Coyne v. Town of Greenburgh

110 Misc. 598
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 15, 1920
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 110 Misc. 598 (Coyne v. Town of Greenburgh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coyne v. Town of Greenburgh, 110 Misc. 598 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1920).

Opinion

Seeger, J.

This is an action in equity which was commenced by Francis T. Holder, plaintiff’s testator, in the year 1904. The plaintiff Coyne, his surviving executor, was subsequently substituted as party plain[600]*600tiff by an order of the court. The action arises but of a contract between the Warbnrton avenue extension commission, so called, and Pennell & 0 ’Hern, contractors, under chapter 493, Laws of 1892, for the extension of Warbnrton avenue, in the town of Green-burgh, from the north line of the city and town of Yonkers to the village of Hastings. Francis T. Holder was the contractors’ assignee.

The commissioners were regularly appointed under said act of 1892, and all the proceedings leading up to the awarding of the contract to Pennell & 0 ’Hern were regularly taken. The contract was dated and executed July 28, 1893. The commissioners acquired the right of way for the highway pursuant to the terms of the act. The town of Greenburgh duly issued its bonds to the amount of $149,000, a sum sufficient to pay the land damages and the contract price for the construction of the highway, and delivered the bonds to the commissioners. The commissioners sold the bonds to the firm of Coffin & Stanton for $49,000 cash and a credit of $100,000. Coffin & Stanton deposited with the commissioners certain collateral securities to secure the credit and paid upon the credit $20,000. Part of the original collateral was withdrawn by Coffin & Stanton and other collateral was substituted. Coffin & Stanton failed and the defendant Wickes was duly appointed receiver of the goods, chattels and credits of the said firm by the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York, and duly qualified as such receiver. Coffin & Stanton failed to pay the balance of $80,000, which resulted in the failure of the commissioners to pay the contractors and the work was stopped. The original plaintiff, Francis T. Holder, offered to finance the contractors; the commissioners consented thereto, and on the 15th day of May, 1897, said Holder and the defendants [601]*601Pennell & O’Hern entered into a contract in writing whereby Pennell & O’Hern agreed to complete the work according to the contract and said Holder agreed to pay all payments to become dne to Pennell & 0 ’Hern under the contract for the construction of said. extension of Warburton avenue, and Pennell & O’Hern agreed to assign to said Holder any and all claims for the same against the said Warburton avenue extension commission or the members thereof, and their successors, and against the town of Greenburgh. The work was completed by Pennell & O'’Hern, and Holder paid them the amounts due according to the terms of the contract, Pennell & 0 ’Hern assigning to him their claims against the commissioners and the defendant town.

The following is the prayer for judgment in the complaint:

“ Wherefore, plaintiff demands judgment, that the amount due the plaintiff be adjudged and determined, including interest and costs; that the collateral securities hereinabove mentioned be sold under the direction of this court; that the proceeds arising upon the sale be brought into court; that the plaintiff be paid the amount which may be found due him, together with interest and costs, so far as the moneys so applicable from said sale will pay the same, and that the plaintiff have judgment for any deficiency that there may be against the town of Greenburgh, and the defendants John G. Peene; John Besson and James J. Treanor, and that he may have such other and further relief as may be just and equitable.”

The answer of the defendant town of Greenburgh sets up the defense of the Statute of Limitations; that the cause of action did not accrue within six years before its commencement; that the plaintiff failed to present his claim for audit to the town board, and that [602]*602it was not audited; that the commissioners misapplied the $149,000 bonds and instead of selling them for cash delivered them to Coffin & Stanton on credit; that Coffin & Stanton failed and became insolvent, and that the bonds were never paid for; that plaintiff’s recovery is limited by a clause of the contract to moneys collected and received by the commissioners from the supervisors of the town; that the defendant town is a stranger to all the acts of the commissioners, the contractors and the plaintiff, and that the commissioners were not officers, agents, servants or representatives of the defendant town, nor selected, nor appointed, nor commissioned by it.

The trial of the action has been greatly delayed by reason of efforts made by the commissioners to dispose of the collateral securities, and by the death of all of the plaintiff’s attorneys, Fettretch, Silkman and Seybel, and by the death of Frank D. Millard, attorney for the defendant town and defendant Tompkins; John G. Peene, one of the commissioners died, Eugene C. Clark, co-executor of Mr. Holder, died leaving the plaintiff, Coyne, sole executor.

The original act of the legislature, chapter 493, Laws of 1892, was repealed April 18, 1893, by chapter 419 of the Laws of 1893, but the repealing statute contained a clause saving the Warburton avenue proceedings in question.

Owing to the death of the above-named attorneys many of the original papers in the case were lost, among them being the original contract, and the same was proved by secondary evidence.

Thomas O ’Hern, one of the members of the contracting firm of Pennell & O’Hern, was instrumental in securing the contract between Coffin & Stanton and the Warburton commissioners and the bonds were given to him by the commissioners for delivery, and [603]*603he delivered them to Coffin & Stanton who gave a receipt to Commissioner Peene for the same. The original collateral deposited by Coffin & Stanton, according to the contract made by the commissioners with that firm was $29,000 village of Williamsbridge, N. Y., four per cent bonds; $21,000 town of Islip, N. Y., six per cent bonds; $25,000 city of Harriman, Tenn., six per cent bonds; $25,000 city of Ironwood, Mich., six per cent bonds.

As permitted under the Coffin & Stanton contract a substitution of collateral was made. The Westchester Trust Company of Yonkers was appointed receiver of the collateral on October 18, 1905, with authority to take the collateral into its possession and to compromise and adjust and settle all claims arising out of the collateral or the interest therein, upon such terms and conditions as the receiver should deem just and proper; and by further orders of the court it was directed to sell the bonds of the cities of Santa Cruz, Ironwood and Harriman, and apply the proceeds, after the payment of expenses authorized by the court, to the original plaintiff, Holder, which sale and payment were made. The collateral received by the Westchester Trust Company under said orders consisted of $10,000 city of Harriman, Tenn., bonds; $15,000 city of Ironwood, Mich., bonds; $19,000 city of Santa Cruz, Cal., bonds; $15,000 American Debenture Company bonds. All these bonds were sold except the $15,000 American Debenture bonds, which had no value, and from the proceeds of the sales the original plaintiff, Holder, received from the receiver, November 30, 1906, $9,000, and May 31, 1907, $48,723.65.

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Related

Coyne v. Town of Greenburgh
194 A.D. 861 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1920)

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Bluebook (online)
110 Misc. 598, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coyne-v-town-of-greenburgh-nysupct-1920.