In Re Lincoln Industries, Inc.

166 F. Supp. 240, 84 Ohio Law. Abs. 34, 10 Ohio Op. 2d 231, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3528
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Virginia
DecidedSeptember 4, 1958
Docket1768
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 166 F. Supp. 240 (In Re Lincoln Industries, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Lincoln Industries, Inc., 166 F. Supp. 240, 84 Ohio Law. Abs. 34, 10 Ohio Op. 2d 231, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3528 (W.D. Va. 1958).

Opinion

THOMPSON, Chief Judge.

The Lincoln Industries, Inc. (herein referred to as the Bankrupt), was engaged in the manufacture of furniture, school desks and other related merchandise, at Damascus, Virginia, until it was adjudicated bankrupt July 16, 1956, on an involuntary petition filed June 23, 1956.

The May Department Stores Company, a New York corporation, operates a store at Cleveland, Ohio, under the name of The May Company and operates a store at Akron, Ohio, under the name of The M. O’Neil Company. It will be referred to herein as the “May Company”.

Cordell Industries, Inc., herein called “Cordell”, is a New York corporation en *243 gaged in the furniture brokerage business. It and the Bankrupt had interlocking boards of directors, and both were owned by the same financial interests.

Textile Banking Company, Inc., herein called “Textile”, is a New York corporation engaged in factoring accounts receivable of manufacturing concerns and in making loans to such concerns with inventory as security.

The bankrupt estate involves several hundred thousand dollars. There are numerous creditors and various classes of liens which necessitated the Referee entering numerous orders. Some of his orders are now before the Court for review.

Truckload of Furniture Claimed by May Company

In May, 1956, prior to adjudication, the Bankrupt had received two orders for furniture; one direct from The May Company, at Cleveland, in the amount of $4,970.21; one from The M. O’Neil Company, at Akron (owned by The May Company), through Cordell, in the amount of $879.57. These orders aggregated $5,-849.78. It was agreed between the May Company, Cordell, and the Bankrupt that the furniture covered by these two orders should be delivered by the Bankrupt in its trucks to the points of destination in Ohio, transportation costs to be paid by May Company.

The Bankrupt issued its invoices for both of these orders and discounted them through its financial broker, Textile, under a factoring agreement, whereby Textile had an admittedly valid factor’s lien on all Bankrupt’s inventories and accounts receivable. May Company paid Textile the amount of both invoices.

The Bankrupt removed the furniture described in these invoices from its inventory and loaded the same in its truck at its plant site for transportation to the purchasers in Ohio. Some of Bankrupt’s employees, whose wages had not been paid in full, refused to allow this truckload of furniture to leave Bankrupt’s plant site. The furniture was in the truck at Bankrupt’s plant site when bankruptcy ensued.

The Trustee claimed the furniture as part of Bankrupt’s estate or, in the alternative, under Section 70, sub. c of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C.A. § 110, sub. c. May Company executed indemnifying bonds in the penalty of the two invoices and took possession of the furniture.

The Trustee admits that if the Court finds the furniture belongs to Bankrupt’s estate, it is subject to Textile’s factoring lien. The Referee held that title to the furniture had passed to the purchaser and ordered the bonds can-celled. This decision is before the Court for review.

Had the title to the furniture in the truck passed to the purchaser and beyond the reach of the Trustee?

The parties appear to be in agreement that the Ohio law controls in the construction of the sales agreement; one of the purchase orders so provided. If the parties were not in agreement on this point, the Court is of the opinion that the Ohio law governs, since Ohio was the place of performance, i. e., the place delivery of the furniture was required to be made. Hall v. Cordell, 1891, 142 U.S. 116, 12 S.Ct. 154, 35 L.Ed. 956; Louis-Dreyfus v. Paterson Steamships, Ltd., 2 Cir., 1930, 43 F.2d 824, 72 A.L.R. 242; Poole v. Perkins, 1919, 126 Va. 331, 101 S.E. 240, 18 A.L.R. 1509.

Ohio has adopted the Uniform Sales Act; therefore, we must look to that Act in resolving the question of the title to the furniture in the truck.

“Where there is a contract to sell unascertained goods no property in the goods is transferred to the buyer unless and until the goods are ascertained, * * Section 17, Uniform Sales Act, 99 Ohio Laws, p. 417.

The furniture in question was unascertained in contradistinction to specific furniture. Although the purchase orders described the type of fur *244 niture, they did not identify any specific furniture. The orders could have been filled from any of Bankrupt’s inventory which met the description contained in the purchase orders. American Aniline Products v. D. Nagase & Co., 1919, 187 App.Div. 555, 176 N.Y.S. 114; Gile & Co. v. Lasselle, 1918, 89 Or. 107, 171 P. 741.

The situation is analogous to that of an order from an automobile dealer to a factory for a number of cars of a particular model, make and design, which the factory could fill from its inventory of cars meeting those specifications. Indeed, this furniture could have been manufactured after the receipt of these orders and, therefore, could not have been presently ascertained. Ellis & Meyers Lumber Co. v. Hubbard, 1918, 123 Va. 481, 96 S.E. 754; Illustrated Postal Card & Novelty Co. v. Holt, 1912, 85 Conn. 140, 81 A. 1061.

“Where there is a contract to sell unascertained or future goods by description, and goods of that description and in a deliverable state are unconditionally appropriated to the contract, either by the seller with the assent of the buyer, or by the buyer with the assent of the seller, the property in the goods thereupon passes to the buyer. * * *” Section 19, Rule 4(1), Uniform Sales Act, 99 Ohio Laws, p. 418.

Inasmuch as the furniture in question was unascertained, title could not pass to the purchaser until the furniture was unconditionally appropriated to the purchaser. The furniture may have been ascertained when segregated from Bankrupt’s inventory and placed in the truck, but it was not unconditionally appropriated to the buyer with buyer’s assent. It remained in possession of the seller. The seller could exercise all rights of ownership over it; the buyer had no knowledge that the furniture it ordered had been placed in the truck, and if the seller had chosen to unload the furniture and sell it to any other purchaser, it could have done so without incurring any liability to the purchaser, May Company. See Procter & Gamble Co. v. Peters, White & Co., 1922, 233 N.Y. 97, 124 N.E. 849; Enterprise Wall Paper v. Nilson Rantoul Co., 1918, 260 Pa. 540, 103 A. 923.

It cannot be argued that the placing of the furniture in Bankrupt’s truck constituted constructive delivery, for the seller, Bankrupt, was required to make actual delivery of the furniture to the purchaser in Ohio in its own trucks. Title to the furniture would not pass to the purchaser until the furniture was delivered to the purchaser in Ohio.

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Bluebook (online)
166 F. Supp. 240, 84 Ohio Law. Abs. 34, 10 Ohio Op. 2d 231, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3528, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-lincoln-industries-inc-vawd-1958.