Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Bruce
| Decision Date | 15 October 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 0359,0359 |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | MERRILL, LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH, INC., Appellant, v. H. Dean BRUCE, Respondent. . Heard |
Charles R. Stewart, of Riley, Riley, Laws & Stewart, Greenville, for appellant.
O.W. Bannister, Jr., of Hill, Wyatt & Bannister, Greenville, for respondent.
This is an action for breach of contract arising from the sale of six hundred shares of Atlas Corporation stock. The plaintiff, Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, Inc., is a stock brokerage firm. The defendant, H. Dean Bruce, was the owner of the stock. Merrill, Lynch sued Bruce for $7784.85 in damages which it allegedly suffered when Bruce failed to tender six hundred shares of stock he requested Merrill, Lynch to sell on his account. The jury returned a verdict for Bruce. Merrill, Lynch appeals. We affirm.
In April of 1980, Jackie Frangais, an account representative at the Greenville office of Merrill, Lynch, recommended that Bruce sell certain shares of stock of Atlas Corporation which he then owned. The shares were being held as security for a loan by Community Bank in Greenville.
At Bruce's request, Merrill, Lynch first sold four hundred shares of the stock. In due course Community Bank delivered to Merrill, Lynch share certificates which on their face represented four hundred shares of Atlas Corporation stock. Shortly thereafter, Bruce again upon the recommendation of Jackie Frangais requested Merrill, Lynch to sell an additional two hundred shares of Atlas stock. Community Bank then delivered to Merrill, Lynch stock certificates which on their face represented two hundred shares of Atlas stock. The proceeds from these two sales, less Merrill, Lynch's brokerage commission, were remitted to Community Bank and were applied to reduce Bruce's indebtedness to the Bank.
After the funds were remitted, Merrill, Lynch made demand on Bruce for an additional four hundred and eighty shares of Atlas stock at a cost of $7784.85. Merrill, Lynch contended it was required to purchase this number of shares to fill out the sale of Bruce's shares because the six hundred shares of Atlas stock delivered by Community Bank had been subject to a 5 to 1 "reverse split" and in actuality represented only one hundred and twenty shares. When Bruce declined either to tender additional shares or to pay $7784.85, Merrill, Lynch sued.
In his pleadings and at trial Bruce denied any knowledge of a reverse split of his Atlas stock and demanded strict proof thereof. The burden of proof was therefore on Merrill, Lynch to prove Bruce's stock certificates represented only one hundred and twenty shares...
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