Hamilton National Bank of Boston v. Halsted

9 N.Y.S. 852, 63 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 530, 31 N.Y. St. Rep. 809, 56 Hun 530, 1890 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 404
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMay 9, 1890
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 9 N.Y.S. 852 (Hamilton National Bank of Boston v. Halsted) 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
Hamilton National Bank of Boston v. Halsted, 9 N.Y.S. 852, 63 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 530, 31 N.Y. St. Rep. 809, 56 Hun 530, 1890 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 404 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1890).

Opinion

Daniels, J.

The firm of Halsted, Haines & Co. became insolvent; and on the 12th of July, 1884, they executed and delivered to Lewis May an assignment of their firm and individual property for the benefit-of their creditors. This assignment was found to have been fraudulent on account of preferences contained in it exceeding the indebtedness of the firm to the individuals in whose favor they were declared; and no controversy exists upon this appeal as to the justness of that conclusion, which was reached by the court upon the trial of another action in favor of judgment creditors. But the con[853]*853troversy in this action relates more particularly to the disposition of property owned by one of the firm at or about the time when the assignment was executed and delivered. This property consisted in large part of shares of stock owned by William M. Halsted. It had been hypothecated by him with the Mew York Life Insurance & Trust Company to secure a loan of the sum of $65,000. The money obtained upon the loan was paid into the firm of Halsted, Haines & Co.; and on or about the 11th of July, 1884, immediately preceding the assignment, the pledgeor, William M. Halsted, transferred these certificates to his son, the defendant Richard H. Halsted. He paid for this transfer the loan only which had been obtained on the pledge of the certificates, and the certificates were obtained from the insurance and trust company, and delivered to him. At the time the certificates were in this manner redeemed and transferred to the defendant, they were worth not less than the sum of $77,000; and it was found by the court upon evidence which, it must be assumed, as it has not been inserted in the case, supported the finding that this transfer was made and received with the intent on the part of both of the parties to it to hinder, delay, and defraud the creditors of the defendant William M. Halsted. And, upon this part of the case, judgment was directed in favor of the plaintiffs, who were judgment creditors of this firm, for the difference between the sum for which the certificates had been pledged and their value; being the sum, as it was found and adjusted by the court, of $11,500, with interest from the 11th of July, 1884.

The plaintiffs excepted to the allowance made out of the value of the securities of this sum of $65,000, for which they had been pledged to the life insurance company; and the position has been taken in support of their appeal that the defendant Richard H. Halsted, having himself received the certificates with the intent to hinder, delay, and defraud the creditors, should have been held to account for their entire and full value, without any deduction of this sum of $65,000 which the life insurance company had loaned upon their credit. But, while it is true that the courts will extend no aid or assistance to a fraudulent vendee or grantee of property, it does not follow from this principle that he is not entitled to be credited with what may have been paid by him to relieve it from incumbrances previously, in good faith, made upon it. Such incumbrances are not tainted in any respect with the fraudulent designs of the vendor and purchaser. But, so far as the transactions are included within the terms of fraudulent disposition of property, there the courts have ordinarily denied all relief by way of indemnity to the purchaser; and he will not be relieved from complications, expenses, or losses paid out or incurred by him in the promotion and success of the fraudulent arrangement. This was held upon a consideration of the cases by this general term in Smith v. White, 7 N. Y. Supp.373. But the court was not then called upon to consider whether the fraudulent vendee should be indemnified out of the proceeds of the property for the expenses of its redemption from preceding valid charges or incumbrances; and, in the cases which have been cited as authorities supporting the position taken by the plaintiffs in this respect, the decisions have been generally extended no further than to deny to the fraudulent vendee his right to reimbursement for what he may have paid to the vendor or to others by way of satisfying unsecured debts upon the property. Those payments were included, ordinarily, within the terms of the fraudulent transfer; and the courts will not relieve the party implicated in the fraud from the consequences of the voluntary acts performed by himself within the scope and intent of the fraudulent disposition. The cases of Boyd v. Dunlap, 1 Johns. Ch. 478; Sands v. Codwise, 4 Johns. 536; Bean v. Smith, 2 Mason, 252; Briggs v. Merrill, 58 Barb. 389; Bleakley's Appeal, 66 Pa. St. 187; Goodwin v. Hammond, 13 Cal. 168; Wood v. Hunt, 38 Barb. 302; Borland v. Walker, 7 Ala. 269; Williamson v. Goodwyn, 9 Grat. 503; Bank v. Warner, 12 Hun, 306; and Seivers v. Dickoner, 101 Ind. 495,—are [854]*854within this general principle; while Ferguson v. Hillman, 55 Wis. 188, 12 N. W. Rep. 389; Wiley v. Knight, 27 Ala. 336; Thompson v. Bichford, 19 Minn. 18, (Gil. 1;) and Railroad Co. v. Soutter, 13 Wall. 517,—do tend to support the position taken in behalf of the plaintiffs. But neither the case of Davis v. Leopold, 87 N. Y. 620, nor any other authority sanctioned by the determination of the court of last resort in this state, supports this position.

In the case of Robinson v. Stewart, 10 N. Y. 189, the court went even further than this, and allowed the fraudulent vendee to stand in the place of creditors whose debts he had paid, for reimbursement out of the proceeds of the property, on an equality with the other creditors. It was there said in the opinion that “it is entirely equitable that the defendant should be substituted in place of the creditors whose debts he has paid. Although the conveyances were void as to creditors, they were valid between the parties; and, according to the statement in the answer, these'debts were to be paid by the defendant as a consideration in part for the conveyances. The complainants have not been injured by the payments made by the defendant; for all they could claim, under the circumstances, would be their proportionate share of the avails of the property.” Id. 196. And that extended the principle then applied beyond the application made of it in the determination of this action by the judgment from which the plaintiffs’ appeal has been brought. In Loos v. Wilkinson, 113 N. Y. 485, 21 N. E. Rep. 392, this subject was still further considered by the court; and it was held there that the fraudulent grantee was entitled to be reimbursed for what he had expended by the way of reducing or paying valid incumbrances upon the property. And that, as well as the earlier case, clearly sanctioned the disposition made of this part of the controversy at the trial; and this disposition seems to be consonant with the reason and justice of the case, for the indebtedness which was paid by this defendant to obtain possession of the certificates had been legally and in good faith created. It was in no respect the result of the fraudulent dealings between the debtor and the defendant, but it was entirely separate and distinct from all they had become implicated in through the transfer of these certificates by the debtor to this defendant, who is his son. It was after that had become consummated that the proceedings were taken for the redemption of the certificates from the indebtedness. they had been pledged to secure.

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9 N.Y.S. 852, 63 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 530, 31 N.Y. St. Rep. 809, 56 Hun 530, 1890 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 404, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hamilton-national-bank-of-boston-v-halsted-nysupct-1890.