The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1849-05-04
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Condensed Decisions-NEw ORLEANS. Apnl 10 1874

whereby the shares OF defaultng stockholders be
forfeited unless such has been expressly granted
in the Charter but where the absence of such power
In the Charter, corporation enacts such b. Law
and the stockholders thereto and acquiesce therein
then becomes question not of corporate power but
OF contract. and the Bylaw becomes the law between
the stockholders whose stock will be forfeited in case of
| Noncompliance with the Bylaw.
MR.. AND MRS CHAs. LEssEPs Us. The CoMpA-
NY OF ARCHITECTS OF THE CITY OF New Or
LEANS. Appeal from the Fourth District Court
Of Ne,o Orleans .SLIDELL, j.. Plaintiffs were
subscribers for 60 shares of 500 in the stock of the
Architect Company, and had paid four instruments.
In 1884, being unable to meet call of two-tentls
they applied to the Board of Directors for ndul-
gence and were allowed further time. At its ex-
plratiOn they failed again to paw: and after con-
siderable interval, they still remaining in default,
their stock was declared TO be forfeited at general
| meeting of the stockholders The Company after
wards went into liquidation, and were enabled to
realise their capital and small excess Of about
per cent, but the stockholders were virtually large
losers by the loss of interest upon their investment
| for many years.
Plaintiffs were excluded from participation in
The distribution of the assets and brought this ac-
tlon. lhey allege no tender of the unpaid install
ments at any time since the declaration of the for.
ielture. Defendants pleaded the forfeiture insisted
upon its legality, and prayed that if the declaration
of forfeiture be considered Illegal it might be judi
claily pronounced and judgment be rendered in
| their favor.
1
OF power to forfeit the shares of deaulting stock
holders, and the Court said it might be conceded
that a corporation would not have the power to
enact Bylaw to that effect unless such power
was expressly granted in the charter; Long Island
r. r. Co. 10 Wendell 81; but that the question
presented was one of contract and not of corporate
power under the charter. The Company after its
| organization, had passed Bylaw purporting
| that any stakeholder who should fail to pay his
instruments when called in, should forfeit for the
benefit of the Company, any instaments previously
paid. This Bylaw is printed on the certificates
on which this suit is brought, and the Court held
that the acceptance of the certificates in this form
was a tacit acquescence in and submission TO the
| Bylaw, and it became the law between the
plaintiffs and their Observation-Disclosures. When
plaintiffs addressed their letter to the Board ask
ing indulgence, they expressly acknowledged the
right OF the corporation to forfeit the stock and
appealed only to the liberality of the Directors.
The judgment below was reversed and Judgment
rendered for defendants with costs in both Courts.
Where agent sells goods his principal and nerlec to
act with due caution and prudence does not use all
due diligence to collect the price from the purchaser the
agent will be liable for the for which goods
were Sold
MONTGOMERY & RYAN u.s. WOODS g. SIMMONS.
Appeal from the Fourth District Court of Ne,o |
Orleans .RosT, j.. Action to recover from de-
PENDANTS, who were commission merchants, the |
proceeds Of the sale of certain goods sold by them
tor plaintiff 8 account Defendants sold the goods
y III.
Donlin, who was alleged to be in fair credit at the
time, but who afterwards absconded without paw |
ing for the goods. The case turned upon the point
whether defendants had acted with due caution |
and prudence, and after the sale had used all due
diligence to collect the price from Donlin. The |
former clerk of defendants called on Donn several |
times for payment, but Donlin put him off and |
stated he was rather short of funds Six weeks
after e.; the le sale Donlin absconded. Per curiaw;
defendants clerk) was such as should have put
them upon inquiry as to his circumstances. Had
they made dlgent inquiry, they would have ascer-
tanned that before he absconded two Of the sherffs
of New Orleans had writs against him and were
executing them, and by prompt action they might
have recovered the goods or secured the price.
They suffered several weeks to elapse without
making any attempt to secure the claim, when |
they should have known and must have suspected |
that Donlin in failing circumstances, and they
have adduced no evidence to prove thatany such |
attempt on their part would have been frutless. |
Judgment below reversed and judgment rendered |
in favor of plaintiffs against l.. ID. c. Woods (who
alone was citedD for $3l7 so, with legal interest
from May 23d, 1916, and costs in both Courts
Legitimate children may prove their natural maternal de-
scent and the acknowledgment of their mother by any
legal evidence Where white woman at her decease
left no legitimate descendants and constituted by last
will her natural child, whom she had acknowledged.
her universal legatee held, that it not competent
the father and sister of the deceased introduce
dence prove that the legaee the adulterous bas
tard child OF the testat1N on tne SIZE OF MS latfef
SUCCESSION OF MARIE ADELINE JoBERr..
MARTIN JoBERT AND ANNE Z. JoBERT u.s. AR |
MAND Prior, TEsTAMENTARY EXECUTOR. APP |
peal from the Fifth District Court Of Ne,o Orleans.
RosT, j.. Action by the father and the sister of
Marie Adelne Jobert, deceased, one as forced heir
and the other heir at law, to set aside her will
the ground that the universal legatee therein named
is the aduerous bastard child of the testatrix Oh
the side of his father and such incapable of TAX
ing, by will, any thing more than alimony and such
a sum as may be necessary TO instruct him in a |
profession trade. There was Judgment below in |
favor of defendant and plaintiffs appealed.
The first point decided was one of evidence 1t |
was held that the lower Court properly allowed de-
PENDANT, after he had introduced in evidence the |
certificates of the birth and baptism of the instituted
heir, representing him to be the of the testatrx
and of father unknown, to prove, by witness,
that the testatrix present at the baptisma GER
emony that she presented the child to the Priest,
declared herself to be the mother of it. and held it
in her arms during the ceremony. Per curidm:
The acknowledgment OF an llegltimate child, |
which the law requires to be executed before a |
notary, in presence of two witnesses, when it has
not been made in the acts of birth or baptism, is |
that of the father. Legitimate children may prove
their natural maternal descent, and the acknowl- |
edgment of their mother by any legal evidence. |
G. &. 221, 800 80
Ii was also held that the Court below properly re-
lected evidence, offered by plaintiffs to prove that
the instituted heir is the aduerous bastard child of
uecedseu, 4 louLtT, NO. 500, the HOIlef having |
acknowledged the illegitimste child and the father
being unknown. The cases of Jung Us. Doriocourt,
4 L. r. IT'S and Robnet Us. Vendun's vendees, IA |
L. r. 542, held to be materially different from
the present controversy. There the legatees were |
children of color, and the plaintiffs claimed heirs
of the father, white man. The testatrix, Jobert.
having left no legitimate descendants, it was adj |
judged that her natural child could acquire from her
by donation morris cduSd the whole amount of her
succession. The act of last will was in due form.
C. C. 147l. Judgment affirmed with COSTS
The title to a promsory note may be transferred by
segment in writing in separate instrument. Art |
3347 c. C. is directory to the notary, and. where his
pardph has been omitted the mortgage may prove the
mortgage diiunde.
VIM. JONES Us. B. c. ELLIOTT. Appeal from |
the Third Judicial District Court, Parish of JEFF |
ferson. .SLIDELL, j. -. In this it was held
that the transfer of the title to promissory note
C