63 P. 694 | Idaho | 1900
Lead Opinion
This is an appeal from an order or judgment of the district court confirming a receiver’s sale of fifty-five shares of the capital stock of the First National Bank of Pocatello, Idaho. The following, among other facts, appear from the record: The respondent, C. E. Thum, is the duly appointed, qualified and acting receiver of C. Bunting & Co., Bankers, and has been such receiver for more than three years last past. That said Bunting & Co. is insolvent and unable to pay its liabilities. That fifty-five shares of the par value of $100 each, of the capital stock of the said First National Bank of Pocatello came into the hands of said receiver as a part of the assets of said Bunting & Co., Bankers. That said Bunting & Co. at the time of its failure was the owner of one hundred and fifty other shares of the capital stock of said First National Bank of Pocatello, and had, prior to said failure and to the appointment of said Thum as receiver, pledged said one hundred and fifty shares to the Omaha National Bank of Omaha, Nebraska, as security for the payment of a debt of about $35,000 owing by said Bunting & Co. to said Omaha bank. And said last-mentioned bank held said one hundred and fifty shares as such security until February 17, 1900, and all of said shares were of the par value of $100 each. On the twelfth day of February, 1900, said receiver made an application to the district
By the first finding of fact the court finds that all of the statements and averments in the receiver’s report of sale and petition for confirmation are true, and that all of the material averments and allegations’ of plaintiffs objections and opposition are untrue, The second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh findings of fact made by the court are as follows: 2. That on the fifteenth day of February, 1897, the defendant, C. Bunting & Co., Bankers, a corporation, being then and there insolvent and unable to meet its obligations as they matured, C. E. Thurn was duly appointed receiver thereof, in the above-entitled court and cause, and thereupon, forthwith, duly qualified and entered upon the discharge of his duties as such receiver; that, among other things, there were then and there, of the assets of said C. Bunting & Co., Bankers, a corporation (hereinafter designated as the defendant bank), fifty-five (55) shares of the capital stock of the First National Bank of Pocatello, Idaho, a corporation hereinafter designated as the plaintiff bank), said shares being represented and evidenced by certificates thereof numbered 52, 54, 59, 60, 61 and 62, which said shares and certificates then and there came into the custody of said C. E. Thum, as such receiver, who, as a part of the duties of his said office, then and there took the possession, custody, and control thereof, and thereafter retained the same at all times; that on the said fifteenth day of February, 1897, at Blackfoot, Idaho, said defendant bank was also the owner of one hundred and fifty other shares of the capital stock of said plaintiff bank, which said last-mentioned shares were then pledged to the Omaha National Bank, at Omaha, Nebraska, as collateral security for the payment of debt of some $35,080, owing by said defendant bank to said Omaha National Bank, and was held by said pledgee as such security until the month of February, 1900, all of which shares were and are of the par
Conclusions of law were drawn from said findings of fact, and judgment was entered against said appellant and in favor of the receiver, confirming the sale. The appeal is from said
Ten errors are specified and relied upon for a reversal of this ease. The first three go to the jurisdiction -of the judge in maldng the order for the sale of said stock at chambers, overruling appellant’s demurrer to the report of the receiver, and in making findings of fact, conclusions of law, and entering judgment therein. The record shows that the order for the sale of said fifty-five shares of stock was made by the judge at chambers, and counsel for appellant contends that the judge has no such power conferred on him by the statute. Upon a most careful examination of our statutes in regard to receivers,
The other errors assigned refer to the admission and rejection of certain evidence, the sufficiency of the evidence to justify the confirmation of said sale, and the jurisdiction to render the judgment appealed from. We have carefully examined the action of the court in its rulings on the admission and rejection of certain evidence, and find no prejudicial error therein, and also find that the evidence is sufficient to justify the judgment confirming the sale of said shares of stock. The evidence shows that the receiver acted in the utmost good faith in the sale of said stock, and for the best interest of the insolvent estate of C. Bunting & Co. and its creditors. It also shows that the Omaha National Bank held one hundred and fifty shares of the capital stock of ¡said First National Bank of Pocatello, which had been pledged to it, prior to the failure of C. Bunting & Co., to secure the payment of about $35,000 owing