Case Title: First National Bank of Mobile v. Bailes

Citation: 306 So. 2d 227

Docket Number: 

State: alabama

Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Date: 1975-01-09T00:00:00Z

Document:
306 So. 2d 227 (1975)
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF MOBILE, a National Bank and Body Corporate,
v.
George Lewis BAILES, Jr., as trustee, etc., et al.
SC 665.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
January 9, 1975.
T. Massey Bedsole and Louis E. Braswell, Mobile, for appellant.
*228 I. David Cherniak, Mobile, and R. Clifford Fulford, Birmingham, for appellees.
BLOODWORTH, Justice.
This is a second appeal in this case. For our decision on the first appeal, see Bailes v. First National Bank of Mobile, 291 Ala. 385, 281 So. 2d 632 (1973).[1]
On the first trial, the trial court rendered judgment for defendant, First National Bank of Mobile. Plaintiff, George Lewis Bailes, as Trustee in Bankruptcy of American Southern Publishing Company, Inc., a bankrupt, appealed. On July 5, 1973, this Court, in the former opinion authored by Mr. Justice Faulkner, reversed and remanded the cause.
On the second trial, the First National Bank of Mobile offered new evidence on several of the points spoken to by this Court in its first opinion. The case was again submitted to the trial judge on the new evidence and the record of all prior proceedings. The trial judge obviously concluded that the new evidence did not alter the mandate of this Court's former opinion, and, accordingly, rendered judgment for Bailes, the Trustee in Bankruptcy. It is from that judgment that First National Bank of Mobile appeals. We affirm.
Under the provisions of Tit. 13, § 28, Code of Alabama 1940 (Recompiled 1958), we have held that:
This cause arose out of the following circumstances.
On October 7, 1966, the American Southern Publishing Company, Inc. (hereinafter called "Bankrupt") filed a voluntary petition in bankruptcy. Appellee George Lewis Bailes, Jr., (hereinafter called "Trustee") became its receiver and later its trustee. A substantial part of Bankrupt's assets consisted of a large quantity of school textbooks stored on the premises of the Publishers Warehouse Division of EBSCO Investment Services, Inc. (hereinafter called "EBSCO"). The First National Bank of Mobile (hereinafter called "Bank") claims these books[2] as collateral security for a series of ten notes executed by the Bankrupt in favor of the Bank between August 22, 1966, and September 30, 1966.
As of the date of bankruptcy, a trustee in bankruptcy acquires the same rights in the bankrupt's property as those held by a judgment lien creditor under state law. Bankruptcy Act, § 70(c), 11 U. S.C. § 110(c). Therefore, the issue presented is whether, or not, the Bank, as of October 7, 1966, had taken those steps necessary to protect its claimed interest in the books or their proceeds from a judgment lien creditor.
The Bank contends that, by the various agreements between it, the Bankrupt, and EBSCO, a valid common-law pledge was created.[3]
*229 The evidence is largely, if not entirely, undisputed. The real dispute concerns the legal conclusions to be drawn therefrom.
The Bankrupt had entered into contracts with the State of Alabama to supply state schools with certain designated textbooks at an established price per book. The quantity of books was not specified, but the contracts required Bankrupt to have sufficient textbooks on hand to fill the State's orders within thirty days. The Bankrupt placed in the EBSCO warehouse a sufficient quantity of books to handle the orders of all its customers including the State. Seventy percent of Bankrupt's business consisted of contracts with the State. In its contract with Bankrupt, EBSCO agreed to carry out, as agent, the Bankrupt's contracts with the State and others. EBSCO had deposited with it the books of other publishers under similar contracts.
In the normal course of business, the State submitted purchase orders to EBSCO who forwarded the orders to Bankrupt. EBSCO would then ship the books. Upon confirmation of delivery, the State would make payment.
In April 1966, Bank and Bankrupt began working on plans to finance Bankrupt's operations. It appears to have been contemplated by the parties that loans made by the Bank would largely be repaid with the proceeds of the Bankrupt's state contracts.
