Skinner v. Cromwell

40 F.2d 241, 1930 U.S. App. LEXIS 3144
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedApril 4, 1930
DocketNo. 127
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 40 F.2d 241 (Skinner v. Cromwell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Skinner v. Cromwell, 40 F.2d 241, 1930 U.S. App. LEXIS 3144 (10th Cir. 1930).

Opinion

LEWIS, Circuit Judge.

On March 6, 1925, the appellants filed their bill in behalf of themselves as beneficiaries in the Oklahoma-Louisiana Syndicate, and for those similarly situated, against Cromwell, Graves and Warne, as trustees for said syndicate, against Cromwell and Graves individually, and against three named oil companies, in which they asked that the trustees be enjoined from acting further as such, that a receiver of the trust property be appointed, that the trust estate be closed and its assets distributed among the beneficiaries, that Cromwell and Graves be held to account for their administration of the trust and that judgment be rendered against them for the value of certain property that had belonged to the estate which it was alleged they had wrongfully sold and converted to their own use. The trust estate, when the trust was formulated, consisted entirely of oil and gas leases given to Cromwell and Graves on lands in Louisiana and Oklahoma, and they proposed the trust in a written statement to which the beneficiaries made their subscriptions, thus:

[242]*242“Subscription Memorandum.
“Kansas City, Missouri, June 30, 1920.
“Whereas, E. L. Graves and J. L. Cromwell of Oklahoma, and associates, are the owners of good subsisting leases on oil and gas lands in Oklahoma and Louisiana selected and purchased by them with the assistance of a competent geologist, comprising 3,307 acres in nine parishes in Louisiana and 1,080 aeres in six counties in Oklahoma, a total of 4,387 acres in 35 separate tracts as scheduled and described in detail in the written statements, geological reports and maps presented herewith; and
“Whereas, These oil properties are appraised at $62,413 as itemized on lists shown, the owners now offer to sell an undivided three-fourths interest amounting to $46,810 and retain the other one-fourth interest amounting to $15,603 of the foregoing appraisement; the properties to be transferred under a trust contract that recites supervision, control and disposition of them to a trustee selected by the several purchasers;
“Now, Therefore, it is mutually that the subscribers hereto agree to buy an undivided interest as above explained equal to the amount written opposite his name, after payment therefor said interest to be included in a declaration of trust combining the interests of all purchasers and present owners.
Name Amount
H. G. Warne........ $5,000.00
H. B. Keim......... 5,000.00
Dr. H. S. Hickok.... 5,000.00
N. C. Eastabrooks... 5,000.00
Chas. A. McNeese... ,..$2,500.00
A. M. Bates......... ... 1,000.00
Martha Thompson..... 5,000.00
Stone Gamble MeDermott & Wife...... ... 2,500.00) --
McCaules Kennard &
Trusty .......... ,.. 2,500.00)' IS

Then on August 18,1920, the trustees executed a declaration of trust, to which was attached a description of lands in ten Louisiana parishes and six Oklahoma counties, on which Cromwell and Graves had obtained and then held oil and gas leases. And the declaration stated that the trustees held said property (leases) and all profits and proceeds thereafter arising therefrom, and all future accessions and additions thereto, in trust as an estate for the benefit of the shareholders. The whole number of shares, stated in the declaration, was to be 625, of no par value and non-assessable. The trustees were to issue to the subscribers certificates for their shares, the form being prescribed, each share to represent a l/625th interest in the trust estate. These certificates on endorsement and surrender entitled the transferee to a new certificate from the trustees. The shareholders were not to be liable for debts of the trustees and the trustees liable only to the extent of the trust estate. Each shareholder was to participate pro-rata in profits and assets on distribution. The trustees, however, might deduct from funds of-the trust estate expenses incurred in its administration and a reasonable compensation for their services. The trustees were to constitute a board, but their action was not confined to board meetings. Amy two of them controlled, and their acts would be valid and binding. They were to keep papers, books and accounts of the trustees separate and apart from all other papers, books and accounts, accessible and open to the inspection of any shareholder, and they were to render to each shareholder a quarterly account and report of the financial condition of the estate. . The life of the trust was limited to twenty years . The power of the trustees was broad: To sell, pledge or. mortgage any property belonging to the estate, to apply any income' of the estate to its development or the acquisition of additional property, and to do all lawful acts and transact any business incident or appurtenant to and consistent with the terms of the trust. When the trust agreement was executed by the trustees the leases, all in the names of Cromwell and Graves, were assigned by them to the trustees. Cromwell and Graves resided in Oklahoma and Wame in Kansas City, Missouri.

The record does not'show the names of the shareholders and the shares held by each at the time of the trial, but from an exhibit attached to the bill it seems that three-fourths of the offered shares were not subscribed, only 275. That left 350 unsold in the hands of Cromwell and Graves, and the testimony indicates that some of the subscribers did not and have not paid their subscriptions in full, so that, Cromwell and Graves, instead of receiving $46,810.00, as proposed in the subscription memorandum, for assigning the leases to the syndicate, received, according to the proof, less than $25,000. But the parties interested went on with the trust arrangement. All of the leases were of speculative value, none was producing mineral, or then being prospected and developed, and it could not have .been believed or hoped that many, of them would ever be productive. Which of them would prove to be of value because of underlying oil or gas was a recognized un[243]*243certainty to be solved only by expensive development on the leased or adjoining lands, and the syndicate had no funds to make those developments. Obviously, the purpose was to wait for development by others in the neighborhood or by subletting. The whole venture was highly speculative. Cromwell was an experienced oil man and had some expert knowledge, from the geological standpoint, in locating oil fields. He and Graves commended the locations of their leases, but the leases required payments of annual rentals to keep them in force. The syndicate had no funds and no arrangement was made by the parties interested for the payment of these rentals. The shares were non-assessable. None of the trustees obligated themselves to make these payments. Cromwell and Graves, however, paid rentals out of their own funds to an amount of about $4,000 on what they considered the best leases, to keep them in force. For non-payment of these annual accruals the greater part of the leases in Louisiana lapsed the first year.

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Related

Magruder v. National Metropolitan Bank of Washington
40 A.2d 828 (District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1945)
Cromwell v. Skinner
62 F.2d 432 (Tenth Circuit, 1933)
Big Diamond Mills Co. v. United States
51 F.2d 721 (Eighth Circuit, 1931)

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Bluebook (online)
40 F.2d 241, 1930 U.S. App. LEXIS 3144, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/skinner-v-cromwell-ca10-1930.