Fernschild v. Yuengling Brewing Co.

18 Misc. 49, 40 N.Y.S. 1119
CourtAppellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York
DecidedSeptember 15, 1896
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 18 Misc. 49 (Fernschild v. Yuengling Brewing Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fernschild v. Yuengling Brewing Co., 18 Misc. 49, 40 N.Y.S. 1119 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1896).

Opinion

Bischoff, J.

This action was brought'by the plaintiff to recover the amount of an indebtedness due him from the D. G. Yuengling, Jr., Brewing Company, payment of which he claimed to have been assumed by the defendant, under an agreement with the first-named corporation. At the trial a verdict was rendered in favor of the defendant, and this appeal is taken from an affirmance by the General Term below of the judgment thereupon entered. The iridebt- ' edness in question was' the plaintiff’s share in the deficiency remaining after foreclosure of a second mortgage upon the real estate and certain other property of the D. G. Yuengling, Jr., Brewing Company made as security for an issue of bonds, two- of. which Were held by. the plaintiff.

A reorganization of this company, which was in an insolvent condition, had been effected; a large majority of the bondholders had surrendered their bonds, under acceptable conditions, and the . property foreclosed upon was purchased at the sale for the new corporation then about to be formed — this defendant;

Besides the mortgaged.property the old corporation had valuable stock in trade, machinery and other property employed in conducting its business; also assets in the form of book accounts, all of [51]*51which were transferred by that company to this defendant for a nominal consideration by a bill of sale, the terms of which instrument, together with certain proceedings taken by the defendant at a meeting of its directors at the time of the delivery of the papers, furnish the matter for contention in this litigation.

The proof consists of the minutes of the defendant’s meeting, which minutes embody the report of a ’committee on reorganization and a resolution adopted, together with an abstract from the reorganization agreement; also the bill of sale itself. This evidence was all received in behalf of the defendant; the plaintiff merely having placed in evidence a certain mortgage wherein the resolution in question was set forth, and there is no dispute that the proceedings had were binding upon the defendant and properly set forth in the proofs.

The only portion of the reorganization agreement which will be seen to be material is that part which gives the committee discretionary power tc apply certain unallotted bonds in satisfaction of the claim of those bondholders of the old company who did not assent to the reorganization (of whom the plaintiff was one). The pleadings admit as to this, that this agreement did not provide for the assumption by the defendant of the plaintiff’s claim.

We now proceed to consider the evidence in the case upon which a construction of the agreement between the original company and this defendant, touching the assumption of the former company’s debts, may be arrived at.

On the 27th day of December, 1893, a regular meeting of the defendant’s directors was held, and the report of the reorganization committee was read and adopted. This report set forth the purchase of the property of the old company and the mortgage sale by Samuel Untermyer, who was at that time ready to convey the said property to the defendant corporation; that the “ said Samuel Uhtermyer did not by virtue of the foreclosure and sale acquire title to certain book accounts, stock in trade and other assets of the said D. G. Yuengling, Jr., Brewing Company, which are still in possession of the old corporation; that schedules of said book accounts, stock in trade and other assets, and of the debts and obligations to be assumed by the new company are hereto' attached and marked B and 0, respectively, and are hereby embodied in this report as a part thereof.”

Schedule O ábove referred to did not include the bonds of the old company in the enumeration of debts to be assumed by the new, [52]*52and in this regard the schedule agreed with the terms of the bill of sale actually delivered by the old company of its unmortgaged assets.

As material to this question of assumption the bill of sale was framed in the following language:

“And the party of the second part doth hereby covenant and agree- that, in consideration of said transfer as aforesaid, it will assume and doth assume the payment of all the debts and obligations of the party of the first part, excepting the mortgage bonds of said party of the first part, and excepting all other indebtedness otherwise provided for in a certain plan or agreément of reorganization of the said party of the first part, pursuant to the terms of which the party of the second part was organized.”

So far there is seen to he no incompatibility between the reorganization agreement, the report of the committee and the bill of sale,, which last instrument was already prepared at the time of the' meeting, and throughout the proceedings up to this time it is clear that the defendant’s intention was to refuse an assumption of the indebtedness due bondholders who had not assented to the reorganization plan.

In the nature of such a plan the old bondholders would not have been offered greater advantages, though withholding their consent to its terms, than could he acquired by their acceding to them, and a full assumption of the accrued indebtedness upon the old bonds by the reorganized company would probably have effected this result.

The above considerations would apply to the original plan of reorganization of an insolvent company, looking to the acquirement of its property when that property was completely ’applicable as security for an indebtedness which the plan itself would seek to have canceled in exchange for advantage offered under the reorganization. But, at the time of the meeting which we are considering, this defendant was seeking to obtain further assets of large value from the old company for a nominal consideration,' and to that end it would not be remarkable if it found itself in a position where an assumption of the claims of the' nonassenting bondholders would be expedient if insisted upon by the prospective transferror, the old corporation, as a Condition to the transfer.

It is to he noted thát the AOnasSenting bonds represented bit a comparatively small amount, the greater number having been already-surrendered to the defendant, and it Would appear that the assets transferred were actually subject to á lien for the deficiency [53]*53upon foreclosure in favor of the plaintiff and his companion bondholders, should such parties see fit to enforce their claims.

Moreover, it is certainly conceivable that the directors of the old corporation should insist upon an assumption by the transferee of all claims existing upon the assets .to be transferred as a measure of precaution against some very possible embarrassment.

We are now prepared to examine the further proceedings as noted in the minutes of the defendant’s meeting.

The report of the committee proceeds:

That this committee has, therefore, procured the execution by the D. G. Yuengling, Jr., Brewing Company, of a bill .of sale transferring the said book accounts, chattels, stock in trade, and all other property of the old company of every kind and description not included in the purchase of said Samuel Untermyer, to the end that the D. G. Yuengling Brewing Company shall be vested with all the property, rights, franchises, privileges, and good will of the D. G.

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Related

Fernschild v. D. G. Yuengling Brewing Co.
15 A.D. 29 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1897)

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Bluebook (online)
18 Misc. 49, 40 N.Y.S. 1119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fernschild-v-yuengling-brewing-co-nyappterm-1896.