Charlesworth v. Hipsh, Inc.

• Decision Date: 20 July 1936
• Docket Number: No. 10554.,10554.
• Citation: 84 F.2d 834
• Parties: CHARLESWORTH v. HIPSH, Inc.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

84 F.2d 834 (1936)

CHARLESWORTH v. HIPSH, Inc.^*

No. 10554.

Circuit Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

July 20, 1936.

Harry L. Jacobs, of Kansas City, Mo. (I. J. Ringolsky and Wm. G. Boatright, both of Kansas City, Mo., on the brief), for appellant.

Frank P. Barker, of Kansas City, Mo. (Winger, Reeder, Barker & Hazard and Richard P. Brous, all of Kansas City, Mo., on the brief), for appellee.

Before STONE, WOODROUGH, and THOMAS, Circuit Judges.

THOMAS, Circuit Judge.

This is a plenary suit in equity by the trustee in bankruptcy of the estate of Baltimore Shirt Company, bankrupt, to recover two payments made to the appellee, defendant below, Hipsh, Inc. Recovery is sought on the ground of fraudulent conveyance under section 67e of the Bankruptcy Act (11 U.S.C.A. § 107(e), pp. 137, 138), and 70e of the act (11 U.S.C.A. § 110(e), pp. 277, 278), and as preferences prohibited under section 60b of the act (11 U.S.C.A. § 96(b), p. 336).

The Baltimore Shirt Company was adjudicated a bankrupt on February 11, 1932. The first payment which it is sought to recover was made by the bankrupt to Hipsh, Inc., by check dated January 8, 1932, for $2,001.38; and the second by W. E. Davis Company, by check of the same date for $1,827.68.

The trial court found that the payments in question were neither fraudulent nor preferential, and dismissed the petition.

The defendant, Hipsh, Inc., was a necktie manufacturer in Kansas City, Mo. The bankrupt, Baltimore Shirt Company, prior to 1932, owned and operated a line of haberdashery stores in Kansas City and St. Louis. It bought merchandise on credit from the defendant. W. E. Davis was its president and manager. Some time before April, 1931, Davis and the bankrupt purchased the capital stock of Wilson Brothers Store for Men in Kansas City. All of the capital stock of the corporation, except two qualifying shares, were transferred to Davis. $2,500 of the purchase price was advanced by the bankrupt, and notes signed by the bankrupt and Davis were given for the balance. Davis managed the business of the new company, and out of the proceeds of its business paid the bankrupt the $2,500 advanced by it and the notes given as a part of the purchase price. The name of the corporation was changed to W. E. Davis Company. It handled a higher priced class of merchandise than did the bankrupt, but of the same general nature. It also purchased merchandise of the defendant on a credit basis. In June, 1931, the W. E. Davis Company established haberdashery departments in the Katz Drug Company stores in both Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan., paying the drug company as rental a percentage of the receipts from sales.

The bankrupt made no claim to the capital stock of the W. E. Davis Company and did not list it as an asset in its schedules in bankruptcy. On application of the trustee, however, the Davis Company's assets were surrendered to him and administered as a part of the bankrupt estate, as an agency or department of the Baltimore Shirt Company.

In 1931 and 1932, the bankrupt found itself in financial difficulty because of reduced profits and the high rentals reserved in its leases. In January, 1932, both the bankrupt and the Davis Company were indebted to the defendant in the amount of the respective payments referred to above.

On January 8, 1932, Carl Hipsh, who until four days before had been an officer and stockholder of Hipsh, Inc., purchased of Davis the haberdashery departments in four of the Katz Drug Company stores, three in Missouri, and one in Kansas. The purchase price was $5,910; $4,000 of which was for merchandise and $1,910 for fixtures. This amount was paid by three checks; one for $4,000, one for $1,410, and one for $500, all payable to W. E. Davis Company. The two larger checks were deposited in the bank account of the company, and the one for $500 was taken by Davis with the knowledge of Carl Hipsh.

