Placerville Fruit Growers' Assn. v. Irving

VAN DYKE, P. J.

Placerville Fruit Growers’ Association, a corporation, brought an action in interpleader against Win-ton H. Irving, individually, Winton H. Irving, as executor of the estate of his father, James Andrew Irving, deceased, and against Marjorie E. Barnett, a sister of Winton. It alleged that it had in its possession the sum of $3,379.75 to which the defendants in interpleader made conflicting claims; that this sum had been, by its board of directors, declared payable to the persons lawfully entitled thereto from “Unpaid Revolving Fund” credits appearing on its books in an account designated “J. A. Irving and/or Winton Irving Account.” Plaintiff asked that defendants be required to interplead and litigate their claims between themselves. It paid the fund into court and was dismissed from the action.

[732]

Marjorie appeared, asserting that she was the sole owner of the “Revolving Fund” credits, including the specific fund referred to in the complaint. She alleged that the total revolving fund credits amounted to in excess of $13,000, of which that portion referred to in the complaint constituted a part. Winton appeared individually and as executor of his father’s will. Individually he claimed to be the owner of all the funds involved; he also alleged that if the funds did not belong to him individually, then they were a part of the estate of James Andrew Irving, deceased, and should, therefore, be paid to him as executor.

The court found that Marjorie was the owner of the sum of $3,379.75 referred to in the complaint and that, as to the rest of the “revolving fund” credits, amounting to the sum of $10,026.64, the association held those funds in trust for her use and benefit in such manner that when the directors of the association should declare additional payments due from the “revolving fund” the payments so declared should be paid to Marjorie until the fund had been exhausted. From the judgment thereafter entered Winton appealed as executor only, and so it now stands finally adjudged that he had no individual interest in the subject matter of the litigation.

The association was a nonprofit fruit growers’ association, its principal function being the marketing of the produce of its members. Its by-laws declared that in order to provide funds for its corporate purposes it could temporarily retain, from the proceeds of fruit sold, an amount for each box or other unit of fruit received for marketing; that the aggregate of the amounts so retained should be known as the “Revolving Fund”; that the members would be credited on the books with the amounts retained from them and that such credits should be known as “Revolving Fund credits”; that the revolving fund credits should be deemed to evidence an indebtedness of the association to the persons to whom credited and would be paid solely upon conditions set forth in the by-laws and without interest. The by-laws further provided that the board should from time to time determine the amount of money not then needed and hence available for payment of revolving fund credits. Such designated repayment funds would then be applied to the oldest unpaid credits. The association had long adopted and followed a policy of retaining such sums for a period of five years. Consequently, at the time of the death of J. A. Irving, father of the interested parties to this appeal, there was credited to him revolving