180 F. 497 | S.D.N.Y. | 1910
This is a petition to review an order of a referee disallowing a claim of Jesse D. Alger as a preferred claim.
The bankrupt was engaged in the business, among other things, of manufacturing weather strips. It entered into a contract with the claimant by which it was agreed, in substance, that the claimant should solicit orders for weather strips; that, when obtained, he should superintend the placing in position of the strips by workmen acting under his direction, and whom he selected, subject to the approval of the bankrupt; that the bankrupt should pay their wages, should furnish the material, and out of the price should retain the cost of labor and material and an additional amount of 15 per cent, on the price, and whatever was left from the amount collected was to be paid to the claimant for his compensation. He rendered such services to the bankrupt, for which there is due $431.61, and he claimed priority for $300, under section 64b of the bankrupt act (Act July 1, 1898, c. 541, 30 Stat. 563 [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 3447]), which provides that “wages due to workmen, clerks, traveling or city salesmen, or servants, which have been earned within three months before the date of the commencement of proceedings, not to exceed $300 to each claimant/’ have priority. The referee denied the claim to priority, holding that the claimant was not a wage-earner, that he was a principal and shared in the profits with the bankrupt, and therefore was not entitled to priority.
In my opinion, the claimant was not a principal with the bankrupt
My conclusion is that the claim filed should be allowed priority to the extent of $300, and that the claimant should stand as a general •creditor for the balance only.