Chicago v. Gage

5 F. Cas. 588, 6 Biss. 467
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the Northern District of Illnois
DecidedOctober 15, 1875
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 5 F. Cas. 588 (Chicago v. Gage) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the Northern District of Illnois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chicago v. Gage, 5 F. Cas. 588, 6 Biss. 467 (circtndil 1875).

Opinion

BLODGETT, District Judge.

This case was originally commenced in the superior court of Cook county, and removed to this court on the application of the defendant, Ayres. A motion is now made on behalf of the complainant to remand the case to the superior court, because of facts appearing upon the face of the record.

The record shows that, on the 27th day of December, 1S73, David A. Gage and his wife, of tlio city of Chicago, executed and •delivered to George Taylor, also of said city, a deed conveying to said Taylor, in trust, certain property for the purpose of seeming the city against loss of any indebtedness which might exist from Gage to the city, as late treasurer thereof, and for other purposes therein expressed. Said deed did not state what the amount of said indebtedness was, but declared that said conveyance was not to be, in any sense, a satisfaction of any part of said indebtedness. It included and convoyed to Taylor a large amount of real property situated in Chicago, and its suburbs, some portions of which were improved and yielding income. It empowered the trustee, during the period of eight months from the date of the deed, to enter immediately into the possession of said property, control and manage the same, receive and collect the rents, income and profits thereof, and out of the same pay the taxes, assessments and insurance; to sell and convey, under the direction and with the concurrence of the comptroller of the city, all or any part of said property, and out of the net proceeds of the said sales, rents, income and profits, to pay over to the city, from time to time, to apply on the indebtedness of Gage to the city, such sums as might be available for that purpose. At the expiration of eight months the comptroller was authorized to require the peremptory sale of so much of said property as should then remain unsold, for cash, and the said Taylor, as trustee, was required to comply with said request and apply the net proceeds of the sales so made to the satisfaction of the unpaid remainder of said indebtedness. Taylor accepted the trust, entered upon the possession, control and management of the property, and made some sales thereof, and partial payments to the city within the eight months allowed for that purpose.

After the expiration of said eight months, a large portion of the indebtedness, claimed by the city, against Gage, as its late treasurer, still remaining unpaid, the comptroller ordered the trastee to sell the rest of the property on hand, for cash. Said trustee refused to comply with the order of the comptroller, alleging as the ground of said refusal, that said deed did not state the amount of said indebtedness; that he did not know the amount of it himself, and that he was unwilling to sell and pay over the proceeds of such sale to the city until a competent court had first found and decreed the balance due from Gage to the city. Thereupon the city filed the bill in this case, in the superior court of Cook county, setting out the said trust deed, and alleging that at the time of the making thereof Gage was indebted to the city, as treasurer, for a balance of five hundred and seven thousand, seven hundred and three dollars and fifty-eight cents, for the security of which it was claimed that Taylor held the property so conveyed to him by said trust deed; and prayed that the court would take an account and ascertain the amount due, and give a decree in favor of the city for the same, and order the said trustee to proceed and sell the trust property remaining unsold, and apply the proceeds of [589]*589such sale to the satisfaction of the amount so found due. Gage and wife, and Taylor, were the only defendants to this bill.

Gage answered the bill, denying that he owed the city anything. Taylor also answered, stating his belief that the amount due from Gage to the city was that stated in the bill, but alleging that he did not know what was the real amount of said indebtedness, and prayed that the court would find and decree the amount of said indebtedness, and order the sale, and declare the amount to be paid by him out of the proceeds.

In February last, 'William T. Ayres, a citizen of Alabama, acting as executor for Charles P. Gage, deceased, late of said state of Alabama, recovered a judgment in this court against said David A. Gage for three thousand and six dollars and ninety-two cents. Execution was issued on said judgment, and returned “no property.” Thereupon Ayres applied to the superior court to be made a party-defendant to the bill in this case, which application having been granted, he answered the bill, and also, by leave of court, filed a cross-bill, in both of which he alleged in substance the recovery in this court of said judgment against Gage, the issue of his execution and return, and charged that said judgment was an equitable and prior lien upon the property so held in trust by said Taylor; alleging that no indebtedness, in fact, existed from Gage to the city; that by the action of the common council of the city, Gage had been permitted to loan the funds of the city, and to pay certain interest arising therefrom to the city; that by reason of certain advances which had been made from certain of the general funds to certain specific funds by Gage while acting as city treasurer, certain equitable considerations had arisen which ought to defeat and did defeat any claim at law or in equity in favor of the city against Gage, praying it might be found and decreed that no indebtedness existed from Gage to the city, and that the property conveyed by Gage to Taylor, the trustee, be legally and equitably subjected to the lien of his judgment, as against the city, and asking the court to decree a satisfaction thereof out of the same.

After having filed his said answer and cross-bill. Ayres filed his petition in the superior court, setting up that he was a citizen of the state of Alabama; that there was a controversy in said suit between himself and said Gage and the city, who were citizens of the state of Illinois and of this district, and asking that said cause be removed from said superior court to this court for trial. The superior court entertained said petition and ordered the removal of said cause to this court; and the question is: Does there enough appear on the face of the record to justify this court in holding jurisdiction of the case?

The fifth section of the act of March 3, 1875 (18 Stat. 470, 472), provides, “that if, in any suit commenced in a circuit court, or removed from a state court to a circuit court of the United States, it shall appear to the satisfaction of said circuit court, at any time after such suit has been brought or removed thereto, that such suit does not really and substantially involve a dispute or controversy properly within the jurisdiction of said circuit court, or that the parties to said suit have been improperly or collusively made or joined, either as plaintiffs or defendants, for the purpose of creating a case cognizable or removable under this act, the said circuit court shall proceed no farther therein, but shall dismiss the suit, or remand it to the court from which it was removed, as justice may require.”

The first question which suggests itself to my mind in discussing this motion, is, between whom is the controversy in this case? The original suit was brought by the city of Chicago to determine the amount of indebtedness due to it from Gage, and to require the payment of that indebtedness out of the property held in trust by Taylor, for that purpose. In his answer, in that case, Gage denied any indebtedness between himself and the city.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
5 F. Cas. 588, 6 Biss. 467, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chicago-v-gage-circtndil-1875.