Sigler v. Realty Bond & Mortgage Co.

150 S.W.2d 845, 1941 Tex. App. LEXIS 340
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 18, 1941
DocketNo. 14218
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 150 S.W.2d 845 (Sigler v. Realty Bond & Mortgage Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sigler v. Realty Bond & Mortgage Co., 150 S.W.2d 845, 1941 Tex. App. LEXIS 340 (Tex. Ct. App. 1941).

Opinion

BROWN, Justice.

In June, 1928, J. M. Hard, J. L. Hard and M. F. Winfrey organized a corporation known as Realty Bond & Mortgage Company, and became the first and only directors thereof.

In August, 1928, J. L. Hard and M. F. Winfrey resigned as directors and George H. Colvin, John Hancock, R. M. Buey, H. L. Wheeler and Gross R. Scruggs were elected as such. Subsequently John Hancock and Gross R. Scruggs resigned from ►he Board.

In October, 1928, W. H. Slay, L. B. Curd and Dr. H. E. Stout were elected directors.

On November 26, 1928, the appellant, Mrs. Lucy Sigler, a feme sole, subscribed for 30 shares of the capital stock of said corporation and paid therefor the sum of $3,750, giving the said corporation $95.32 in cash and transferring to it certain shares of stock which she owned in Tarrant County Building & Loan Association (also a corporation).

Realty Bond & Mortgage Company did not succeed, became insolvent and was placed in the hands of a receiver, and on November 26, 1932, appellant brought suit against Realty Bond & Mortgage Company, its receiver, Lem Billingsley, J. M. Hard, J. L. Hard, M. F. Winfrey, A. P. Barrett, L. B. Curd, C. E. Gillam, R. M. Buey, W. H. Slay, Dr. H. E. Stout, John B. Collier, Jr., Gross R. Scruggs, W. B. Powell, Walter Bockstaher, T. R. Rogers, Harl L. Wheeler and others not necessary to mention.

The gist of the suit is that these defendants caused to be issued and published and placed in the hands of sales agents a prospectus consisting of 42 pages, to be used by such salesmen in soliciting and inducing the purchase of capital stock of the corporation, and that “by reason of the representations made in said prospectus, and by reason of the representations made by representatives and sales agents for said Realty Bond & Mortgage Company and by reason of the prominence of the parties named in said prospectus, as officers and directors of said corporation. Plaintiff believing in and relying upon the statements made in said prospectus, and in the letters of commendation therein and thereto attached, and by reason of her knowledge of the prominence and outstanding business qualifications of a number of said officers and directors of said corporation. Plaintiff was induced to and did purchase stock in said Realty Bond & Mortgage Co. on to-wit, Dec. 1st, 1928, paying cash therefor in the total sum of $3,-750.00.”

She alleged further that the said corporation “never had any foundation in fact, but that its whole organization was conceived and carried out in fraud, in this, that the $50,000.00 note (the asset on which the corporation obtained its charter) hereinbefore referred to, dated June 15, 1928, was false and fraudulent, given by the Beverly Hills Land Co., long after its right to do business in the State of Texas had been denied, as hereinbefore stated, given without any consideration in fact, and executed by the defendants Harl L. Wheeler, KarJ A. Crowley and John W. Garnett as the Beverly Hills Land Co. for the sole and only and fraudulent purpose of enabling the defendants J. M. Hard, J. L. Hard and M. F. Winfrey, to mislead and deceive the Secretary of State, * * *” for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining a charter for the corporation.

The petition alleges that the corporation was not at any time in sound financial condition, that it was not solvent, was not reliable and was not in any manner deserving of public trust or confidence, and that all the defendants either knew such facts or by the exercise of ordinary care could and should have known them. She sues for damages in the sum of $3,750.

Defendants Karl Crowley, John W. Gar-nett, A. P. Barrett, C. E. Gillam and R. M. Buey were dismissed from the suit.

The cause was tried to the court without the assistance of a jury and resulted in a judgment that plaintiff take nothing as against any of the defendants.

Findings of fact and conclusions of law were made and filed by the trial court. Separate findings as to Gross R. Scruggs were made, and findings were made as to all other defendants in one other set of findings.

As to the findings and conclusions made covering all defendants except Scruggs, the plaintiff objected as follows: “That not one of the seven findings of fact and the five conclusions of law are supported by the evidence offered and received in this case, but that said findings of fact and conclusions of law should be amended to read as follows:” This objection is then followed by 45 paragraphs purporting to show the court what should be found, and 3 paragraphs that cover conclusions of law which [847]*847the plaintiff asks that the trial court find; and all in lieu of the findings actually made by the trial court.

The findings and conclusions filed by the trial court as to Gross R. Scruggs are objected to in as general a manner as the other said objections, with no proposed findings in lieu of those made.

There are seven assignments of error in appellant’s brief and eleven propositions.

Propositions 1, 2 and 3 attack the legality of the transactions whereby the corporation Beverly Hills Land Company executed the $50,000 vendor’s lien note and the transfer of such note to the persons who, in turn, incorporated Realty Bond & Mortgage Company, with such note as the asset on which such corporation was brought into being.

Appellant cannot thus attack the validity of the act of the State of Texas in granting corporate charters to these corporations, nor can she thus attack the corporations because of the acts thus complained about. Sayers v. Navillus Oil Co. et al., Tex.Civ.App., 41 S.W.2d 506, writ refused, Scharbauer et al. v. Lampasas County, 235 S.W. 533, Com. of App’ls. adopted by Supreme Court, 10 Tex.Juri., para. 40, page 632.

The fourth proposition contends that where the payees of a false note pretend to issue and exchange certificates of stock, issued by the payees as stockholders of the corporation, to themselves as individuals, under the circumstances alleged to have taken place in the transaction, “the whole transaction is ultra vires, illegal, unlawful and a fraud, not only upon the State, but upon each purchaser whose money is thus obtained and applied” to the purchase of stock issued under such circumstances.

This proposition in effect attacks the legality of the corporation, whose stock appellant purchased.

The fifth proposition contends that where the makers of a false note and the payees thereof, in order to induce the public to buy, procure prominent and successful business men to act as officers and directors of the company that was falsely organized, and such men consent to so act and hold themselves out, or permit themselves to be held out as such officers in such fraudulently organized corporation, it becomes the duty of such persons to know all of the facts and they are chargeable with notice of everything that a careful and prudent investigation would have disclosed.

This constitutes an attempt to hold the directors personally liable even though they had no personal connection with the transaction whereby appellant was induced to purchase stock in the corporation.

This cannot be done as is reflected in the opinions in many cases, notably, Vol. 11 Tex.Juri., para. 362, page 7, and para. 368, pages 15, 16, and cases cited.

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150 S.W.2d 845, 1941 Tex. App. LEXIS 340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sigler-v-realty-bond-mortgage-co-texapp-1941.