On the same day that Carl Hipsh paid the Davis Company the purchase price of the merchandise and fixtures in the Katz Drug Company Stores, the Davis Company issued two checks, one to Hipsh, Inc., for $1,827.68 in payment of the balance due on its account, and one for $2,001.38 to the bankrupt. At the same time the bankrupt issued a check for a like amount to Hipsh, Inc., in payment of the balance of its account. At that time the bankrupt was not in debt to the Davis Company, but it repaid the amount prior to the adjudication in bankruptcy.

The appellant first contends that both payments to Hipsh, Inc., were fraudulent (a) because made as a result of a sale of corporate assets wherein $500 of the purchase price went to Davis, president and agent of the Davis Company, instead of to the corporation; and (b) because such payments were derived from the proceeds of a sale made in violation of the bulk sales laws of both Missouri and Kansas.

The contention of the appellant with respect to the $500 check taken by Davis personally from the sale price of the four stores with the knowledge of Carl Hipsh, the vendee, is that it constituted a violation of 67e of the Bankruptcy Act (11 U.S. C.A. § 107(e). The part of the act relied upon provides that all transfers of his property made by a bankrupt within four months prior to the filing of the petition "with the intent and purpose on his part to hinder, delay, or defraud, his creditors, or any of them, shall be null and void as against the creditors of such debtor, except as to purchasers in good faith and for a present fair consideration."

The claim of the appellant on this point involves both a finding of fact and an application of the law. The factual basis is condensed in a requested finding that W. E. Davis, who acted as agent of the corporate vendor in making the transfer of the Katz Stores, was its president, director, and general manager; that he was also the president, director, and general manager of the bankrupt, Baltimore Shirt Company, and that he was a trustee for both corporations; that he demanded and accepted $500 from the transferee as a personal payment to himself; that the payment was made and received to induce him to make the sale and transfer; that it was made with the full knowledge of the defendant.

The trial court refused to make the requested finding of fact, and in so doing we think he is supported by the testimony. The check for $500 in question was drawn payable to the corporation and not to Davis personally. The evidence contradicts instead of supporting the contention that it was given or received as an inducement to make the sale. It should be observed in this connection that it is not contended that the sale was made for less than the fair value of the stores. The defendant was not the vendee, and at that time the testimony shows that the defendant dealt with the two corporations as entirely separate entities without any reason to believe that the one was only a bureau, agency, or department of the other. At that time the Davis Company was undoubtedly solvent; its stock was all owned by Davis, so that no creditor or stockholder was prejudiced by the act of Davis. Neither was there any concealment of the transaction, and there is no evidence of any intention to defraud subsequent creditors. In re American Range & Foundry Co. (D.C.Minn.) 22 F. (2d) 558, 559; Parrott v. Noel (D.C.Va.) 8 F.(2d) 368, 371; Jorndt v. Reuter Hub & Spoke Co., 112 Mo.App. 341, 87 S.W. 29. To constitute a conveyance voidable under the provisions of 67e, actual intent on the part of the debtor to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors must be shown, and that requirement is not satisfied by a showing that in the light of subsequent events an actual preference may have been effected by the payment in question. Coder v. Arts, 213 U.S. 223, 241, 29 S.Ct. 436, 53 L.Ed. 772, 16 Ann.Cas. 1008; Irving Trust Co. v. Chase National Bank (C.C.A.2) 65 F. (2d) 409, 410. To find such fraudulent intent in this instance requires proof that at the time of the sale not only was the

W. E. Davis Company a mere agency or department of the Baltimore Shirt Company, but also that Carl Hipsh was acting for the defendant and not for himself in the purchase of the stores. The evidence does not sustain these inferences. However justified the appellant may be by the circumstances in entertaining a suspicion of such a situation, strong enough no doubt to warrant bringing this suit, it must be held that his claim is not supported by the evidence, and the defendant cannot be convicted upon suspicion based upon unsupported inferences.

The appellant also contends that he is entitled to recover the payments, or at least the payment made by the Baltimore Shirt Company, because such payments were derived from the proceeds of a sale made in violation of the bulk sales laws of the...