Hall v. Vt. & Mass. R. Company. son to go to Boston for this purpose; and there has been no express promise by the defendants to pay for these services; and I have disallowed the charges. But if the law, under these circumstances, will imply such promise, so as to make the defendants liable, then the said items, with the interest thereon, amounting to $119,39, should be added to the above sum of $ 893,55. "The plaintiff was one of the corporators named in the defendant's charter, and, as such, he rendered necessary services in attending various meetings of the corporators held after the acceptance of the charter by them, and previous to the ultimate organization of the corporation by the stockholders and the choice of directors,which was November 21, 1844. There has been no express prom. ise by the defendants to pay for these services; but being of opinion that such promise would be implied, I have allowed the items for these services,-numbered 83, 84, 85, 88 and 90. If this conclusion as to the law is erroneous, then the amount of these items, with the interest,-being $18.12,-is to be deducted from the above named sum of $ 893.55. "At a meeting of the corporators, held May 21, 1844, at which the plaintiff was present, the corporators voted as follows, "that all reasonable expenses incurred in taking stock shall be audited and allowed by this board," and appointed the plaintiff and one Everett a committee "to make arrangements for going to Boston to take stock." Efforts were then made by the plaintiff, and by others, to procure subscriptions to the capital stock, and so much was obtained, that, on the 21st of November, 1844, the corporation was organized, the charter accepted and by-laws adopted; and on the 22d of November, 1844, directors were chosen, of whom the plaintiff was one. At a meeting of the directors, held January 15, 1845, at which the plaintiff was present, the following vote was passed," that a committee of three be appointed to obtain additional subscriptions to the stock of the corporation, to an amount not exceeding $ 300.000.00, and, in case the subscriptions shall be satisfactory to this board, to allow such compensation as this board shall deem proper, for obtaining such additional stock, provided that the compensation shall, in no case, exceed one per cent on the amount of the subscriptions so obtained." At a meeting of the dis Hall v. Vt. & Mass. R. Company. rectors, held February 6, 1845, at which the plaintiff was present, it was voted as follows,-" that the vote passed January 15th, concerning obtaining subscriptions and paying a compensation therefor, be and hereby is rescinded." And at a meeting of the stockholders, held February 13th, 1845, at which the plaintiff was present a vote was passed as follows,-" that no bills for personal services, or expenses, for procuring subscriptions for stock, be allowed to any person unless employed by the corporation, and that no compensation shall be allowed to the directors of the corporation for their services in that capacity." "Items No. 86, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 1, 3, 5 and 7, of the plaintiff's account, are charges for services rendered by him in procuring subscriptions, in Boston, to the capital stock of the corporation, subsequent to the vote of May 21, 1844; and items Nos. 4, 6 and 8, are for cash expenses incurred by him, while so employed. The defendants insisted, at the hearing, that the vote of May 21, 1844, should be construed only as a promise to pay the cash expenses incurred in procuring subscriptions; but being of opinion that the vote, under the circumstances, should be construed as extending to personal services expended, as well as to cash expenses, and that the appointment of the plaintiff upon the committee then raised was an express authority to him to render such services, I have allowed the items as charged, except item No. 94, which I have allowed at $20.00, and item No. 7, which I have allowed at $30.00. As allowed, the services were rendered, and the price charged is reasonable. The cash expenses incurred by the plaintiff in 1844, while engaged in this business, have been heretofore paid by the defendants. If the defendants are correct in their construction of the vote of May 21, 1844, and, in law, it restricted the right to charge to cash expenses only, items No. 86, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 1, 3, 5 and 7 should be disallowed, and their amount with the interest thereon, being $382.72, should be deducted from the sum of $893.55, above mentioned. Or, if the defendants are not bound by any agreement of the corporators to pay for these services, and no promise to pay for such services, will, in law, be implied against the corporation, until after its organization by the choice of directors in November, 1844, then items No, 86, 87, 89, Hall v. Vt. & Mass. R. Company. 91, 92, 93 and 94 should be disallowed, and their amount, with the interest, being $238.58, should be deducted from the above named sum of $893.55. "Items No. 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 61, 64, 66, 68, 70, 73 and 77, are charges for services rendered by the plaintiff, as director, subsequent to the vote of February 13, 1845, and I have disallowed them. "Items No. 