City of Boston v. Dolan

10 N.E.2d 275, 298 Mass. 346, 1937 Mass. LEXIS 899
CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
DecidedSeptember 18, 1937
StatusPublished
Cited by80 cases

This text of 10 N.E.2d 275 (City of Boston v. Dolan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Boston v. Dolan, 10 N.E.2d 275, 298 Mass. 346, 1937 Mass. LEXIS 899 (Mass. 1937).

Opinion

Lummus, J.

This is an appeal by the defendant Dolan, hereinafter called simply the defendant, from a final decree, ordering him to pay to the plaintiff the sum of $131,161.90, consisting of money gained by him illegally and in breach of his official and fiduciary duties to the plaintiff, together with interest thereon from the dates of his several gains, amounting to $40,417.67 at the date of the final decree, September 23, 1936. The bill has been dismissed as to all other defendants. The case comes here on a report of all the evidence, accompanied by a voluntary report of the facts by the trial judge. There are also appeals from certain interlocutory decrees.

Since 1923 the defendant has been in the stock and bond brokerage business for himself in Boston under the name of E. L. Dolan Company. He was thoroughly experienced in the buying and selling of municipal bonds and other securities. He continued during the time of the transactions in question to be familiar with the market for municipal bonds and with its literature.

On October 24, 1929, the defendant caused to be incorporated the Legal Securities Corporation, with an authorized capital stock of one thousand shares, for the purpose of conducting a general stock brokerage business. The defendant furnished all the capital, and owned and controlled the corporation at all times.

The defendant was appointed and qualified as acting treasurer of the plaintiff city of Boston on January 25, 1930, and became treasurer on March 26, 1930. He remained such until January 11, 1934. In these offices he was not only in charge of the current funds, receipts and [348]*348expenditures of the plaintiff, but was also the custodian of many permanent and trust funds held by the plaintiff, and was charged with the duty of investing them.

' The defendant bought from Legal Securities Corporation the bulk of the bonds purchased by him as city treasurer. In such purchases he grossly discriminated in its favor. He bought from it for the city at prices which he knew were excessive bonds which had been offered to him shortly before by other dealers at lower prices and bonds which he could have bought in the market or even on the stock exchange at lower prices. In some instances, in order to conceal the magnitude of the purchases from Legal Securities Corporation, he bought bonds for the city ostensibly from an impecunious broker named Dever, who was furnished the bonds by Legal Securities Corporation which took almost all the profit. Frequently the defendant as city treasurer paid Legal Securities Corporation for the bonds before it had to pay for them, so that the city furnished capital for its business. The profits made by Legal Securities Corporation, which was the defendant, in his transactions with himself as city treasurer, amounted to the sum stated in the final decree.

The foregoing summary of the facts has been derived from the findings of the judge. It is true that in equity findings of fact made' by a judge are open to review in this court upon the reported evidence, subject to the familiar rule concerning the weight to be given findings upon contradictory evidence made by a judge who has actually seen and heard the witnesses. Trade Mutual Liability Ins. Co. v. Peters, 291 Mass. 79, 83-84. Spiegel v. Beacon Participations, Inc. 297 Mass. 398, 407, et seq. But in this case,' though the evidence is reported, the defendant does not argue that the findings just summarized are wrong. We have no occasion, therefore, to review them upon the evidence, except with respect to the specific points discussed later in this opinion.

The defendant filed one hundred eighteen requests “for findings of fact and rulings of law.” So far as these were requests for specific findings of fact, the judge was not [349]*349required to consider them in an equity case any more than in an action at law. Ashapa v. Reed, 280 Mass. 514, 516. Kohutynski v. Kohutynski, 296 Mass. 74, 77. In equity, a party entitled to appeal from a decree may require the judge to “report the material facts found by him.” G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 214, § 23. Plumer v. Houghton & Dutton Co. 277 Mass. 209, 214, 215. But he has no right to catechize the judge as to specific facts. Merrill v. Everett, 293 Mass. 327.

