139 A. 133 | Pa. | 1927
Argued May 11, 1927. When the balance shown by the account of the receiver appointed in this proceeding came before the court for distribution, it was claimed by wage lienors *444 and by the landlord of the insolvent corporation. The amount due the wage claimants exceeded the fund for distribution, as did also the claim of the landlord, and the court awarded the entire amount to the former and excluded the claim of the landlord; the latter brings this appeal.
The wages accrued prior to the receiver's appointment. The fund for distribution was realized entirely from the sale of the personal property which had come into the receiver's hands with the exception of $500, which came from the sale of the equity which the insolvent corporation had in the lease from appellant.
The appellant's claim is for rent of the property from the time of the appointment of the receiver until the date of the sale of the insolvent's assets, during which time the receiver under the court's decree occupied the oil refinery which is the subject of the lease. The decree enjoined appellant from taking possession of its property and from "attempting in any manner whatsoever to abrogate, change, cancel, annul or terminate any leases, agreements or contracts until the further order of the court."
The theory upon which appellant bases its claim to the fund is that as the court had restrained a forfeiture of the lease and directed the receiver to continue the occupancy of the property, this use and occupancy thereof was an expense of the receivership necessary to preserve the oil and other property of the insolvent, and appellant, therefore, became entitled to payment out of the fund for distribution before the wage liens. In Prenatt v. Messenger Printing Co. (No. 2),
Let us now consider the status of wage claims under the pertinent statutory enactments. "All moneys that may be due or hereafter become due for labor . . . . . . for any period not exceeding six months preceding the sale or transfer of the real or personal property . . . . . . by execution or otherwise on account of the . . . . . . insolvency of such employer . . . . . . shall be a lien upon said real or personal property . . . . . . and shall be preferred and first paid out of the proceeds of the sale of such real and personal property . . . . . . provided, however, that the claim thus preferred shall not exceed two hundred dollars . . . . . .": Act May 12, 1891, P. L. 54. The wage claims here are all within the terms of the act in the respect that they are for a period not exceeding six months preceding the sale and each is for less than two hundred dollars. It will be noticed that the act provides that money which may be due for labor shall be a lien upon the real or personal property of the employer and shall be preferred and first paid out of the proceeds of the sale of such real and personal property. "The proceeds" in the case of a receivership is what remains after payment of the costs and expenses of the receivership necessary to the carrying out of the trust by the receiver as the hand of the court. The Act of June 12, 1878, P. L. 207, provides, "It is the true intent and meaning of the provisions of the Act of Assembly entitled 'An act for the better protection of the wages of mechanics, miners, laborers and others' passed the ninth day of April, 1872, [to which the Act of 1891 is a supplement] that the several classes of laborers in said act mentioned shall have a preference over landlords, in all claims for *448
rent . . . . . . where the lessee or lessees are the parties employing the miners, mechanics, laborers or clerks." Under this act there is no doubt but that the wage claimants come ahead of claims for rent due prior to the receivership: Riddleburg Coal Iron Co.'s App.,
While this is not a proceeding under the Insolvency Act of June 4, 1901, P. L. 404, as amended by the Act of June 19, 1911, P. L. 1069, nevertheless the legislative declaration of the State's policy with reference to rent claims in the distribution of insolvent estates is entitled to much consideration. This act provides (section 31), "Rent accruing after the date of the assignment . . . . . . shall be paid as part of the expenses appertaining to the assignment." It also may be worthy to note that under the Federal Bankruptcy Act it has been held that administration expenses have priority over wage claims: In re Fountain, Inc., 295 Fed. 873.
We are of the opinion that the court below was in error in awarding the fund to the wage claimants and that it should have been awarded to the appellant on its claim for rent.
The decree of the court below is reversed, with directions to make distribution in accordance with the views herein expressed; costs to be paid out of the fund.