On April 7, 1966, the Bank asked that invoices which the Bankrupt would submit to the State be marked to show that they had been assigned by Bankrupt to the Bank and to show that the Bank had been authorized to receive payment directly from the State.
On June 24, 1966, the Bankrupt informed the Bank that it was assigning to the Bank the proceeds of certain of its contracts with the State. On that same date, the Bankrupt wrote the State authorizing the State to mail all state checks payable to Bankrupt to the Bank to be credited to an escrow account in the name of Bankrupt.
On June 25, 1966, the Bankrupt sent the Bank a certified inventory of its books on deposit with EBSCO as of March 31, 1966. Although the parties often referred to this inventory as a "warehouse receipt," it did not comply with the statutory requirements for such a document.
For some reason, this letter was not received until a month later, although on July 21, 1966, when the Bank wrote EBSCO another letter, it quoted the above letter verbatim. The Bank also told EBSCO:
On July 19, 1966, the Bank was added as a loss payee to the Bankrupt's fire insurance policy.
By letter of August 15, 1966, the Bankrupt requested the State to make its payment warrants "payable to the First National *230 Bank of Mobile, Alabama and the American Southern Publishing Company Escrow Account." The State agreed to comply with this request.
EBSCO wrote the Bank on August 19, 1966, inter alia:
Thereafter, the Bankrupt executed promissory notes payable to the Bank dated August 22, 26, 31, September 1, 2, 8, 14, 20, 27, and 30, 1966. The principal amount of these notes is in excess of $100,000.00. Each note contained the following printed words:
Six of the notes contained the following typed words in the above blank space:
The note dated September 20, 1966,[4] contains the following typed words in the blank:
The two notes dated August 31, 1966, originally contained these typed words:
The note executed September 1, 1966, also contained this same wording. The Bank then wrote Bankrupt that it would like to have the typed-in wording in future notes to read:
and that it had "* * * taken the liberty of inserting into these notes [August 31, 1966] assignment of these books." The September 1, note was changed to read:
Attached to all the notes, except the one executed September 20, 1966, is EBSCO's certified inventory dated June 24, 1966.
EBSCO apparently became dissatisfied with the burden placed upon it to seek the Bank's approval (pursuant to its August 19 letter) for numerous small orders. Consequently, the Bank, Bankrupt, and EBSCO signed on September 12, 1966 the following "tri-partite" agreement, as suggested by the Bank, viz.:
"The procedure will be as follows:
"Page 2
"September 12, 1966
On the first appeal, three justices joined Justice Faulkner (the author) in holding:
Of course under our statute and the rule of our cases, this did not constitute a holding of the Court. See: Phoenix Insurance Company v. Stuart, 289 Ala. 657, 270 So. 2d 792; Tit. 13, § 14, Code 1940, as last amended.
The main complaint of the Bank, on this appeal, is that the first opinion fails to distinguish between a pledge in which the personal property remains on the pledgor's premises and a pledge wherein the personal property remains in the hands of a person who is neither the pledgor nor pledgee.
The Bank contends the following rules are applicable to its financing arrangement in this case:
"§ 8. CHATTEL IN POSSESSION OF THIRD PERSON.
"Comment:
"Illustrations:
"§ 11. RETURN OF CHATTEL TO PLEDGOR.
The Bank further contends that the right in a debtor to sell pledged collateral in the ordinary course of his business but with the creditor's prior approval does not invalidate a pledge so long as the proceeds are applied to payment of the debt, citing: Harrison v. Merchants National Bank, 124 F.2d 871 (8th Cir. 1942).
At the second trial, the Bank, in answer to statements made in this Court's first opinion, sought to show that its claimed "pledge" could be foreclosed under the provision of Tit. 9, §§ 9-12, Code of Alabama 1940 (Recompiled 1958), which provide upon default for sale of pledged property at public outcry. The Bank also offered "new evidence" of its claimed dominion and control of the books when the EBSCO warehouse manager testified that, by computer print out, the quantities and titles of books held by EBSCO in its warehouse for Bankrupt could have been determined and that had Bankrupt sought to remove the books from the warehouse he would not have allowed it to do so.
