Chicago Title & Trust Co. v. Tay

30 N.E.2d 95, 307 Ill. App. 76, 1940 Ill. App. LEXIS 655
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 20, 1940
DocketGen. No. 41,240
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 30 N.E.2d 95 (Chicago Title & Trust Co. v. Tay) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chicago Title & Trust Co. v. Tay, 30 N.E.2d 95, 307 Ill. App. 76, 1940 Ill. App. LEXIS 655 (Ill. Ct. App. 1940).

Opinions

Mr. Presiding Justice Hebel

delivered the opinion of the court.

The action in this case was instituted by the Chicago Title and Trust Company, a corporation, as trustee, against Jacob Tay, et al., defendants, to foreclose the lien of a first trust deed, wherein a decree of foreclosure was entered by the court and a sale of the premises in question was had, and the master’s report of sale was approved by the court. In this proceeding, the intervenor, Lois Levine, was the holder of a junior mortgage on the premises in question, and filed a petition praying that the order approving the master’s report of sale be vacated and set aside, for the reason that the master had failed to republish notice of the adjourned sale and otherwise to comply with the decree. Joseph Springer, as assignee of the certificate of sale in this matter, moved to strike the petition, and in support of said motion cited authorities holding that under the decree of foreclosure the master had a right to hold an adjourned sale without republishing and that a mere delay in presenting the master’s report of sale constituted no valid objection. The trial court entered an order sustaining the motion to strike and denying the relief prayed for in the petition, and as we have indicated it is from this order that Lois Levine appealed.

The facts, from the briefs of the parties in question, do not appear to be in dispute and from the facts as they are called to our attention, it appears that the Chicago Title and Trust Company instituted proceedings to foreclose the lien of a first'trust deed, and upon a hearing a decree of foreclosure and sale was had and the report of sale of the master in chancery was approved. The premises in question were sold by Gerald E. Gorman, the master in chancery, designated under the decree to execute same, to one, Herman Neer. The master filed a report of sale stating that he advertised the premises for sale on Monday, November 14, 1938, as required by the decree, that he attended the sale and there being no bid for the premises he adjourned the sale to November 23, 1938, at 1:00 o’clock p. m.; that on said last date he sold the premises to Herman Neerfor the sum of $2,000, said bid being the highest bid. The master’s report of sale was confirmed and he issued a certificate of sale to Herman Neer who thereafter assigned same to Joseph Springer. Thereafter, Lois Levine filed a petition stating that she was the holder of a junior mortgage on the premises and praying that the order approving the master report of sale be vacated and set aside, contending that the master had failed to republish notice of the adjourned sale, that therefore the sale was void, and asserting also that the delay in presenting the master’s report of sale had impaired her rights of redemption. Springer, as holder of the certificate filed a motion to strike the petition, and as we have indicated stated his grounds in support of said motion, and the court upon consideration of the subject matter presented entered an order sustaining the motion to strike and denying the relief prayed for in the petition of Lois Levine.

The following provision relative to the form of notice of sale appears in the decree of foreclosure and sale entered on March 23, 1936;

“Thirty-second: That Gerald E. Gorman, Master in Chancery execute this decree; that he give public notice of the time, place and terms of said sale by publishing the same at least once in each week for three (3) successive weeks in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, or in some other secular newspaper of general circulation, published in the County of Cook and State of Illinois (which newspaper shall have been regularly published for at least six (6) months prior to the first publication of said notice), the first publication of said notice to be at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of said sale; that the complainant or any of the parties to this cause or any bondholder or group of bondholders may become the purchaser or purchasers of said sale; that the said Master may in his discretion adjourn such sale so advertised without giving any further notice thereof other than oral proclamation of the time and place theretofore advertised at such sale”: . . .

On October 17,1939, about 11 months after said sale, plaintiff moved the court to approve the master’s report of sale and on the same day, an order was entered approving and confirming the same. Subsequently, on October 25, 1939, Lois Levine, intervenor herein, filed her petition, as we have stated, and in support of her petition at the hearing thereof on November 10, 1939, offered to prove that on November 14, 1938, the date originally advertised by the master for the sale of said real estate, no oral proclamation was made by the master adjourning said sale to November 23, 1938. This offer of proof was denied by the court and the final order was entered denying the prayer of the petition of intervenor.

The intervening petitioner contends that the foreclosure decree in the case at bar directed the master to sell the real estate at public vendue to the highest and best bidder for cash, by publishing notice of the sale for three (3) successive weeks in a secular newspaper of general circulation, and that the said decree further provides that the master might in his discretion, adjourn such sale so advertised without giving any ifurther notice thereof other than by oral proclamation of the time and place theretofore advertised at such sale. Intervening petitioner then points to the report of sale of the master in which he states that having received no bids for the premises, he thereupon adjourned said sale to Wednesday, November 23, 1938, and it is contended that he made no attempt to explain in said report when and how he adjourned said sale nor that said adjournment was pursuant to or in compliance with the provisions of the decree. The petitioner does hot question the power of the master to adjourn the sale, and as a matter of fact it is contended that he has that power without the express authority conferred upon him by the decree, but that when he does so he must give a new notice for the same length of time as required in the first instance.

However, when we consider the authorities given, it appears that the master in chancery, in making a sale pursuant to a decree of sale, need only follow the terms of the decree and give only such notice as is provided for by the decree.

The respondent, Joseph Springer, as assignee of Herman Neer, calls attention to the fact that the authorities distinguish between a sale made either pursuant to a power given under an instrument, a sale by virtue of the provisions of a statute, and a sale by a master in chancery made pursuant to the terms of a decree entered by a court of competent jurisdiction, and contends that sales pursuant to a power given in an instrument or provisions of a statute are strictly construed to require publication of notice preceding any sale or adjournment thereof, but a sale pursuant to a decree is construed to require that the master merely follow the terms of the decree relative to the manner and mode of holding the sale.

The intervening petitioner has cited in support of the position that the master did not comply with the provisions of the decree the case of Thornton v. Boyden, 31 Ill.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

FIRST FED. SAV. & LOAN ASS'N OF OTTAWA v. Chapman
452 N.E.2d 600 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
30 N.E.2d 95, 307 Ill. App. 76, 1940 Ill. App. LEXIS 655, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chicago-title-trust-co-v-tay-illappct-1940.