Jones v. Jones

• Decision Date: 28 January 1918
• Docket Number: No. 12664.,12664.
• Parties: JONES v. JONES et al.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

201 S.W. 557

JONES v. JONES et al.

No. 12664.

Kansas City Court of Appeals. Missouri.

January 28, 1918.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Livingston County; Arch B. Davis, Judge.

"Not to be officially published."

Replevin by Ada Jones, as administratrix of the estate of Elliott Jones, deceased, against Maude Jones, as administratrix of the estate of A. G. Jones, deceased, and another. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendants appeal. Affirmed.

Scott J. Miller, of Chillicothe, and Lewis W. Reed, of Breckenridge, for appellants. Frank Sheets and S. L. Sheets, both of Chillicothe, for respondent.

BLAND, J.

This is a suit in replevin to obtain possession of seven shares of bank stock. After the controversy arose,;the stock, by agreement of the parties, was sold and the money realized therefrom was by said agreement to take the place of the stock.

Some years prior to the filing of this suit A. G. Jones and some others organized a bank in the town of Hamilton, Mo., and it was agreed among the stockholders that none should be permitted to own more than ten shares of the capital stock. A. G. Jones tools ten shares in his own name and paid for five more shares and placed them on the books of the bank in the name of his son, Elliott Jones, and also had them made out in the name of Elliott Jones. Afterwards A. G. Jones bought two more shares of Dr. Tiffan and had them placed in the name of his said son, Elliott Jones, and had them transferred to his son and put in the latter's name on the books of the bank. Some time after these occurrences A. G. Jones, as president of the bank, sent written notices to all of the stockholders of the bank notifying them of the annual meeting of the stockholders to elect officers, etc., and one of these notices was mailed to and received by his son, Elliott Jones. A. G. Jones attempted to vote the seven shares in the name of Elliott Jones at a meeting of the stockholders, but for the reason that he had no proxy from Elliott Jones the other stockholders refused to permit him to do so. These seven certificates of stock in the name of Elliott Jones were kept in the private bank box of A. G. Jones at Hamilton, Mo. The evidence does not disclose what arrangements, if any, as to this stock existed between Dr. Jones and his son, Elliott H. Jones.

In the month of August, 1914, A. G. Jones died and the defendant Maude Jones became his administratrix. Said defendant in the course of the administration of the estate found these seven shares in A. G. Jones' bank box and she took possession of them and inventoried them as assets of the estate of A. G. Jones, deceased. In the year 1914 Elliott Jones also died and the plaintiff, Ada Jones, was appointed administratrix of his estate and demanded of the defendant Maude Jones that she deliver to her the said seven shares of stock as assets of the estate of Elliott Jones, deceased, but said defendant refused and this suit in replevin was brought. A trial before the court resulted in a judgment in favor of plaintiff, and defendants have appealed.

Defendants snake the point that a demurrer to the evidence should have been sustained for the reason, as defendants say, that there was no delivery of the stock in the lifetime of A. G. Jones to Elliott H. Jones. It has been suggested that A. G. Jones placed the seven shares of stock in the name of his son in order to circumvent his agreement with the other stockholders that each should only have ten shares of stock. There is no direct evidence on this point; the suggestion rests upon inference only; and as the court found for the plaintiff this issue had been decided against the defendants.

As to the matter as to whether there was a consummated gift by A. G. Jones to his son, the rule of law is that it is not a sufficient delivery of stock for a party to merely have the stock transferred to the name of the transferee, but in addition to this an actual...