Rapides Packing Co. v. Olla State Bank

135 So. 772, 17 La. App. 267, 1931 La. App. LEXIS 769
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 14, 1931
DocketNo. 4067
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 135 So. 772 (Rapides Packing Co. v. Olla State Bank) 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
Rapides Packing Co. v. Olla State Bank, 135 So. 772, 17 La. App. 267, 1931 La. App. LEXIS 769 (La. Ct. App. 1931).

Opinion

DREW, J.

Plaintiff alleged: That on and prior to March 16, 1929, it was and is. now a creditor of Ernest E. Cruse and C. C. Cruse, who conducted at and prior to that date, and are now conducting, a retail mercantile business in the town of OJla, La Salle parish, La. That on March 16, 1929, the said Cruses granted and executed unto and in favor of any future holder of the note secured thereby a mortgage in the sum of $3,000 against the following described property: “All store shelves and counters; two adding machines; four pairs of scales; one cash register; one meat counter; one cooler; one safe; one Victrola; one meat chopper; one meat slicer; all light fixtures, together with all minor furnishings and fixtures now used in connection with the operation of the place of business operated in the name of Jitney Jungle in the Town of Olla, Parish of La Salle, Louisiana.”

That the Olla State Bank is the holder and owner of said mortgage note. That the mortgage, in so far as it operates as an incumbrance against the said property above described, is null, void, and of no force, virtue, or effect, in fact or in law, for the reason that said, mortgage was given and granted out of the ordinary course of trade or in .the regular and Usual prosecution of the business and operates as an incumbrance and mortgage against and, under the terms of section 5, Act No. 270 of 1926, constitutes, a transfer of all, and if not all, substantially all, of the movable property, fixtures, or equipment, including movable store and office fixtures, used, or to be used, by the same mortgagors in the display, care, or deliv[268]*268ery of the goods, wares, and merchandise sold by them in their business.

That, in effecting the act of mortgage, the Olla State Bank and the said mortgagors did not comply with .the provisions of Act No. 270 of 1926, and specifically did not, at least ten days before the completion of said mortgage, and/or of the payment of any consideration therefor, make a full and complete inventory showing the quantity and, in so far as possible, the cost price to the said mortgagors of each article included in said act of mortgage.

That the said Olla State Bank did not demand or receive from the mortgagors a written statement setting forth substantially names and addresses of each creditor of the mortgagors, together with the amount of indebtedness due and to become due, all as provided in paragraph (b) of section 2, Act No. 270 of 1926.

It further alleged in detail that the defendant did not comply with paragraph (c) of section, 2, Act No. 270 of 1926, and that the defendant did accept from the said mortgagors the mortgage herein sought ■ to be enforced by it, and did pay over to said mortgagors the amount as stipulated in said mortgage.

It further alleged that the said mortgage, in so far as it operates against the movable effects of the said mortgagors, is void, null, and of no effect, and particularly as it affects and operates against petitioner.

Plaintiff alleged that it had filed suit against the said mortgagors and had issued a writ of attachment and had the properly seized, and pleads in the alternative, should the court hold the act of mortgage not to be null and void, that its lien and privilege acquired by virtue of the writ of attachment be held superior in rank to any other lien and .privilege, and particularly as against the defendant, holder of said mortgage; that defendant has had execution issue under foreclosure proceedings of said mortgage, the property has been seized, and is not advertised for sale; and that a sale thereunder would be null and void for the -reasons above set forth. It alleged the indebtedness of mortgagors to it in the amount of $300, with 8 per cent per annum interest from December 21, 1928, until paid, with 10 per cent additional as attorney’s fees, less a credit of $8.70; said indebtedness being represented by a promissory note of said mortgagors.

It further alleged in the alternative that the Olla State Bank should be held as a receiver for said mortgagors and required to account to petitioner for the value of each and singular of the property above described, and prayed for relief accordingly.

Defendant filed an exception of no cause or right of action, which was sustained by the lower court, and from this judgment plaintiff has appealed. The exception is based on the following ground:

First, that there is no allegation in plaintiff’s petition that the indebtedness arose out of or in any manner in connection with the operation of the store known as Jitney Jungle in the town of Olla; and

Second, that the petition merely alleged a conclusion of law relative to the mortgage not having been given in the usual prosecution of mortgagors’ business.

We are informed by appellee’s brief that the lower court sustained the exception on the second ground urged and did not pass on the first contention of appellee. However, both contentions of defendant are urged here.

This action is brought under Act No. 270 of 1926, commonly known as the Bulk [269]*269Sales Law; sections 1 and 5 of said act being applicable here. Section 1 reads as follows.:

“Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana, That the .transfer in bulk, and otherwise than in the ordinary course of trade and in the regular and usual prosecution of the business of the transferor, of any portion or the whole of a stock of merchandise, or merchandise and fixtures, or of all or of substantially all of the fixtures or equipment used or to be used in the display, manufacture, care or delivery of any goods, wares or-.merchandise including movable store and office fixtures, horses, wagons, automobile trucks and other vehicles or other goods or chattels of the business of the transferor shall be void as against the creditors of the transferor, unless made in conformity with the provisions of this Act.” '

It is. noted that this section reads, “shall be void as against the creditors of the transferor.” There is no restriction limiting it to any particular class of creditors. It therefore covers all creditors. It is true that the purpose of the act was to protect wholesalers against unscrupulous merchants who would fill .their storehouses with goods purchased on credit, and then sell same in bulk, leaving the wholesaler without recourse for collection. But the Legislature in its wise discretion saw fit to make the law cover all creditors, possibly having in view the danger of running into the ban on class legislation. The jurisprudence in practically all other jurisdictions holds, in interpreting like acts, that it covers all creditors, regardless of how the debt arose. McDaniels v. Connelly Shoe Co., 30 Wash. 549, 71 P. 37, 60 L. R. A. 947, 94 Am. St. Rep. 889; Escalle v. Mark, 43 Nev. 172, 183 P. 387, 5 A. L. R. 1514; Eklund v. Hopkins, 36 Wash. 179, 78 P. 787; 27 C. J. 879; Douglas Fir Lumber Co. v. Star Lumber Co., 27 N. M. 403, 201 P. 867, 41 A. L. R. 1476.

We therefore conclude there is no merit in the first contention.

Section 5 of Act No. 270 of 1926, reads as follows:

“That transfers under this Act shall include transfer in payment of debt, in whole or in part, pledges, mortgages, sales, exchanges, and assignments, whether for cash or on credit or in exchange for certificates of stock, bonds or other obligations of a corporation, otherwise than in the ordinary course of trade and in the regular and usual prosecution of thé business of the transr feror. * * * ”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
135 So. 772, 17 La. App. 267, 1931 La. App. LEXIS 769, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rapides-packing-co-v-olla-state-bank-lactapp-1931.