 1946 Ark. LEXIS 387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pearce-v-charles-j-upton-co-inc-ark-1946.