Plxweve Aircraft Co. v. Greenwood

173 P.2d 333, 76 Cal. App. 2d 346, 1946 Cal. App. LEXIS 719
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 4, 1946
DocketCiv. No. 15190
StatusPublished

This text of 173 P.2d 333 (Plxweve Aircraft Co. v. Greenwood) 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
Plxweve Aircraft Co. v. Greenwood, 173 P.2d 333, 76 Cal. App. 2d 346, 1946 Cal. App. LEXIS 719 (Cal. Ct. App. 1946).

Opinion

DESMOND, P. J.

It was charged in the second amended complaint, upon which this ease went to trial, entitled “For an accounting, to establish a trust, and for declaratory relief,” that defendants Murchison and Greenwood conspired to secure through their instrumentality and while acting in a fiduciary capacity, new financing for the benefit of the defendant Plxweve Manufacturing Company “and to secure for themselves the secret profits and advantages hereinafter set forth and in the manner and by the means of the unconscionable transactions hereinafter set forth.” Judgment was entered in favor of defendants Greenwood, Murchison and Plxweve Manufacturing Company, a corporation, and from this judgment the plaintiff corporation, Plxweve Aircraft Company, and Ralph Hemphill, president thereof, have appealed.

Defendant Murchison is an attorney at law and for several years prior to 1940 had enjoyed the complete confidence of his client Ralph Hemphill, organizer of several aeronautical schools and a successful business man of large experience. In the latter part of that year, at the request of Mr. Hemp-hill, he incorporated Plxweve Aircraft Company and for several months thereafter continued to act as attorney for that corporation. The respondent Greenwood was the originator and developer of a new design for airplanes, sometimes referred to as the “geodetic” type. He had spent considerable time and money in attempting to develop this airplane in the vicinity of Portland, Oregon, and in the summer of 1940 had come to Los Angeles at the invitation of an engineer employed by Mr. Hemphill.

[348]*348Various conversations took place between Greenwood and the employees of Hemphill, as a result of which it was agreed that a corporation would be formed to attempt the further development and completion of one or more airplanes of the design originated by Greenwood. The agreement reached with respect to the developing of the airplane was that Hemphill would furnish $30,000 cash, for which he would be entitled to receive 30,000 shares, or 60 per cent, of the 50,000 shares of stock permitted to be issued in the new corporation. Greenwood was to transfer his interest in and to the design for a geodetic type airplane to the corporation, for which he was to receive 20,000 shares, or 40 per cent, of the stock to be issued in the new corporation. Instead of having the 20,000 shares issued to himself, however, Greenwood distributed almost one-half thereof among persons who had assisted him financially and otherwise in Portland. Among these were Guy R. Harper, his son Richard or “Dick,” and Kay Olesen. Mr. Hemphill did not take title to the entire 30,000 shares which he was to receive, but gave a certain portion of it to various employees of his and delivered 500 shares thereof to Mr. Murchison for his services in organizing and forming the Plxweve Aircraft Company. Immediately after the formation of the corporation work was undertaken to complete the development and construction of one or more of the geodetic airplanes, to be flown, proved and accepted. However, by March 15, 1941, the corporation was practically bankrupt, having expended all its available cash and being in debt for various expenses, the principal item of which amounted to approximately $1,5,000 due to Aero Industries Technical Institute, Incorporated, another corporation in which Hemphill owned a controlling interest. The only assets which the corporation had were its good will, its corporate name, certain engineering data concerning construction of wooden airplanes, approximately $741 worth of materials and small hand tools, and one geodetic type wooden airplane which had been completed to such an extent as to permit it to fly, but because of certain technical defects, had not been accepted by the Civil Aeronautical Authority. Mr. Murchison had purchased from Mr. Greenwood 1,271 shares of the corporation, for which he paid cash at $2.00 per share. This was done with the consent and approval of Mr. Hemphill. After failure of the new type airplane to receive official acceptance, estimates were furnished by Mr. Bates, an engineer employed by Hemphill, [349]*349which indicated that the necessary additional cost to have the plane completed and accepted would amount to $3,500. According to respondents, “appellant Ralph Hemphill emphatically and unequivocally announced that he would not put another cent into the project, and threatened to consider the whole matter closed and go to Mexico on a vacation.” Efforts to obtain financing by a second issue of stock, priced at $2.00 per share, had not been successful, neither were efforts by Mr. Hemphill and others to raise new capital by other means.

At this juncture, Murchison, with the knowledge and consent of Mr. Hemphill, advanced approximately $2,000 over a period of several weeks to meet the payroll of the corporation. Meantime, on March 28, 1941, he addressed a letter to Mr. Guy R. Harper, who resided in Portland and was known to Mr. Hemphill as a director of the Plxweve Aircraft Company. This letter presented the facts in a light favorable to the obtaining of additional capital and was followed by other letters and long distance telephone conversations between Harper and Murchison, all relating to the same subject. Mr. Murchison discussed the matter with Mr. Hemphill and secured his approval of a plan developed by himself and Harper. This plan was outlined in a letter prepared by Murchison and submitted to Hemphill, because, as Murchison testified, he considered the latter “the whole company.” It was signed by Mr. Hemphill and a postcript was added by him. It reads as follows:

“Los Angeles, California April 15, 1941.
“Mr. R. Bruce Murchison,
“Participant and Trustee for “Parties Interested in creating “subcontracting arrangements “under Plxweve Aircraft Company “620 West Olympic Boulevard,
“Los Angeles, California.
“Dear Sir:
“This will serve as my agreement relative to subcontracting operations of the Plxweve Aircraft Company in so far as I am personally affected, and in so far as my influence upon the Board of Directors is concerned in the ratification thereof.
“It is my understanding that you contemplate the organization of a company of approximately twenty or twenty-[350]*350five thousand dollars, the purpose of which will be to engage in subcontracting work. It is also my understanding that it is the desire of the principals of this enterprise that the efforts toward the completion of the present Plxweve airplane be continued and maintained with the view in mind of obtaining an A. T. C. license.
“It is my understanding that you propose that Plxweve Aircraft Company, a corporation, transfer and assign all of its developments relative to the subcontracting woodwork, and assign all of its machinery and equipment and to pay therefor, and its present contract for rental of machinery and equipment, and that the subcontracting company also take on all of the employees now on the payroll, either in the engineering division or in the shop.
‘1 That in consideration of the transfer of this development, etc., the subcontracting company will be entitled to use the name ‘Plxweve Manufacturing Company’ or ‘Plxweve Contract Company’, and in consideration thereof will undertake to continue with due diligence the efforts directed toward the completion of the Plxweve aircraft for its A. T. C.

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Bluebook (online)
173 P.2d 333, 76 Cal. App. 2d 346, 1946 Cal. App. LEXIS 719, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/plxweve-aircraft-co-v-greenwood-calctapp-1946.