Nichols

This is an appeal from a judgment in a suit for unlawful conversion of certain stocks and bonds' of the value of $19,000, and for the cancellation of a promissory note which is unlawfully retained by the appellants.

The defendant Jacobs owns and operates a brokerage business at Los Angeles under the fictitious name of U. S. Bond & Mortgage Company. The defendant Leach was the business manager of this enterprise. Thomas T. Snell owned 208 shares of the capital stock of the West Hollywood National Bank, valued at $148,500. The plaintiff Stella N. Nichols, owned stocks and bonds of the aggregate value of $19,000. The appellants promoted a plan to purchase the above-mentioned shares of the capital stock of the West Hollywood National Bank for the purpose of reorganizing and controlling the bank. Pursuant to this plan an agent of the appellants interviewed the plaintiffs and persuaded them to loan to the appellants their stocks, bonds and credit for a period of about six months in consideration of an agreed profit of $3,200 which was to be paid therefor. An oral agreement was subsequently made, by the terms of which a promissory note of the plaintiffs for $16,000 and the stocks and…