chicago company reported the following information at the end of the current year: common stock ( $7 par value; 45,000 shares outstanding) $ 315,000 preferred stock, 10% ( $12 par value; 9,000 shares outstanding) 108,000 retained earnings 286,000 the board of directors is considering the distribution of a cash dividend to the two groups of stockholders. no dividends were declared during the previous two years. assume the three cases below are independent of each other. case a: the preferred stock is noncumulative; the total amount of all dividends is $36,000. case b: the preferred stock is cumulative; the total amount of all dividends is $32,400. case c: the preferred stock is cumulative; the total amount of all dividends is $91,000 .