So far as the requests were for rulings of law, it is now settled that such requests are unnecessary and have no technical standing in an equity case brought up on appeal. Graustein v. Dolan, 282 Mass. 579, 583, 584. Stoneham Five Cents Savings Bank v. Johnson, 295 Mass. 390, 393. National Radiator Corp. v. Parad, 297 Mass. 314, 319. The fact that the trial judge saw fit to deal with them specifically gives them no importance. All the evidence is reported, and it becomes the duty of this court on appeal to enter a correct decree on the findings and the evidence, with reference to every matter argued, regardless of the views of the law entertained by the court below. Estey v. Gardner, 291 Mass. 303, 307. See also Howland v. Stowe, 290 Mass. 142, 146. So far as the subject matter of these requests has been argued, it will be considered upon the appeal from the final decree.

The defendant contends that the city of Boston is not the proper plaintiff as to many of the trusts and funds in question, because it has not the legal title. Where money or other property is given to a municipal corporation upon a charitable trust, a provision that the management of the trust shall be in the hands of a board of trustees does not necessarily divest the municipal corporation of the legal title and vest it in the trustees. Often such a gift has been construed to make the municipal corporation the technical trustee, holding the legal title, and the so called trustees merely an agency entrusted with the duty of management. Ware v. Fitchburg, 200 Mass. 61. See also Worcester City Missionary Society v. Memorial Church, 186 Mass. 531, 538; Attorney General v. Lowell, 246 Mass. 312; Adams v. Plunkett, 274 Mass. 453, 465; Emergency Fleet Corp. v. [350]*350Western Union Telegraph Co. 275 U. S. 415. This has heretofore been said to be the situation of the George Robert White fund (Stoneman v. Boston, 263 Mass. 255, 260), and held to be the situation of the Franklin fund (Higginson v. Turner, 171 Mass. 586; Boston v. Doyle, 184 Mass. 373; Boston v. Curley, 276 Mass. 549), these being two of the funds involved in this case. In Attorney General v. Parker, 126 Mass. 216, 220, a charitable bequest to a town was indeed held to vest title in trustees provided for by the will; but the trustees were named in the will, and were expressly authorized to incorporate themselves. In other cases the gift has been to the trustees, and not to the municipality. Nelson v. Cushing, 2 Cush. 519. Cary Library v. Bliss, 151 Mass. 364. Trustees of the Boston Public Library v. Rector of Trinity Church, 263 Mass. 173.

The sinking funds of the city of Boston are its property, though “set . . . apart” in the hands of commissioners for the purpose of accumulation and the discharge of its debts. St. 1875, c. 209, §§ 4, 5. R. L. (1902) c. 27, §§ 12, 14.

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

Related

Lu v. Menino
98 F. Supp. 3d 85 (D. Massachusetts, 2015)
Demoulas v. Demoulas Super Markets, Inc.
677 N.E.2d 159 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1997)
Fox of Boylston Street Ltd. Partnership v. Mayor of Boston
641 N.E.2d 1311 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1994)
Holt v. City of Boston
507 N.E.2d 766 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1987)
Hatton v. Meade
502 N.E.2d 552 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1987)
Johnson v. Trustees of Health & Hospitals
23 Mass. App. Ct. 933 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1986)
Kingsley v. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
300 N.E.2d 449 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1973)
Bunte v. Mayor of Boston
278 N.E.2d 709 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1972)
Phillips v. Phillips
146 N.E.2d 919 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1958)
Rothenberg v. Boston Housing Authority
141 N.E.2d 381 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1957)
Kaneb v. Kaneb
137 N.E.2d 215 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1956)
Franklin's Case
129 N.E.2d 906 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1955)
Feierstein v. Plym-Co. Shoe & Sewing Machine Co.
127 N.E.2d 194 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1955)
New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad v. Jenkins
122 N.E.2d 759 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1954)
Commonwealth v. Vaughn
108 N.E.2d 559 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1952)
Banks v. Election Commissioners of Boston
99 N.E.2d 755 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1951)
Walsh v. Metropolitan Transit Authority
3 Mass. App. Dec. 14 (Boston Municipal Court, 1950)
Briggs v. Merchants National Bank
81 N.E.2d 827 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1948)
Boruchoff v. Ayvasian
79 N.E.2d 892 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1948)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
10 N.E.2d 275, 298 Mass. 346, 1937 Mass. LEXIS 899, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-boston-v-dolan-mass-1937.