Julian v. American Nat. Bank
Decision Date | 01 March 1937 |
Citation | 106 S.W.2d 871,21 Tenn.App. 137 |
Parties | JULIAN v. AMERICAN NAT. BANK. |
Court | Tennessee Court of Appeals |
Certiorari Denied by Supreme Court June 17, 1937.
Appeal from Chancery Court, Part Two, Davidson County; James B Newman, Chancellor.
Suit by Frank N. Julian, receiver, etc., against the American National Bank. From the decree, both parties appeal.
Affirmed and remanded, with directions.
Where in consideration for reinsurance agreement, reinsured transferred its assets to reinsurer and quit business reinsured's creditor, in amount less than value of assets transferred became reinsurer's creditor, and reinsurer could execute note for such indebtedness and pledge collaterals received from insurance commissioner who had held them as property of reinsured for protection of reinsured's policyholders.
W. L. Bryan, of Atlanta, Ga., Frank M. Young, of Birmingham, Ala., and Manier & Crouch, of Nashville, for receiver.
Bass, Berry & Sims and Fyke Farmer, all of Nashville, for Bank.
Frank N. Julian, receiver of Citizens Life Insurance Company, an Alabama corporation, brought this suit by original bill filed in the chancery court of Davidson county, part 2, on August 22, 1931, against American National Bank, a national banking corporation with its principal office and place of business in Nashville, Davidson county, Tenn.
The legal situs and home office of Citizens LIfe Insurance Company was in the city of Huntsville, Ala. Frank N. Julian, a resident and citizen of Birmingham, Ala., was appointed receiver of Citizens Life Insurance Company by decree of the United States District Court for the North-eastern Division of the Northern District of Alabama, on May 27, 1930, and was appointed ancillary receiver of said Citizens Life Insurance Company by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division, on June 23, 1930, and this suit was brought by said Julian in his capacity as such receiver and ancillary receiver.
The due appointment of said Julian as such receiver and ancillary receiver is now admitted by the defendant; but defendant denied below and, through an assignment of error, asserts here that Julian, receiver, etc., was not authorized to bring this suit.
The relief sought by complainant was in part granted and in part denied by the final decree of the chancery court, and both parties appealed to this court from that decree and have assigned errors here.
We have been greatly assisted in the investigation of the large record in this case by the written findings and opinion of the learned chancellor and the oral arguments and elaborate briefs and written arguments by able counsel; but counsel differ so widely in some particulars as to what are the controlling issues in the case that we think it well to preface our consideration of the assignments of error with a statement of the pleadings through which the issues were presented to the chancery court.
Numerous documentary exhibits were filed as exhibits to complainant's bill, to which we need not refer (as exhibits) at this time, as they were subsequently identified by proof or stipulation; but, for purposes of convenient reference hereinafter, we will note the numbers of the separate paragraphs in which the several allegations of complainant's bill are made.
In paragraph I ( ), complainant alleges that, "Ida V. Williams and all the others, who, as plaintiffs, brought the original suits under which your complainant herein was appointed receiver, were policy holders of the Southern Insurance Company whose policies were re-insured by the Citizens Life Insurance Company, and for whose benefit the collateral, hereinafter mentioned, referred to and described in Section III of this bill, had been deposited by the Southern Insurance Company with the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Tennessee and was being held by him as a trust fund for their benefit."
In paragraph II it is alleged that on or about August 23, 1929, a certain note for $116,099.74, payable to the defendant and purporting to be signed by Citizens Life Insurance Company, was signed in the defendant's banking house in Nashville and delivered to the defendant by Joe F. Little.
In paragraph III it is alleged that, "At the time of the signing of said note there was deposited therewith, and as collateral security thereto, certain securities aggregating $101,099.57 of which the following is a true and correct list and description: [And then follows an itemized list of twenty-one "Securities' aggregating the aforesaid sum of $101,099.57.]"
In paragraph IV it is alleged that, "contemporaneously with the signing of the aforesaid note and the securing of the same by the aforesaid collateral, a certain check for $116,199.74, payable to the defendant and purporting to be signed by Citizens Life Insurance Company, was delivered to the defendant."
