State v. Morran

306 P.2d 679, 131 Mont. 17, 1957 Mont. LEXIS 82
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 4, 1957
Docket9672
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 306 P.2d 679 (State v. Morran) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Morran, 306 P.2d 679, 131 Mont. 17, 1957 Mont. LEXIS 82 (Mo. 1957).

Opinions

MR: CHIEF JUSTICE ADAIR:

On July 6, 1955, an information accusing Lawrence Morran of the murder of Mervin Bishop was filed in the district court of Phillips County," Montana. Upon his trial, Morran, by a jury’s verdict, was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to life imprisonment.

This is an appeal by Morran from the judgment of conviction and the order denying him a new trial.

Carter Oil Company owned the building and land constituting a service station known as the Hi-Line Servicenter at Malta, Montana, which it leased to Clifford Lundstrom to operate.

About August 26, 1954, Lundstrom, the lessee operator, sold his stock in trade and his service station equipment to the appel[19]*19lant, Lawrence R. Morran, also known as “Buster” Morran, for a cash consideration of $4,983.73. About $2,000 of the consideration was for Lundstrom’s equipment and the balance for his stock in trade.

At the time of his purchase of Lundstrom’s stock and equipment, Morran entered into a one-year lease agreement with the Carter Oil Company whereby he agreed to pay it a rental on the service station of $150 per month.

The appellant operated the Hi-Line Servicenter under such lease from August 26, 1954, until June 20, 1955, on which date the service station was consumed by fire.

At the beginning of the operation, appellant’s business was fairly good but during the fall and winter months it declined considerably so that by June, 1955, the appellant was faced with various adverse financial problems. In round figures the total of appellant’s obligations to various creditors was then in the neighborhood of $10,000.

To make the cash down payment to Lundstrom the appellant Morran borrowed $4,500 from the First State Bank of Malta on a promissory note secured by two co-signers and it was agreed at the time of making the loan that Morran should pay $300 per month on the note but at the time of the fire only three payments totaling $800 in the aggregate had been made on the note, leaving a balance owing to the bank of $3,700.

Robert J. Erhard, district manager of Carter Oil Company, spent June 2, 3 and 4, 1955, in Malta, during which time he discussed with Morran a plan whereby Mr. Hardin, the distributor in Malta for the Carter Oil Company products, could be paid for gasoline that he had delivered to Morran at his service station that had not been paid for and also the possibility of Mr. Morran selling his interest in the service station.

The record, in part, of Mr. Erhard’s testimony at appellant’s trial is as follows:

“Q. Did you discuss the question with Mr. Morran relative to a price? A. I told him to make up an inventory, take an [20]*20inventory of everything that he had and then we would start looking for a new dealer.
“Q. Was there ever a discussion relative to the cancellation of Mr. Morran’s lease? A. At that time?
“Q. Yes. A. Yes.
“Q. What matters were discussed relative to that subject? A. Well, prior to the time that Mr. Morran leased the service station I told him that the rent would increase at the end of the first year. He and I discussed the fact that the rent was going to increase in August when his lease was up. He said that he couldn’t afford to pay that much rent and wouldn’t pay that much rent, so I told him that that would automatically cancel his lease.
“Q. What was the expiration date of Mr. Morran’s first year’s lease? A. I believe it’s on the 25th of August.
“Q. That’s 1955? A. Yes.
“Q. What was Mr. Morran’s status with Carter Oil Company relative to paying his monthly rental? A. Well, he had missed paying it on schedule twice as I remember, once I believe in the spring. I wrote him about it, then I believe the May check for his rent did not go through the bank, did not clear the bank. * * *
“Q. What do the records indicate concerning the business at the Hi-Line Servicenter while it was operated by Mr. Morran? A. It slipped from previous business that we had done at the station.
“Q. Did you or did you not receive information that Mr. Morran was asking a price between eight and nine thousand dollars for his interest in the station? A. Yes, I did.
“Q. Did you have any conversation with Mr. Morran relative to this subject? A. Yes.
“Q. What was your conversation? A. I asked him where he arrived at the figure some place between eight and nine thousand dollars. He told me that included his accounts receivable.”

From August 26, 1954, when Morran commenced operating [21]*21the service station, to the month of June 1955, the appellant had no fire insurance on either the station, the equipment therein, or the stock in trade. However, shortly before the fire, Morran through a local insurance agent, obtained fire insurance in the amount of $12,000 on the stock in trade and equipment in the Hi-Line Servicenter. This policy of insurance went into effect on June 11, 1955, -but there is conflict in the testimony as to whether or not the appellant was aware that his stock and equipment were covered by insurance at the time of the fire for the policy was not delivered until two or three days thereafter, at which time the premium was paid in full.

On June 19, 1955, business at the station was as usual and the local distributor of Carter Oil Company’s products called at the station to determine the sufficiency of the supply of stock on hand. At that time the appellant and his bookkeeper were at the station and placed an order with the distributor for a quantity of gasoline to be delivered, the next day. This order was placed after the distributor had been told that there would be funds available to make immediate payment for gasoline when delivered.

Also on June 19, 1955, the accounts receivable were brought to the station by the bookkeeper for another employee to examine but later that day the bookkeeper took the books home at the insistence of the appellant, who stated that he did not want them left at the station.

At about 1:00 a.m. on June 20, 1955, the appellant and one of his employees, Lloyd Knudsen, closed the station for the balance of the night but before doing so they counted out the change that would be necesssary to commence business when the station should next be opened for business and placed such change in a coin bag along with the credit slips which had been received during the day. The bag with its contents was then placed in a tire in the service room of the station by the employee Knudsen. The charge slips for gasoline sold on credit during that day were left in the dispensing machine located in the station.

[22]*22The appellant testified that upon leaving the station he and Knudsen first went to a downtown restaurant for a cup of coffee; that upon leaving the restaurant the appellant stopped by the home of his bookkeeper and there left the money that was to be deposited the following day.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
306 P.2d 679, 131 Mont. 17, 1957 Mont. LEXIS 82, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-morran-mont-1957.