Harmon v. Komisar

15 Tenn. App. 405, 1932 Tenn. App. LEXIS 107
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedMay 28, 1932
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 15 Tenn. App. 405 (Harmon v. Komisar) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harmon v. Komisar, 15 Tenn. App. 405, 1932 Tenn. App. LEXIS 107 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1932).

Opinion

CRCWNOVER, J.

On August 27, 1930, I. Komisar, trading under the firm name of Peoples Furniture Company, entered into a contract with the Hartman Furniture Company for the purchase of certain conditional sales contracts in which the title to the furniture was retained. The contracts were divided into two classes. The first lot, totaling $9421.65, he purchased at the rate of forty-five cents on the dollar, or for a total of $4239.74. The contracts were classified, on account of the age and manner in which payments had been made on same, as “active accounts.” The second lot, classified as “doubtful accounts,” amounting to $1600, he agreed to purchase for $350. Of the total consideration of $4589.74 it was agreed that $4000 should he paid in cash and the remainder, $589.74, should he turned over to W. H. Levine as attorney for both parties to be held by him under the following terms and conditions:

“It is further agreed between the parties that the sum of $589.74 which has simultaneously with the execution of this instrument been turned over to ~W. H. Levine as Attorney for both parties, is to be held by him for a period of forty (40) days *407 from the date hereof, and is for the purpose of allowing party of the second part this length of time to further verify the correctness of the various contract and contract balances purchased by party of the second part, and at the expiration of said 40 days, if the said W. H. Levine be furnished with no written evidence of any discrepancies as to the balance, contracts, etc., then he is to turn over to the party of the first part the entire amount of $589.74, hut if at the end of said 40-day period the said W. H. Levine is furnished with written evidence of any discrepancies as to amount, contract, etc., which has been o. k’d by both the parties hereto, then he is to deduct from said sum of $589.74 the amount so shown, which deduction is to be returned to party of the second part and balance to he paid to party of the first part; said deduction to be made at the same rate at which the purchase price is based, to-wit: 45 cents on the dollar on the active accounts, and a proportion of $350 to $1600 on the doubtful accounts. In the event party of the second part produces at the expiration of said 40-day period any written evidence upon which he claims discrepancies or error, which has not been o. k’d. by both parties, or in the event of any dispute as to allowable errors, then the decision of W. EL Levine as to the allowing or disallowing out of said fund as to said discrepancies shall be binding upon both parties, and there shall he no appeal by either party from his decision; said fund to he distributed within ten days from the expiration of said 40-day period. ’ ’

Subsequently an additional $50 was deposited with the said W. H. Levine under the terms of said contract, making a total of $639.74 held by him.

On September 12, 1930, the Hartman Furniture Company, Inc., was adjudged a bankrupt, and subsequently the complainant, Buford K. Harmon, was elected trustee in bankruptcy for said company and qualified as such.

Within forty days from August 27, 1930, Komisar brought to W. H. Levine’s office and delivered to him a number of conditional sales contracts and ledger sheets which had been sold to him by the Hartman Furniture Company under said contract, stating to said W. H. Levine, orally, that he had made efforts through his office force and collectors and credit bureaus in Nashville to locate the makers of the said contracts but had been unsuccessful. Mr. Levine retained said contracts and ledger sheets and within the forty day period attempted to locate complainant Harmon, hut was unable to get in touch with him until April 24, 1931.

On this date the arbitrator gave the parties a hearing under the submission, and after argument of counsel for such side he awarded $462 to the defendant, Komisar, and $178 to the complainant trustee. Prior to the hearing, but after the forty days had expired, Komisar *408 had made and delivered to Levine an affidavit in which he made oath that he could not locate the parties whose contracts he had previously delivered to Levine. Levine delivered a check for $462 to attorney for Komisar, and tendered a check for $178 to attorney for complainant, which he refused to accept, and then complainant filed his original bill in this cause, attacking the award and seeking the recovery of the entire amount, on the ground that Komisar failed to file with Levine within forty days written evidence upon which he claimed discrepancies and that ~W. H. Levine misconstrued said contract in holding that a discrepancy within the meaning of the contract included any account which said Komisar could not locate.

W. H. Levine answered said bill and insisted that the award was valid and tendered the sum of $178 into court with his answer. Komisar filed a demurrer and an answer. He demurred to the bill on the ground that complainant was bound by the terms of said contract in which it was agreed that there would be no appeal from the decision or award of the arbitrator, and insisted in his answer that the submission agreement had been observed and that the award was valid.

By written agreement of the parties the case was tried by the Chancellor on oral testimony.

The Chancellor, after overruling defendant’s demurrer, found and held that Komisar did not furnish W. IT. Levine written evidence of any discrepancies in the accounts sold under said contract within the forty days period, and did not comply with the terms of said contract in this regard.' He decreed that Harmon, trustee in bankruptcy of the Hartman Furniture Company, Inc., was entitled to the entire sum of $640; and ordered that Byrd Douglas, Esq., solicitor for defendant Komisar, pay over to the Clerk & Master $462 held by him; that out of the fund of $640 the costs of the cause be paid by the Clerk & Master and the balance be paid to the complainant.

To this action of the court in decreeing the entire sum of $640, less the costs, to the complainant, the defendant excepted.

Motion for a new trial having been overruled, defendant appealed to this court and has assigned errors, which are, in substance:

(1) There is no evidence to support the decree.
(2) The evidence preponderated against the decree.
(3) The court erred in holding that the complainant was not bound by the terms of the original contract wherein it was agreed that there would be no appeal from the' decision of "W. H. Levine.
(4) The court erred in holding that the defendant had not furnished written evidence of discrepancies in the accounts within the forty day period.

*409 For convenience we will treat the assignments of errors all together.

Where parties have agreed to submission for arbitration and one of them is adjudicated a bankrupt before the hearing, the other party or the trustee in bankruptcy may revoke the submission and proceed under the bankruptcy act. (5 C. J., 60, sec. 119). But where the parties thereafter proceed with arbitration they waive objections previously made, and are bound by the award on submission after adjudication of bankruptcy.

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Bluebook (online)
15 Tenn. App. 405, 1932 Tenn. App. LEXIS 107, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harmon-v-komisar-tennctapp-1932.