Opinion ID: 1778476
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: whether there is sufficient proof of the ucc article 8 claims.

Text: ¶ 22. Smith asserts that she is entitled to recover her securities under Mississippi Code Annotated § § 75-8-311(b) and 75-8-404(3) (Supp.1995). Smith is misguided in relying on sections of the code that were enacted in 1990. The Franklin Funds were liquidated in 1987. Sections 75-8-311(b) and 75-8-104(3) were both revised in 1990 and repealed in 1996. Nothing in the 1990 revision indicated that the legislature intended for the revisions to apply retroactively, so we must apply the revisions prospectively which means that they do not apply to the present case. ¶ 23. The sections of the Code that Smith refers to that were effective in 1987 read as follows: Unless the owner has ratified an unauthorized indorsement or is otherwise precluded from asserting its ineffectiveness ... (b) an issuer who registers the transfer of a security upon the unauthorized indorsement is subject to liability for improper registration. Miss.Code Ann. § 75-8-311(b)(1972). ¶ 24. Franklin Funds notes that at the time this statute was effective, it defined securities as instruments that are issued in bearer or registered form. Miss.Code Ann. § 75-8-102(1)(a)(1972). Franklin contends that Smith's securities were uncertified securities [6] and as such were not the type defined and dealt with by Section 75, Chapter 8 at the time the liquidation occurred. Further, Franklin maintains that there was no violation of § 75-8-311 because Bernie III was authorized to transfer and liquidate his parents' securities. ¶ 25. As stated supra, whether Bernie III had authorization to liquidate his parents' securities is a jury question. We agree with Franklin's contention that § 75-8-311 does not apply if the Smiths' securities were uncertified; however, the record is silent as to this issue. Therefore, we remand this issue to the trial court to determine whether or not the Smiths' securities were certified. If they were certified, then § 75-8-311 in effect in 1987 does apply to this case and a jury should determine whether Bernie III was authorized to make the indorsement. If he was not, then Franklin Funds may be liable under § 75-8-311.