Security-First National Bank v. Baxter

35 P.2d 403, 140 Cal. App. 330, 1934 Cal. App. LEXIS 431
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 4, 1934
DocketCiv. No. 1299
StatusPublished

This text of 35 P.2d 403 (Security-First National Bank v. Baxter) 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
Security-First National Bank v. Baxter, 35 P.2d 403, 140 Cal. App. 330, 1934 Cal. App. LEXIS 431 (Cal. Ct. App. 1934).

Opinion

MARKS, J.

The plaintiff, a national banking association, passed through various mergers, consolidations and changes of name in the period of time covered by its business dealings with defendants. A number of documents which we will mention were executed to a predecessor of plaintiff under one of the former names. In this opinion we will refer to these documents as having been executed to plaintiff, it being understood that that term will include any of the various names by which it and its predecessors were legally known.

The defendants Kareldn K. Baxter and Mariam K. Baxter are husband and wife. Margaret Senam Baxter is their daughter. She was nineteen years of age at the time of the trial in July, 1930. The complaint, and her answer, were filed against and for her in her individual capacity. During the trial her father was appointed her guardian ad litem for the purpose of defending the action against her. No formal amendments of the pleadings seem to have been made. Prior to moving to California, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter, who were then known as Kareldn K. Bagdasarian and Mariam Bagdasarian, executed some of the documents involved here, under those names. "We will refer to them under the name of Baxter without regard to which name was used in any particular transaction.

In 1924 the Baxters were the owners of a vineyard in Fresno County. They were already indebted to the plaintiff and in the latter part of that year desired to borrow an additional sum of $15,000. They entered into negotiations with the officers of the plaintiff bank to secure the loan. The plaintiff was not satisfied with the security offered and extended negotiations followed which resulted in the following arrangements being made:

The California Packing Corporation, which was to handle the crop of the Baxters, advanced $5,000 in cash and agreed [332]*332to advance the further sums of $5,000 in May, and $5,000 in August, 1925, both of the latter sums to be paid to the plaintiff, provided that, in May, the condition of the grape crop on the Baxter property justified such advancement. Paul Mosesian agreed to pay these sums to the bank if the California Packing Corporation failed to do so, and in case he made such payments he was to receive the collateral which the Baxters gave the plaintiff for their loans. (Mosesian did not make the payments and the plaintiff retained the collateral.) On January 27, 1925, the plaintiff loaned the Baxters $10,000. The California Packing Corporation made the payments of $5,000 each, in May and August, 1925, to the plaintiff.

In 1918 the Baxters had entered into a contract of purchase of real property in Detroit, Michigan, from David and Augusta Mitchell. They made a contract of sale of this property to Abe and Jennie Marks, the purchase price being payable in installments. The Bankers Trust Company of Detroit held a mortgage on the real estate and acted as the agents of Mr. and Mrs. Baxter in making collections from Mr. and Mrs. Marks. In 1924 the Baxters had an equity of a substantial amount in the Detroit property.

Before making the loan of $10,000 to Mr. and Mrs. Baxter, the plaintiff required them to execute and deliver an assignment of the Mitchell and Marks contracts as security for that loan, and for other loans already made, and as a continuing security for these and any future loans made to them.

The loan account of Mr. and Mrs. Baxter with plaintiff was an active one as they were frequent borrowers and executed numerous promissory notes, many being renewal notes for former unpaid balances, and many for additional loans. They never paid their indebtedness to the bank in full. On December 2, 1927, a balance was struck and their total indebtedness was found to be $18,472.57, for which they executed a note to the plaintiff. Thereafter further additional loans were refused them and litigation followed as the bank attempted to reduce the amount of the indebtedness. After additional loans were refused them, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter demanded the return of their assignment of the Mitchell and Marks contracts, asserting that it had been given as security for the $10,000 loan guaranteed by Paul [333]*333Mosesian, and no other, and which had been paid by the California Packing Corporation. Their demand was refused and this litigation followed.

In May, 1925, Baxter had desired to refinance the indebtedness on the Detroit property. Under date of May 18, 1925, the vice-president of plaintiff bank wrote to the Bankers Trust Company of Detroit, holder of the mortgage on the property, that Baxter’s refinancing plan was agreeable to the plaintiff and that it would cooperate with him in the refinancing “taking assignment of his interest as before”. Baxter did not meet the demands of the Bankers Trust Company of Detroit and this mortgage remained in the same condition as before. He did pay Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell the small balance due them and received a deed conveying title to the property to himself and his wife, which deed was immediately recorded. By a deed dated September 27, 1926, and recorded October 2, 1926, this property was conveyed to Margaret Senam Baxter. It is admitted that she did not pay any consideration for the property. The Baxter assignment of the Mitchell and Marks contracts to plaintiff was recorded on October 28, 1926.

It was stipulated that Mr. and Mrs. Marks were willing and anxious to pay the balance of a little over $16,000 principal, and the interest, on their contract of purchase of the Detroit property, as soon as it could be determined to whom the payment should be made, so they could receive their deed. It was also stipulated that there was a balance of less than $50, principal and interest, due the Bankers Trust Company of Detroit under its mortgage.

The trial court found all facts in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendants; that the assignment of the Mitchell and Marks contracts was given, not merely as security for the $10,000 loan guaranteed by Paul Mosesian, but as a continuing security for all loans made by plaintiff to Mr. and Mrs. Baxter; that the deed from them to their daughter was made with intent to defraud the plaintiff, without any consideration and with notice and knowledge of the grantors and grantee of the assignment of the Mitchell and Marks contracts to plaintiff; that at the time of the execution of the assignment Mr. and Mrs. Baxter were indebted to the plaintiff in the sum of $5,529.67, principal, and $44.08, interest; that the assignment was given to secure [334]*334this indebtedness and as continuing security for any other loans made to Mr. and Mrs. Baxter; that their indebtedness to the plaintiff was never paid; that at the time of the trial their indebtedness amounted to $17,231.85, principal, and $6,288.60, accrued interest, all of which was secured by the assignment. Judgment was rendered against Kareldn K. Baxter and Mariam K.

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Bluebook (online)
35 P.2d 403, 140 Cal. App. 330, 1934 Cal. App. LEXIS 431, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/security-first-national-bank-v-baxter-calctapp-1934.