Andrus v. Cornwell

64 So. 221, 134 La. 403, 1914 La. LEXIS 1598
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJanuary 5, 1914
DocketNo. 19,803
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 64 So. 221 (Andrus v. Cornwell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Andrus v. Cornwell, 64 So. 221, 134 La. 403, 1914 La. LEXIS 1598 (La. 1914).

Opinion

BREAUX, C. J.

This is a suit by the trustee in bankruptcy of Ellis Cornwell against his wife to compel her to deliver to the bankruptcy of Ellis Cornwell, her husband, certain grounds and improvements thereon in Crowley in block 6 (125), numbered 8, 10, 11, 12, 13,14,15,16. It is alleged that she claims to have bought these lots from her son, Chandler Cornwell, on the 10th of May, 1899. That, after her purchase, the improvements thereon were constructed.

That, although in her name, the property was bought by the community between Ellis Cornwell and his wife, Mrs. Lavancha M. Lyons, for the price and the improvements were paid with community funds.

The plaintiff, trustee, asks that this property be declared to be the property of the community and subject to the claim of her husband’s creditors.

Ellis Cornwell is insolvent, and has been declared a bankrupt upon his own petition.

The trustee asks that the property be delivered to him in order that it may be sold by him and the proceeds applied to pay the debts of Ellis Cornwell.

[405]*405The wife, Mrs. Lavancha M. Cornwell, claims the land as her own, also the improvements; she gives the details of the price to show that the land and the improvements were paid for from her separate paraphernal funds, inherited from her father and mother, over which she had complete control and management; that she paid the taxes thereon and always exercised the dominion of an owner over the property.

An exception was interposed by the defendants, including the plea of res judicata. They therein, in substance, alleged that on January 17, 1909, Ellis Cornwell was adjudged a bankrupt in the District Court of the United States for the Western District of Louisiana; that on the 23d of February, 1909, he applied for his discharge, which Andrus, trustee, opposed as representative of the creditors, alleging that on November 4, 1910, a judgment was rendered by the Hon. Alex Boarman, judge of the federal court, dismissing the opposition and discharging Cornwell from his debts.

In proof of the allegation, plaintiff in exception (defendant in suit) produced copies of the proceedings of the District Court of the United States.

The judgment of the federal District Court, dated the 4th day of November, 1910, discharged the bankrupt from all debts provable by act of Congress which existed on the 17th day of January, 1909, on which day the petition for adjudication was filed.

This judgment became effective if no opposition is filed within twenty days from date of judgment.

Defendants pleaded this discharge as res judicata.

Within the 20 days, Andrus, trustee, filed an opposition to the discharge of the bankrupt, in which he represented; That he filed an opposition to the discharge of the bankrupt on March 23, 1909. That there was a hearing on the opposition in which testimony was taken and submitted to the referee. That a judgment was rendered on the 4th day of November, 1910, discharging the bankrupt.

His opposition, filed on November 28, 1910, sets forth that he has the right to a new trial on the ground that the judgment of discharge is contrary to law and evidence; that the property did not belong to Mrs. Lavancha M. Cornwell, although title was taken in her name; but that the property belonged to Mr. Cornwell, the husband, who was not entitled to his discharge.

On this application for a new trial, the federal judge ordered that the referee take up the matter alleged for the new trial and ordered that evidence be taken.

After the evidence had been taken and due proceedings had, the judge of the federal District Court rendered a final judgment, overruling and dismissing the opposition of the trustee and pronouncing the judgment final.

The judge of the state district court heard the plea of res judicata, filed before his court in the suit brought therein by the trustee, maintained the plea, and dismissed the suit.

The trustee appealed to this court.

Plaintiff very earnestly urged that the claim to the property is only colorable, and for that reason the bankruptcy court has jurisdiction to compel the surrender of the property in bankruptcy in order that it may be sold and the proceeds distributed among the creditors.

Learned counsel quotes the following in his brief: If there is any case in which it does not possess that power, it is when the claims are apparently bona fide, citing Federal Statutes Annotated, vol. 1, supplement 1912.

The principle above laid down is correct; it is only lacking in its applicability to the issues in the present case, for a court of competent jurisdiction has decided that the trustee could not lay hold of the property and [407]*407has considered and decided all other points, sufficient at any rate to bind the trustee and prohibit him from proceeding in another court to undo that which has been done directly by the bankruptcy court. The court in addition must have concluded that the deed was at least bona fide.

[2] The next position taken by plaintiff, the trustee, was: That the property, though in the name of the wife, was presumed to belong to the bankrupt, and that it passed to the trustee under section 70 of the bankrupt law. Act July 1, 1898, c. 541, 30 Stat. 505 LU. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 3451], as amended by Act Feb. 5, 1903, c. 487, § 16, 32 Stat. &00 [U. S. Comp. St. Supp. 1911, p. 1511]. That the trustee could claim the property under the authority of the presumption stated. That the wife was a necessary party in the proceedings in the federal court as on the face of the papers it was paraphernal property.

If that court acted upon the theory just stated, it certainly concludes the trustee and renders it impossible for him to maintain the action.

As to section 70 of the Bankruptcy Law, cited, the provision of a part of this law is that the trustee is vested with the title to the property of the bankrupt. The court did not take that view as relates to the property of the wife, as it excluded it from the property of the bankrupt. It was certainly excluded in so far as the trustee was concerned by whom the question of the ownership of the property was propounded and answered unfavorably to his contention. The section in question reads:

“The trustee may avoid any transfer by the bankrupt of his property which any creditor of such bankrupt might have avoided, and may recover the property so transferred, or its value, from the person to whom it was transferred, unless he was a bona fide holder for value prior to the date of the adjudication. * * * For the purpose of such recovery, any court of bankruptcy, as hereinbefore defined, and any state court which would have had jurisdiction if bankruptcy had not intervened, shall have concurrent jurisdiction.”

The federal court certainly has concurrent jurisdiction and positively decided that the trustee has no right to the property.

That court had the undoubted' authority to act and did act after having considered the title to this property which is in the name of the wife.

At this time and in these proceedings, the trustee cannot escape the effect of the judgment.

[3] Not only that: The bankrupt applied for his discharge; his application was opposed.

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Bluebook (online)
64 So. 221, 134 La. 403, 1914 La. LEXIS 1598, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/andrus-v-cornwell-la-1914.