Although the authorities offered by the Bank do persuade us that a pledge valid against a lien creditor might have been created in the situation in which the parties found themselves in this case, after carefully considering both the "old" evidence and the "new" evidence, we remain unconvinced that the parties ever really intended to create a "pledge" of the books. Or, if they did, that they effectually carried out such intention.
It is apparent to us that the principal concern of the Bank was to secure the proceeds from the Bankrupt's state school textbook contracts. In the financing arrangements it made, the Bank does not appear to have been interested in preserving the books at the EBSCO warehouse in order that it might foreclose and sell the books at public outcry. To the contrary, every step taken by the Bank appears to us to have been for the purpose of insuring that the Bankrupt would perform its state contracts (contracts which only the Bankrupt *233 itself could perform and which required the agency of EBSCO to effect) and that the State's payments would be made directly to the Bank. While the Bankrupt could not "assign" its contracts with the State, i. e., delegate its duty to perform, the Bankrupt could assign its right to payment. In other words, the books were of little value without the state contracts which only the Bankrupt could perform. If the Bank had "bought in" the books on foreclosure of its claimed "pledge," it could not have sold them to the State under the Bankrupt's contracts.
We are not unmindful of the fact that some of the form notes signed by Bankrupt use words of "pledge" with regard to the books. However, other notes speak of "assignment of invoice," "reference to escrow account procedure," and "Publisher's Warehouse * * * receipt dated June 24, 1966." When all the notes are considered together along with the "tri-partite" agreement, the parties' other correspondence, and their actions, we must conclude there was no valid pledge of the books created sufficient to defeat the Trustee's standing as a judgment lien creditor. At most, we would have to conclude that an assignment of Bankrupt's right to receive payment from the State on its contracts was effected by the parties.
The Alabama Accounts Receivable Act defines an account receivable as including "* * * a right to sums * * * to become due on * * * contracts." Tit. 39, § 207, Code of Alabama 1940 (Recompiled 1958). Under the Act, an assignment, to be valid against creditors of the assignor, must be in writing, made for value, and a "Statement of Assignment of Accounts Receivable" filed with the probate judge. Tit. 39, § 209, Code of Alabama 1940 (Recompiled 1958). The Bank did not file the required statement. Filing is declared by the act to be the exclusive method by which an assignee can perfect an interest in an account receivable against creditors of the assignor. Notification of the account debtor (the State), as was done in the instant case, is not sufficient for perfection. Tit. 39, § 213, Code of Alabama 1940 (Recompiled 1958).
It is thus that we hold: (1) that there was no "pledge" of the books by the Bankrupt to the Bank and, therefore, as of the date of bankruptcy, the Trustee was entitled to the books free from any priority claim by the Bank; (2) that the Bankrupt made an assignment to the Bank of the Bankrupt's right to payment from the State which assignment, as of the date of bankruptcy was unrecorded and, hence invalid as to the Trustee in Bankruptcy, thereby entitling the Trustee to the entire sales proceeds of the books.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Affirmed.
HEFLIN, C. J., and MERRILL, COLEMAN, HARWOOD, MADDOX, FAULKNER and JONES, JJ., concur.
[1]  For the related federal case, see In re American Southern Publishing Company, 5 Cir., 426 F.2d 160 (1970), cert. den., Bailes v. First Nat. Bank, 400 U.S. 903, 91 S. Ct. 141, 27 L. Ed. 2d 140 (1970).
[2]  To preserve the Bankrupt's estate and by agreement of the parties, the books were sold in the Bankrupt's normal course of business and the proceeds deposited at interest in an escrow account.
[3]  The Uniform Commercial Code did not become effective in Alabama until midnight, December 31, 1966. Act No. 549, Acts of Alabama Regular Session 1965.
[4]  The Bank does not claim the amount of this note.