United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Colonial Baking Co.

247 S.W.2d 997, 220 Ark. 287, 1952 Ark. LEXIS 697
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMarch 31, 1952
Docket4-9711
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 247 S.W.2d 997 (United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Colonial Baking Co.) 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
United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Colonial Baking Co., 247 S.W.2d 997, 220 Ark. 287, 1952 Ark. LEXIS 697 (Ark. 1952).

Opinion

Ed. F. MoFaddin, Justice.

Appellee recovered judgment against appellant on a bond appellant had executed pursuant to the laws of the State of Louisiana. Such is the case now presented.

The Colonial Baking Company (hereinafter called “Colonial”) is a Delaware corporation, but domesticated in Arkansas, and with a bakery plant in Little Rock. From its Little Rock plant, Colonial made to consignees in Louisiana, the shipments involved in this litigation. The United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company (hereinafter called “Guaranty Company”) is a Maryland corporation, but domesticated in both Arkansas and Louisiana, and owns personal property in Pulaski County, Arkansas.

In the course of its business, Colonial received at its Little Rock plant, orders for certain of its products from retailers in the Cities of Monroe and Shreveport, Louisiana. These bakery products were manufactured by Colonial in Little Rock, and shipped C.O.D. via motor carrier to the consignees in Louisiana. The motor carrier was Smith Transportation Company1 (hereinafter called “Smith”) which was a carrier for hire over designated routes from Little Rock to Monroe and Shreveport, Louisiana. Smith accepted the shipments from Colonial, under an agreement .to deliver the shipments to the purchasers only on full payment, which payment Smith agreed to promptly remit to Colonial. Smith in fact received from the consignees the payments amounting to several thousand dollars, but defaulted in delivering such payments to Colonialand Smith is now bankrupt.

In order to obtain a permit as a motor carrier in Louisiana, Smith was required by statute and by order of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, to make a bond in the sum of $3,000. This bond was made with Smith as principal, and Guaran^ Company as surety, and the pertinent language of this bond will be recited in Topic II infra. Colonial gave the Guaranty Company, in Little Rock, due notice of Smith’s default, and made demand on the Guaranty Company for payment, in accordance with the bond; and when such payment was refused, Colonial filed action against the Guaranty Company in the Pulaski Circuit Court. Upon the facts stipulated, as hereinbefore detailed, Colonial recovered judgment against the Guaranty Company for $1,107.59, which Colonial concedes2 is all it is entitled to recover under the terms of said bond. To reverse that judgment, the Guaranty Company has appealed, and presents the two questions to be discussed.

I. May Two Foreign Corporations Use the Courts of Arkansas in a Claim Arising in Another State¶ If Colonial had a cause of action for interstate shipments (a point to be considered in Topic II), then Colonial’s cause of action was transitory and could be brought-wherever jurisdiction of the parties could be obtained. American Railway Express Co. v. H. Rouw Co., 173 Ark. 810, 294 S. W. 401; Yockey v. St. Louis-San Francisco Ry. Co., 183 Ark. 601, 37 S. W. 2d 694.

We hold, under the authority of the Tockey case, supra, that the Pulaski Circuit Court was correct in taking jurisdiction in the case at bar. In the Yockey case, the plaintiff, a resident of Missouri, received injuries in that State at a railroad crossing of the St. Louis-San Francisco Ry. Co., which was a Missouri corporation. Yockey sued the railway company in the Circuit Court of Crawford County, Arkansas, in which County the railway had its lines and an agent upon whom process was served. The railway company offered the same objections in the reported case as the Guaranty Company offers in the case at bar — i. e., all of the parties are nonresidents of Arkansas, and the cause of action arose in another State. But we held that the Arkansas Court had jurisdiction; and Chief Justice Hast, speaking for the Court, said:

“The defendant owns and operates a line of railroad in this State, and has voluntarily placed agents here in the conduct of its business who are authorized to receive service of summons under our statute. It has become in all essential respects a domestic corporation, in so far as transacting business in this State is concerned. The right of action to the plaintiff was transitory, . . .”

Among other cases,3 appellant cites and strongly relies on Grovey v. Washington Natl. Ins. Co., 196 Ark. 697, 119 S. W. 2d 503. In that case, Grovey was a resident of Illinois, and Washington National Insurance Co. was a corporation of the same State, but domesticated in Arkansas. The Insurance Company made a contract employing Grovey as a general agent in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and those portions of Arkansas in which the Company accepted business. Then — according to Grovey — the Insurance Company breached the contract, and Grovey sued in Arkansas for damages. In refusing jurisdiction of the Arkansas Courts to Grovey, Mr. Justice McHaney, speaking for this Court, said:

“While such portions of Arkansas as appellant saw fit to accept business from were covered by the contracts, still they do not arise out of business done on contracts made in Arkansas. In other words, the contracts in suit being made outside of the state by nonresidents of the state, have no relation to any business transacted by appellee in this state. No policyholder is or could be interested in these contracts, which were made, as we understand it, while appellant was a citizen of Oklahoma, but perhaps made, signed and delivered in the state of Ilinois, where both appellant and appellee are now residents. They relate to commissions which appellant might or might not earn in the states named, including Arkansas, if appellee saw fit to accept any. business from Arkansas.”

In distinguishing the Grovey case from the Yockey case, Mr. Justice McHaney said of the Yockey case:

“It differs from the instant case in many respects. There it (i. e., By. Co.) owned a line of railroad in the state, had become, as the court said, in all essential respects a domestic corporation. Here, appellee owned no property in this state, even though appellant contends that it does, because it had premiums coming due from policyholders in this state. But unpaid premiums are not property. They may never be paid. It maintains no place of business in this state. It has soliciting agents, but they furnish their own place of business, work only when they wish to do so and receive a commission on business written. Such applications as they receive are transmitted to the home office for acceptance or rejection. We think this distinction is clearly illustrated by the comments of the late Chief Justice Hart, speaking for the court in the Yockey case. . . .”

To discuss in detail the other cases cited by the appellant would unduly prolong this opinion. It is sufficient to say that Colonial’s cause of action was transitory ; that both Colonial and the Guaranty Company are corporations domesticated in Arkansas; that Guaranty Company has property and agents in Pulaski County, Arkansas; that Colonial has its bakery plant in Pulaski County, Arkansas, at which plant were manufactured the products it shipped to Louisiana; and that the shipments resulting in this litigation originated in Pulaski County, Arkansas. All of these facts add up to the result that the Pulaski Circuit Court was correct in taking jurisdiction in the case at bar.

II.

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Bluebook (online)
247 S.W.2d 997, 220 Ark. 287, 1952 Ark. LEXIS 697, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-fidelity-guaranty-co-v-colonial-baking-co-ark-1952.