by Bunting' & Co. to said Omaha Bank; that said indebtedness had been reduced to $22,800 at the time of the sale of said fifty-five shares of stock. It further appears that one A. T. Ryan controlled sixty shares of the capital stock of said Pocatello Bank, that, with the fifty-five ¡shares in the hands of the receiver and the one hundred and fifty shares pledged to the Omaha Bank, constituted a majority of the capital stock of said Pocatello Bank, or two hundred and sixty-five shares out of a total of five hundred shares. The receiver testified that ever since his appointment he had been trying to sell said two hundred and sixty-five shares in one block; that said two hundred and sixty-five shares would sell for a better price as a whole than if sold in separate lots, for the reasons it would give to the purchaser the control of thn
Dissenting Opinion
Dissenting. — I am unable to concur in the opinion of my associates in this case. The law, as I understand it, has some respect and consideration for the rights of all parties to an action. When application is made by a receiver to sell property, or to confirm a sale that has been made, all parties interested are entitled to notice. The rule is thus stated in 17 Encyclopedia of Pleading and Practice, page 833: “All parties interested should receive notice of the application for and of the motion to confirm a sale of property in the hands of a receiver.” (See cases cited in note to the text above quoted.) Sales of property by receivers should be made, conducted, and confirmed according to the laws applicable to judicial sales generally. (See 17 Am. & Eng. Ency. of Law, 2d ed., 832.) These rules are just, protect all parties to be affected by the sale, and should be observed. Upon what process of reasoning or upon what principle sales by receivers should be exempted from these rules, or why the sale in question, made by the receiver in this case,' should be made an exception to these general rules, I am unable to understand. The sale of fifty-five shares of stock in the First National Bank of Pocatello, held by C. Bunting & Co. at the time of the appointment of C. Thum receiver, and which then passed into the possession of said receiver, was had under an order made by the district judge, at chambers, or an ex parte application made by the receiver, and upon three days’ notice posted in the town of Blackfoot, where the said sale was made. The receiver in his report says that he “caused to be posted in three of the most public places in said Bingham county three notices of the sale of said property in due form, advertising said stock for sale,” etc. The order for the sale was made on the thirteenth day of February, 1900, and was filed on February 14, 1900. 'While testifying as a witness, C. E. Thum, the receiver, among other things, testified: “After the order of sale for said stock had been made, I posted three notices, all in the town of Blackfoot, Idaho — one in front of the courthouse, one on the bulletin board at the postoffice, and one on the bulletin board of the county treasurer’s office. I gave no other notice whatever.” The receiver was in doubt whether the order reached him on
There is evidence in the record showing that the cashier of the plaintiff bank made inquiries as to when said shares of stock would be sold, and that the receiver knew that he desired to know when said shares would be sold, yet no notice is given the plaintiff or its said cashier. It further appears that one of the officers and stockholders in said plaintiff bank, who apparently, from the evidence, is ambitious to control a majority of the stock of said banking corporation, was given notice by telephone by the receiver, and who was thereby enabled to, and did, buy in said stock through another banking concern. It is attempted to justify said sale upon the theory that purchaser bought on the same day, in an entirely different transaction, at pledgee’s sale, one hundred and fifty other shares in the First National Bank of Pocatello (the plaintiff here), pledged by C. Bunting & Co. to the Omaha National Bank, and that the estate of C. Bunting & Co. has been benefited by that transaction. But the two transactions are entirely distinct. The one hundred and fifty shares held by the Omaha National Bank never were in custody of the district court, and never came to the hands of the receiver. Neither that sale nor those shares were connected with the sale complained of here. The order of sale did not
Rehearing
PETITION ON REHEARING.
After a careful examination of the petition for a rehearing in this matter, we' find no reason why a rehearing should be granted, as the petition contains no points that were not fully considered on the hearing of this case. A rehearing, is denied.
Rehearing
I gave to this case careful consideration in all of its phases upon the original hearing, and since the application for rehearing was made I have again carefully considered it, and am unable to come to any different conclusion from that announced in the dissenting opinion heretofore announced by me, for which reason I think that a rehearing should, be granted herein.