In paragraph V it is alleged that, "Prior to the happening of the matters aforesaid, the defendant American National Bank was the holder and owner of the following notes:"
"$9,000.00 note of Southern Insurance Company, dated July 19, 1929, due 30 days after date, payable to the Cumberland Valley Office, American National Bank;" "$19,200.00 note of Will G. Harris, dated June 24, 1929, due 30 days after date, payable to the American National Bank;
It is further alleged in paragraph V that said seven notes above listed were paid by the aforesaid check (described in paragraph IV), and were marked "Paid" and surrendered by the defendant, the defendant claiming at that time there was due on said notes, principal and interest, the exact sum of $116,099.74.
In paragraph VI it is alleged that, "for a long time prior to the happening of the matters aforesaid, the Southern Insurance Company, a Tennessee insurance corporation, had been engaged in the insurance business and had been a customer of the American National Bank, and had had many transactions with the Bank and its officials."
In paragraph VII it is alleged that, "at the time when Ida V. Williams and the other plaintiffs in the case of 'Ida V. Williams, et al., v. Citizens Life Insurance Company' in which complainant was appointed receiver, were re-insured by the Citizens Life Insurance Company, the Southern Insurance Company, pursuant to the provisions of chapter 160 of the Acts of the Tennessee Legislature for 1895, had on deposit with A.S. Caldwell, Insurance Commissioner of Tennessee, as security for its policy holders all the aforesaid collateral which is described in Section III hereof; and complainant avers that at said time and at all times thereafter until the date of complainant's appointment as receiver, the Citizens Life Insurance Company was insolvent."
In paragraph VIII it is alleged that, "On or about July 25, 1929, the Southern Insurance Company executed a certain re-insurance contract with Citizens Life Insurance Company by the terms of which all the then existing insurance business of the Southern Insurance Company and all the then existing assets of the Southern Insurance Company passed out of said Company and were transferred to the Citizens Life Insurance Company except only such assets of the Southern Insurance Company as were then held by the defendant as collateral security to the indebtedness of Southern Insurance Company, which the four notes of the Southern Insurance Company, set out in Section V hereof evidence; and, after the execution of said re-insurance contract, the Southern Insurance Company was wholly without assets except its equity, if any, in the collateral so held by the American National Bank; and upon the execution of said re-insurance contract, the Southern Insurance Company ceased to function as an active business corporation."
In paragraph IX it is alleged that, "Pursuant to said contract of re-insurance, A.S. Caldwell, the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Tennessee, delivered to Joe F. Little all the collateral described in Section III hereof; and, immediately following such delivery, the said Joe F. Little carried the same to the defendant American National Bank and delivered the same to said Bank as collateral to the said note of $116,099.74."
In paragraph X it is alleged that, "the signing and delivery of the $116,099.74 note and of the check for the same amount and the delivery of the aforesaid collateral and the payment of the aforesaid notes of Southern Insurance Company, of Will G. Harris, of Russell E. Sharp and of L.T. Little were all contemporaneous and a part and parcel of the same transaction."
In paragraph XI it is alleged that, "the aforesaid collateral, as described in Section III hereof, was the property of the Citizens Life Insurance Company and a trust fund for the benefit of its policyholders, that the Citizens Life Insurance Company never authorized anyone, and neither Joe F. Little, its President, nor R.E. Smith, its Secretary were ever authorized, to execute the...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
Spiegel v. Thomas, Mann & Smith, P.C.
...void as against the public policy of Tennessee. The remainder of the agreement remains enforceable. Julian v. American Nat'l Bank, 21 Tenn.App. 137, 106 S.W.2d 871, 891 (1937), citing Potts v. Gray, 43 Tenn. 468, 470 The judgments of the Court of Appeals and the trial court are reversed, an......
-
Hamby v. Northcut
... ... Badger v. Boyd, 16 Tenn.App. 629, 645, 65 S.W.2d ... 601; Julian v. American National Bank, 21 Tenn.App ... 137, 163 106 S.W.2d 871; ... ...
-
Higgins v. Lewis
... ... Branch of the American National Bank, as reported by said ... defendant, as will be hereinafter ... Boyd, ... 16 Tenn.App. 629, 645, 65 S.W.2d 601; Julian v. American ... National Bank, 21 Tenn.App. 137, 163, 106 S.W.2d 871 ... ...
-
Clardy v. Clardy
... ... Badger v. Boyd, 16 Tenn.App. 629, 645, 65 S.W.2d ... 601; Julian v. American National Bank, 21 Tenn.App ... 137, 163, 106 S.W.2d 871; ... ...