Hanson v. Donkersley
Michigan Supreme Court
Error to Marquette. Assumpsit. The Morgan Iron Company owed Hanson for labor and he consented to extend the time of payment and accepted their note. He afterwards recovered judgment on the note, but as the execution was returned unsatisfied he sued Donkersley as a stockholder under Comp.
Read the full summary
Error to Marquette. Assumpsit. The Morgan Iron Company owed Hanson for labor and he consented to extend the time of payment and accepted their note. He afterwards recovered judgment on the note, but as the execution was returned unsatisfied he sued Donkersley as a stockholder under Comp. L., § 2852, which imposes upon stockholders an individual liability for labor done for the corporation, and allows it to be enforced at any time after the return of an execution unsatisfied, or after the corporation has been declared bankrupt. The court below instructed the jury that in suing the company upon…
1Opinion of the CourtCampbell, J.
This case is certainly not free from difficulty. But it seems to me that the liability of the individual members of corporations for their debts, under the statute upon which this suit was brought, cannot in any just sense be called a primary liability. The debts which they are called on to pay are in fact — as they are expressly regarded in the constitution — debts of the corporation. The statute is clear that the private parties shall not be called upon unless the corporation has failed to pay, and legal remedies are exhausted, either by unsatisfied execution or by bankruptcy legally…
2Cited by16 opinions
- Foster v. RowMichigan Supreme Court · 1899
- Colton v. MayerCourt of Appeals of Maryland · 1900
- In re the Estate of WarrenMichigan Supreme Court · 1884
- Milroy v. Spurr Mountain Iron Mining Co.Michigan Supreme Court · 1880
- Peck v. MillerMichigan Supreme Court · 1878
11 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.