Atlantic Trust Co. v. Woodbridge Canal & Irrigation Co.

79 F. 501, 1897 U.S. App. LEXIS 2573
U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Northern California·Decided March 15, 1897·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

MORROW, District Judge

(orally). This is an intervention of J. C. Thompson for the specific performance of certain contracts for water rights. The petitioner alleges, among other things:

“That the defendant, the Woodhridge Canal & Irrigation Company, on and for a long time prior to the first day of- October, 1894, was the owner of, and in the possession'of. and operating, the system of canals and ditches described in the amended bill of complaint on file herein, reference to which for more particular description is hereby made. That the defendant, the Woodhridge Canal & Irrigation Company, continued to he the owners of, and in the possession of, and to operate and carry on, construct, and maintain, the system of canals and ditches described in the complaint, until this honorable court, on the 3d day of October, 1894, took possession of all the property of the said defendant, the Woodhridge Canal & Irrigation Company, by the appointment of a receiver, who then took, and ever since has had and now has the charge, control, and possession of, all the property of said corporation. That prior to the time that said receiver took possession of the property of said corporation, the said corporation, the Woodhridge Canal & Irrigation Company, at various times, which are hereinafter fully set forth, for value received, made, executed, and delivered to the parties hereinafter named, and of whom your petitioner is the assignee, certain scrip, true copies of which are hereinafter fully set forth in this petition, which said scrip was issued in payment for work, labor, and materials done and furnished by the various persons, assignors of your petitioner named herein, and which said scrip was issued and was to be received by the company for the purchase of permanent water rights from said Woodhridge Canal & Irrigation Company, and was accepted by your petitioner’s assignors for such purpose, and to he applied in the purchase of water rights from the said Woodhridge Canal & Irrigation Company. That heretofore, to wit, on the 30th day of July, 1892, the Woodhridge Canal & Irrigation Company issued and delivered to Byron D. Beckwith, for value received, that certain scrip No. 3,. in words and figures following, to- wit: ‘No. 3. Office of the Woolbridge Canal & Irrigation Co. $400.00. San Francisco, Cal., July 30th, 1892. This is to certify that this scrip will he taken by the Woodhridge Canal & Irrigation Company for the amount of four hundred dollars ($400.00) from Byron D. Beckwith or his assigns, in payment for any debt or debts due or to become due by him to this company, for the purchase of permanent water rights (but not for rentals or interest), at the time he shall present the same properly indorsed to the San Francisco office of this company. And the said Byron D. Beckwith accepts the same for such purpose, and such purpose only, and not as a claim against this company for any other purpose whatever.’ ” ’

It appears, fúrther, by the allegations of the bill, that this scrip was assigned and set over to John C. Thompson, the petitioner. The intervention refers, in the same language, to a number of other instruments of the same character. The dates, numbers, and sum total of these certificates are as follows:

July 30,1892,14 contracts....................................... $ 5,200 00
■May 31,1893, 2 “ .............",......................... 100 00
Oct. 30,1893, 1 “ 662 50
Feb. 9,1894,10 “ ....................................... 2,313 69
Feb. 27,1894, 2 “ 200 00
July 9,1894, 2 “ 100 00
Aug. 4,1894, 6 “ 2,259 20
Ang. 7,1894, 1 “ 23 42
Sept. 11,1894, 3 “ 332 45
39 contracts....................................... $10,991 20

—without interest.

The petition concludes as follows:

[503]*503“That the action above entitled was brought by the Atlantic Trust Company, a corporation, against the said corporation the Woodhridge Canal & Irrigation Company, to foreclose a certain deed of trust upon all of the said canal and other property of said defendant corporation, and that said deed of trust was given and executed to secare the payment of certain bonds issued by the defendant corporation. That said deed, of trust is set out in full in the amended hill of complaint in said action, and is hereby specially referred to and made a part of this petition. That the defendant in said action, the Woodhridge Canal & Irrigation Company, failed to appear in said action or to plead therein within the time allowed by law and the rules of this court, and the plaintiff lias, by roasoD of defendant’s said default, entered a judgment pro confesso against, said defendant. That a final judgment and decree will soon he entered in said action foreclosing all defendant’s rights in and to said property, and the whole thereof, and ordering and directing a sale of all of said property pursuant to said decree. That in and hy said decree and foreclosure sale defendant will he foreclosed of all'right and interest in said property, and will he unable to honor the said scrip above set out, and that said scrip will thereby become valueless, unless the same is enforced against the property of said company by this honorable court, ’that before the filing of this petition, and after the assignments aforesaid, the petitioner, being- desirous of purchasing from said defendant permanent water rights in said canal system, and the water thereof, tendered to ihe said receiver all of the said water scrip, and demanded that said receiver issue, grant, and transfer to the petitioner water rights in and to the water of said canal and branches on lands within the flow of the water of said canal, but said receiver refused, ever since has refused, and still refuses, to comply with said demand, or to recognize said scrip in any manner whatsoever, although said receiver had and has it in his power to comply with said demand, as petitioner is informed and verily believes. That petitioner and his assigns liave duly done and performed a.li the obligations of said scrip contracts on i licit part to be done and performed, and are now ready and willing to deliver up said scrip to said receiver, or to deposit the same in court, in payment for permanent water rights, as aforesaid, and to do and perform any and all other acts and things necessary or proper to ho done or performed by them in ihe premises. That certain of the said scrip hears interest upon its face value at the rate specified therein, to he payable in permanent water rights in the same manner as provided in said scrip for the redemption thereof.”

The petit ion then prays: '

“That a decree be entered directing the said receiver to sell and convey to petitioner permanent water rights in the said canal system and property equal in value to the face value of the said scrip with accrued interest, and that he, the said receiver, make, execute, acknowledge, and deliver to said petitioner good and sufficient grants and deeds of conveyance of said permanent water lights, a,nd that said receiver receive the said scrip in full payment for said water rights, and that he bo further ordered to place petitioner in possession thereof.

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Atlantic Trust Co. v. Woodbridge Canal & Irrigation Co., 79 F. 501, 1897 U.S. App. LEXIS 2573 (circtndca 1897).

79 F. 501 (Atlantic Trust Co. v. Woodbridge Canal & Irrigation Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Atlantic Trust Co. v. Woodbridge Canal & Irrigation Co.
86 F. 975 (U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Northern California, 1897)