Claxton v. Cantley

• Decision Date: 03 September 1927
• Docket Number: 4318
• Citation: 297 S.W. 975
• Parties: E. A. Claxton - Respondent, v. S. L. Cantley, Commissioner of Finance in charge of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Hartville, Appellant
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

297 S.W. 975

E. A. Claxton - Respondent, v. S. L. Cantley, Commissioner of Finance in charge of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Hartville, Appellant

No. 4318

Court of Appeals of Missouri, Springfield

September 3, 1927

Appeal from Wright Comity Circuit Court.

AFFIRMED.

Farrington & Curtis of Springfield for Appellant.

Arch A Johnson of Springfield for Respondent.

Argus Cox, Presiding Judge. Bradley J., and Bailey J., concur.

OPINION

COX P. J.

-- The Farmers & Merchants Bank of Hartville is in the hands of the State Finance Commissioner for liquidation. E. A. Claxton was a depositor in said bank and this action is for the purpose of having a preference declared in his favor. The trial court upheld his contention. The Commissioner of Finance appealed.

The facts are substantially as follows: The People's State Bank closed its doors January 25, 1925. At that time respondent Claxton had on deposit in that bank $ 1000.70. Some Interested parties soon thereafter organized the Farmers & Merchants Bank which took over the assets and assumed the liabilities of the closed People's State Bank. This new bank opened about the 14th of December, 1925. When this bank opened Mr. Claxton, by reason of said bank having assumed the obligations of the closed People's State Bank, became a depositor in said Farmers & Merchants Bank for $ 1000.70. At the time of the organization of the Farmers & Merchants Bank an effort was made to get as many as possible of the depositors in the people's State Bank to leave their deposits, or as large a percentage thereof as they could, on deposit in the Farmers & Merchants Bank for a period of six months. Contracts for that purpose were prepared and presented to depositors of the People's State Bank and many of them signed them and thereby became bound to leave such part of their deposit in the People's State Bank as they then agreed, on deposit in the Farmers & Merchants Bank for six months. These contracts were in the following form: "I, the undersigned, a depositor of the people's state Bank of Hartville, Missouri, hereby agree to leave () per cent of all monies I may now hare on deposit in said bank on deposit with the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Hartville, Missouri, successor in business to said People's State Bank for a period of six months after the opening of said Farmers & Merchants Bank".

Parties who executed these contracts filled in the blank showing what percent of their deposits they were agreeing to leave in the new bank. Mr. Claxton signed one of these contracts but refused to fill in any per cent. Just why he signed when he was not willing to agree to leave any of his deposit in the bank for any certain time is not clearly shown. On the 8th of May 1926 Mr. Claxton drew a check upon the Farmers &amp Merchants Bank for $ 1000.70, the full amount of his deposit, payable to the Bank of Mansfield of Mansfield, Missouri, and delivered the same to the Bank of Mansfield for collection and deposit in said bank. This check was presented to the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Hartville for payment on May 11, 1926. At the time this check was presented said Farmers & Merchants Bank had sufficient funds on hand to pay it but refused to pay it on the ground, as was contended, that Mr. Claxton had agreed to leave his deposit there for six months and that time had not yet expired. The Farmers & Merchants Bank continued in business until May 16, 1926 when it closed. Between May 11th, the date Claxton's check was presented and May 16th, the date the bank closed, the bank paid out on checks more than $ 1000.70, the amount of the...