Reed v. PESTER, Civil Action No. 1221.
| Decision Date | 17 December 1941 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 1221. |
| Citation | 42 F. Supp. 263 |
| Parties | REED v. PESTER. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Pennsylvania |
Thomas J. Minnick, Jr., and Joseph B. Quinn, both of Philadelphia, Pa., for plaintiff.
Paul Reilly, of Philadelphia, Pa., for defendant.
The plaintiff seeks to recover from the defendant the sum of $5,000, together with interest from November 5, 1934, based upon a stock assessment on the bank stock of a closed national bank.
I make the following special findings of fact:
1. The plaintiff, L. M. Reed, is the Receiver of the Commercial National Bank of Philadelphia, having been appointed by the Comptroller of the Currency of the United States, effective at the close of business on October 17, 1939, to succeed Stanley W. Root, by virtue of Section 1 of an Act of Congress, entitled "An Act authorizing the appointment of Receivers of National Banks, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1876, 19 Stat. 63, 12 U.S.C. § 191, as is evidenced by his original commission now on file and of record in the office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury Department, Washington, D. C.
2. The Commercial National Bank of Philadelphia was, and still is, a national banking corporation, duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the Acts of Congress of the United States of America, pertaining to the organization and management of National Banks, and is located at 721 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.
3. The defendant is a citizen of the State of Pennsylvania, residing at 7380 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
4. On February 28, 1933, the bank suspended payment to its depositors and placed itself on a restricted paying basis, and refused to permit withdrawals by its depositors of funds on deposit in the bank. The suspension, restriction, and refusal to permit withdrawals was never lifted and has continued to the present time.
5. On March 14, 1933, William A. Dyer was appointed Conservator of the bank by the Comptroller of the Currency of the United States of America and, by reason of his appointment, he took possession of the assets and liabilities of the bank.
6. On October 14, 1931, the defendant, who was the owner of 500 shares of the capital stock of the bank, transferred these 500 shares of stock to Harriet Morgan.
7. Harriet Morgan gave no consideration to have these shares of stock transferred to her, but received them as a gift.
8. On or about Christmas Day, 1931, Harriet Morgan was informed by her brother-in-law, Charles B. Bennett, that 1,713 shares of the capital stock of the Commercial National Bank of Philadelphia had been transferred to her by various members of his family, including 500 shares belonging to the defendant, a son-in-law of Bennett.
9. On January 2, 1932, Harriet Morgan received a dividend check of $513.90 on the 1,713 shares of bank stock representing a dividend of thirty cents on each share of stock.
10. In January of 1932, Harriet Morgan sent a check for $150 to the defendant as a dividend on the 500 shares of stock which the defendant had transferred to her.
11. On July 1, 1932, Harriet Morgan received a dividend check for $342.60, and on January 3, 1933, another dividend check for the same amount, representing a dividend of twenty cents on each share of stock in each instance.
12. Harriet Morgan never retained any of the dividend money herself.
13. On February 28, 1933, Harriet Morgan was the registered owner of 1,713 shares of the capital stock of the bank, including 500 shares transferred to her by the defendant.
14. On February 28, 1933, the defendant was the real and beneficial owner of the 500 shares of the capital stock of the bank which was registered in the name of Harriet Morgan.
15. On September 28, 1934, the Comptroller of the Currency made an assessment and requisition upon the shareholders of the bank for $2,000,000 to be paid by them on or before November 5, 1934, and made demand upon each and every shareholder for the par value of each and every share of capital stock held or owned by them.
16. The par value of the stock of the bank was $10 per share.
17. The defendant neglected and refused to pay the assessment, together with interest, and still refuses to pay it.
The action against the defendant is based upon the charge that he was the real owner of 500 shares of the stock of the Commercial National Bank of Philadelphia on February 28, 1933, the day of its failure to meet its obligations. The registered owner of these shares on that date was one Harriet Morgan, and the sole question in this proceeding was whether the defendant was the beneficial and real owner thereof.
The records of the closed bank show that on October 14, 1931, 1,713 shares of its capital stock were transferred from various persons to Harriet Morgan, including the 500 shares which were owned by the...
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