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 31, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 47, 49, 51, 53, 55, 57 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71 and 74, are charges for cash expenses incurred by the plaintiff, while rendering services for the defendants as director. The plaintiff's right to recover for these charges was not controverted, (except in respect to the statute of limitations, as hereinafter stated,) and I find the amount correct, and allow them as charged, with the exception of Nos. 60 and 63, which I have allowed at $3.00 each. "The defendants insisted upon the statute of limitations, as a defense to items No. 80 to 94 inclusive, and to items No. 1 to 18 inclusive, being all the items which accrued previous to August 21, 1845. The writ in this suit bears date, August 21, 1851, and was served August 23, 1851. It was conceded that there has always been a director of the defendants' resident in Brattleboro, within this State, and that there have also, at all times, been stockholders of the defendants resident within the state since the organization of the defendants in November, 1844. But the defendants first had known attachable property within this state in 1847. "If, upon these facts, the statute of limitations applies to all that portion of the plaintiff's account, which accrued previous to August 21, 1845, there should be disallowed, in addition to the items charged previous to that date, which I have above stated as disallowed, items No. 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18,-amounting, with the interest, to $555.40,-which sum of $555.40 should be deducted from the above named sum of $893.55. * "The defendants gave in evidence their act of incorporation, together with the general railroad law of Massachusetts, from the revised statutes of Massachusetts of 1835; and the same are made Hall v. Vt. & Mass. R. Company. a part of this report, so far as they affect any of the questions herein submitted." On the foregoing report, the county court, September Term, 1854,-UNDERWOOD, J., presiding,-rendered judgment for the plaintiff, to recover the amount allowed by the auditor, to which the defendants excepted; and the plaintiff excepted to the disallowance of all disallowed by the auditor. E. Kirkland for the defendants. J. D. Bradley for the plaintiff. The opinion of the court was delivered by ISHAM, J. The auditor has reported the sum of $893.55, as being due to the plaintiff on his account, for which sum judgment was rendered by the county court and on which both parties have taken exceptions. The charges in the plaintiff's account, No. 80, 81, 82, amounting with the interest thereon to the sum of $119.39, were properly disallowed. Those services were rendered by the plaintiff at Boston, in conjunction with other citizens of Brattleboro, in procuring the charter of this company, and they appear to have been voluntarily rendered, as it was anticipated by him that the construction of the road would give an increased value to his real estate. The plaintiff could not have been employed by the defendants to render those services, for the corporation at that time had not a legal existence, nor has there been any subsequent promise to pay for them; and certainly, none can be implied against parties, when, at the time the services were rendered, they were incapable of making an express contract. The charges No. 83, 84, 85, 88, 90, amounting to $18,12 were for services in attending various meetings of the corporators after the charter was granted, and previous to the organization of the company in the choice of directors. Those charges, we think, were properly allowed. The plaintiff with others and their successors were, by the charter, made a corporation, having the powers and privileges, and subject to the duties and liabilities contained in the general act of Massachusetts, relating to railroad corporations. Among other matters required by the charter, subscriptions Hall v. Vt. & Mass. R. Company. to the capital stock of the company to the amount of five thousand shares, were necessary before an organization could be perfected. The duty rested upon the corporators to do whatever was required by the charter to effect that result. It may be true that the company were not invested with full corporate powers until after the stock was subscribed, and their organization perfected in the choice of directors; yet, the corporation was in esse before that event; it had an inchoate existence, and the corporators had the power, and were so far the agents of the corporation as to bind them by any act which they were required to do, or which was necessary to perfect their organization under the charter. Upon that principle was decided the case of the Vt. Central R. Co. v. Clayes, 21 Vt. 30 The auditor has found that the services were necessary, and though no express promise has been made by the defendants to pay for them, we think, under the circumstances, one will be implied. The charges Nos. 86, 87, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 1, 3, 5, and the charges for cash expenditures, Nos. 4, 6, 8, were also, we think, properly allowed. It appears from the report of the auditor that on the 21st of May, 1844, the corporators passed a vote that "all "reasonable expenses incurred in taking stock shall be audited and "allowed by this board." At the same time the plaintiff and one Everett were appointed a committee to obtain stock subscriptions at Boston. In pursuance of that vote stock subscriptions were procured, so that the company were organized on the 22d of November, 1844, and directors were chosen. On the 15th of January, 1845, a vote was passed by the directors, of which board the plaintiff was a member, "that a committee be appointed to obtain additional subscriptions to the stock of the corporation to an amount not exceeding $ 300.000, and to allow such compensation as the board shall deem proper,―provided that the compensation shall, in no case, exceed one per cent on the amount of the subscriptions so obtained." The charges above enumerated are for services rendered under those votes. The auditor has stated that the services were rendered, that the charges are reasonable in amount, and, the corporation having received the benefit of them, we think they are liable for the amount allowed. We are also satisfied that under the vote of May 21, 1844, the plaintiff's claim is not limited to cash expenditures merely, but that he is also entitled to a reasonable |
