Whitney v. Whitney Bros.

140 N.W. 35, 152 Wis. 453, 1913 Wisc. LEXIS 92
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 18, 1913
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 140 N.W. 35 (Whitney v. Whitney Bros.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whitney v. Whitney Bros., 140 N.W. 35, 152 Wis. 453, 1913 Wisc. LEXIS 92 (Wis. 1913).

Opinion

TimliN, J.

Whitney Bros. Company is a stock corporation organized under tbe laws of Wisconsin with a nominal capital of $200,000, divided into 8,000 shares of tbe face value of $25 per share. Its headquarters are in tbe city of Superior and its business consists of general contracting, dredging, pile-driving, dock building, towing, lightering, etc. Tbe corporation succeeded to tbe property and business of a copartnership, and tbe plaintiff was an employee of said co-[455]*455partnership for some years prior to the formation of the corporation. On March 1, 1904, when the corporation came into existence, the plaintiff executed to two of the members of the former copartnership, then stockholders of the corporation, his promissory note for $5,000, payable on or before five years after date, with interest at six per cent, per annum payable annually. A certificate for 200 shares of the corporate stock was issued to plaintiff and he immediately hypothecated the same as collateral security to his note. An agreement as follows was made by and between the plaintiff and said two shareholders:

“We, the payees named in the above note, do hereby agree that if the above named W. W. Whitney continues in the service of Whitney Bros. Company, by whom he is now employed as foreman, for the period of five years and shall pay interest on the aforesaid note during that time, at the end of said period the said note shall be deemed to be paid in full, and shall be surrendered together with the stock thereby hypothe-cated to the said maker of said note. We further agree that if, at any time before the said five-year period shall elapse, the said maker of said note shall desire to quit and withdraw from the position he holds in the said corporation of Whitney Bros. Company, he may do so, and surrender his said stock to us and receive back the aforesaid note. He shall be entitled to receive on his stock all dividends which the same shall have earned up to the time of such surrender of said stock.”

On June 15, 1904, the plaintiff quit the employment of the Whitney Bros. Company voluntarily. On January 1, 1905, he again entered its service and continued in such service until February 23, 1907, when he again quit said service, and during all the period of his service there was paid to him by the corporation a salary of $100 per month. He never paid any part of the said note or the interest thereon nor gave any indication of his intention to surrender his stock and receive back the note. March 1, 1909, a dividend of forty per cent. [456]*456was declared upon tbe stock of tbe corporation, payable in cash or in stock as eaeb shareholder might elect. Plaintiff made no election. The payees in the note and pledgees of the stock elected to take the stock dividend and eighty additional shares of stock were accordingly issued to them. No other or further dividends have been declared. About March 1,1908, without the knowledge or consent of plaintiff, the pledgees attempted to cancel plaintiff’s certificate for 200 shares of stock by surrendering it up and having reissued to each of them ninety-nine and one-half shares and one share to one E. L. Baum. On the trial of the case they offered to surrender up the pledged stock, including the stock dividend for eighty shares, upon payment of the note and interest.

Error is assigned because the circuit court refused to find that the plaintiff went to work pursuant to the contract. We cannot see that that finding would make any difference in the result. We may assume that he did. But the contract consisted of the written contract relative to the purchase of stock and the oral contract of the corporation to pay him $100 per month for his work. The first was between the plaintiff and the two Whitneys, the second between the plaintiff and the corporation. The case of Strait v. Northwestern S. & I. Works, 148 Wis. 254, 134 N. W. 387, is distinguishable in that there the consideration for the purchase of the stock went to the corporation and the latter was to issue its shares in payment. Here the written contract is wholly collateral to the contract between plaintiff and the corporation. The written contract for purchase of stock provided for the manner of performance. It might be performed by payment of $5,000 with interest at six per cent., or it might be performed by continuing in the service of Whitney Bros. Company as foreman for the period of five years and paying interest on the $5,000 during that time. It also provided what should be done in case the plaintiff quit the service of the corporation before five years. The plaintiff failed to perform in either manner, and [457]*457tbe judgment gives bim tbe right to perform in tbe first mentioned way. Tbe suit is brought for an accounting, and tbe prayer of tbe complaint is that tbe amount due on plaintiff’s note, if anything, be ascertained, and tbat be be allowed to redeem bis stock on payment of sucb amount, and for cancellation of tbe stock certificates issued upon surrender of tbe certificate representing tbe pledged stock. He seems to bave been awarded all tbe relief to wbicb be was entitled.

Tbe appellant’s contention is tbat be was entitled to sucb proportion of tbe $5,000 as tbe time of bis service bore to tbe five years wbicb be agreed to serve, and was also entitled to tbe value of tbe stock dividend instead of tbe stock dividend itself, and tbat tbis sum should be set off against tbe amount of $5,000 and interest and tbe plaintiff required to pay only tbis difference in order to redeem. We think tbis would be making a contract between tbe parties wbicb they never assented to.

There was no agreement to give plaintiff $5,000 or any other sum of money beyond bis salary of $100 per month. Tbe agreement was to give bim 200 shares of corporate stock, wbicb be might pay for with $5,000 and interest at six per cent per annum up to tbe time of payment or by five years’ service to tbe corporation as foreman, be paying also $300 a year interest. He actually worked for tbe corporation only about two years and five months, and tbe whole period from tbe time be first commenced to work for tbe corporation until be finally quit was about three years. Tbe first contract, viz. that be might have tbe stock by paying tbe $5,000 note and interest, arises from tbe execution and delivery of the note, tbe pledge of the stock certificate for 200 shares as collateral thereto, and tbe provision in tbe writing of even date that upon payment of tbe note tbe transfer of tbe shares to tbe pledgee should be null and void. Tbe second contract obligation is independent of tbis and presents tbe case of two shareholders in a corporation contracting to make over to an [458]*458•employee of the corporation 200 shares of the corporate stock, their individual property, if such employee shall continue in the service of the corporation as foreman for five years and pay them a sum equal to the annual interest at six per cent, on $5,000'.

Hildebrand v. American F. A. Co. 109 Wis. 171, 85 N. W. 268, is not in point. That case declares and applies a rule applicable to the relation of master and servant, which relation does not exist between the plaintiff and the payees in his note. There the contract did not expressly provide what the rights of the plaintiff should be in case he quit the service, here it does.

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Related

Estate of Hippe v. Gallet
228 N.W. 522 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1930)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
140 N.W. 35, 152 Wis. 453, 1913 Wisc. LEXIS 92, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whitney-v-whitney-bros-wis-1913.