The American Laundry MacHinery v. Whitlow, Admx.

127 S.W.2d 817, 198 Ark. 175, 1939 Ark. LEXIS 205
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMay 1, 1939
Docket4-5458
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 127 S.W.2d 817 (The American Laundry MacHinery v. Whitlow, Admx.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
The American Laundry MacHinery v. Whitlow, Admx., 127 S.W.2d 817, 198 Ark. 175, 1939 Ark. LEXIS 205 (Ark. 1939).

Opinion

Baker, J.

According to appellant’s statement, Vickers Cleaners & Dyers of Fayetteville is a partnership, composed of Boy H. Vickers and Gr. E. Bipley, which partnership became indebted to appellant, The American Laundry Machinery Company, for laundry machinery. Two series of notes were executed, evidencing the indebtedness and also title retaining contracts. On March 13, 1938, there was owing upon one series of these notes $3,452.56. Upon the other series.of notes there was owing $1,150. There were two laundry plants. One of them known as the The Model Laundry was located at Bogers in Benton county. The other plant was at Fayetteville in Washington county.

There was no dispute about the balances due upon these separate contracts. It is probably true that both of these laundry plants had been in default in the payment of installment notes as they matured. The Model Plant at Rogers, on account of the indebtedness that it owed other parties than the appellant in this case, had been placed in a receivership, and Wayne Stone hadJbeen appointed receiver and had charge of that plant. By reason of these defaults and the receivership proceedings, the appellant company placed wiih its Chicago attorneys, Teller, Levit, Silvertrust & Levi, both series of notes and title retaining contracts for proper action. These Chicago attorneys employed Mr. J. S. Jameson, Fayetteville, and instructed him to file interventions claiming the property covered by the title retaining contracts. On March 13th, according' to the statement before us, Mr. Jameson filed intervention in .the Benton chancery court, setting up, as appellant’s claim, notes aggregating $3,452.56 and title retaining contract, and filed a like suit in the chancery court at Fayetteville, alleging a balance due on notes of $1,150 secured by title contracts to the laundry machinery in the plant in that county. 'Ray House had been appointed receiver for the laundry at Fayetteville, but the business at Fayetteville was connected with the controversy under consideration here only in an incidental way. In this controversy appellant says that neither attorney Jameson nor receiver Stone knew that the $3,452.56 series of notes were secured by any machinery other than machinery located in the Model Laundry at Rogers. Shortly after this intervention was filed, receiver Stone advised Mr. Jameson, appellant’s attorney, that there was a prospective purchaser who would pay appellant $2,000 in full of its claim against the Rogers plant, and Mr. Jameson submitted the proposition on March 17th, by writing to the Chicago attorneys, and the following statement was contained in his letter:

“The receiver, Wayne Stone, for the Model Laundry at Rogers, against -which there is an unpaid balance of $3,452.56, advised me today that a prospective purchaser of the Rogers Laundry would pay us $2,000 in full of our claim, and it is my opinion that unless this machinery has more value than I think it has, it would be to your client’s advantage to accept.”

Mr. Jameson further states that on March 21st the Chicago attorneys advised him that they would like to know just what machinery was in the Rogers plant, since it seemed that the machinery in the two laundries had been switched. On March 23d, Mr. Jameson furnished an inventory showing the machinery in each laundry. This inventory, as we understand, was probably taken from the receiver’s inventory, but this is by no means certain because Mr. Jameson states further, at another place in this record, that he visited both the plants and it was his own opinion, after visiting the Rogers plant, that the $2,000 in full of the claim against the Rogers plant was as much, if not more than could have been gotten out of the machinery located therein. Thus far the proceedings were without any suggestion of mistake or misunderstanding. The American Laundry Machinery Company had before it Mr. Jameson’s letter suggesting that the receiver had the prospective purchaser who would pay $2,000 for the company’s claim. We think it substantially without dispute that the parties had in mind at that time the Model Laundry at Rogers and were not including or considering the Fayetteville plant. After the American Laundry Machinery Company had received Mr. Jameson’s letter, the inventories he sént them, the Chicago attorneys sent a telegram to Mr. Jameson, on March 25th, it follows:

‘ ‘American versus Vickers offer of $2,000 Rogers Plant accepted (signed Teller, Levit, Silvertrust & Levi.”

Mr. Jameson promptly notified receiver Stone oí the receipt of this telegram, who in turn advised Mrs. Eva L. Whitlow who was the prospective purchaser, and she called on Mr. Jameson and attempted to make an agreement,, whereby she would pay the $2,000 in installments and this proposition was declined.

G. E. Ripley, who is spoken of in some of the evidence as Dean Ripley, was connected with the Fayetteville plant and he was represented by attorney Clifton Wade of Fayetteville. When Mr. Wade learned that Mrs. Whit-low had not been able to close up the matter by paying the $2,000 in installments, he proposed to attorney Jameson to purchase these notes for Gr. E. Ripley at the same price and asked Jameson about his authority - to assign the notes, and at the same meeting examined the foregoing letter of March 17th, and the telegram of March 25th, and promptly agreed that upon assignment of the notes he would procure the $2,000 to be paid attorney Jameson who, according to his own statement, says'that he supposed the assignment of the notes was equivalent to the transfer or bill of sale of the machinery. He promptly assigned the notes representing the $3,452.56, and the conditional sales contract, which did in fact cover the machinery in The Model Laundry, but it is urged now, it covered, in addition, two pieces of machinery in the Fayetteville laundry, the same being one “100-4 Roll Flat Work Ironer” and one “Huebsch hosiery table,” which Mr. Jameson says he supposed secured the $1,150 series of notes involved in Washington county suit.

At tbe time of the transfer of these several notes and title retaining contracts by Mr. Jameson, there was prepared an assignment which amounted to a ratification, and which Mr. Jameson sent to the Chicago attorneys to have their client sign. On April lltli, three days after Mr. Jameson had made the assignment of these several instruments, the same being the date for the hearing of .the suit in which Mr. Jameson had filed the intervention in the 'Benton chancery court, that court met and Mr. Jameson was present in court prior to the time that the case was called for trial in which the intervention for his client was pending, and, as he said, the matter, in so far as it affected the Rogers plant, had been disposed of by his assignment, he gave notice that he had no further interest in the proceeding, pending in the Benton chancery court involving the Rogers plant.

There is a bit of history connected with this payment of the $2,000 that perhaps ought to be stated, though it apparently may make very little difference in the ultimate conclusion that may be reached. Mr. G. E. Ripley borrowed the $2,000 from his daughter and delivered this to Mr. Hilton, who appeared- in the court offering this amount in settlement of the Laundry Company’s claim, that is to say, this particular money was paid over to Mr. Jameson, as we understand from the record here, who retired from the case because he supposed the claim of his clients had been satisfied by this settlement and compromise.

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Bluebook (online)
127 S.W.2d 817, 198 Ark. 175, 1939 Ark. LEXIS 205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-american-laundry-machinery-v-whitlow-admx-ark-1939.