In re Mid-West Tar Products Corp.

150 F. Supp. 163, 52 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1122, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2278
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedOctober 26, 1956
DocketNo. 10494
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 150 F. Supp. 163 (In re Mid-West Tar Products Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Mid-West Tar Products Corp., 150 F. Supp. 163, 52 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1122, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2278 (D. Md. 1956).

Opinion

THOMSEN, Chief Judge.

In this proceeding the ancillary trustee of Mid-West Tar Products Corp., bankrupt, seeks an order requiring Maryland Trust Company to turn over to him for administration in the principal bankruptcy proceeding in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, 2,500 shares of Combustion Engineering Company stock and $2,411.09 cash. Adverse claims to the stock and cash have been filed by Grant Thorn and Genevieve U. Thorn, his second wife, and by the United States, which filed proper notices of tax liens against Thorn and his first wife before the bankruptcy of Mid-West. The issues are: (1) whether the case is within the summary jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court; (2) whether this court, in this ancillary proceeding, has jurisdiction to pass on the question of title to the stock between the trustee and the adverse claimants; and (3) if so, whether the trustee in bankruptcy is entitled to the stock. The decision of the third issue requires a consideration of the respective title, rights, equities and liens of the various parties. The referee issued a turnover order, and petitions for review have been filed by the United States and by the Thoms.

Findings of Fact.

Grant Thorn was the principal stockholder, director, president and moving spirit of, the bankrupt, Mid-West Tar Products Corp., and of a number of related companies. He owned 76% of Mid-West stock; the other 24% was owned by Edwin G. Higgins and Robert J. Baabe, officers of the company, who held their stock under an agreement to sell it to Thom at par at any time on his demand. During all material times, Grant Thorn was in complete control of the operations and business of Mid-West. The various corporations in which Thorn was interested had offices in Baltimore, where Thorn lived and filed his income tax returns.

Before 1935, when Mid-West was organized, Thorn had acquired 2,913 shares of stock of Combustion Engineering Su-perheater Co., now known as Combustion Engineering Co. Some of the stock was originally issued in his name and some in the name of his first wife, Hazel Thorn, who signed blank stock powers and permitted Thorn to hold the certificates. In 1945, when Thorn was having difficulties with his wife, all of this Combustion stock was placed in the name of Higgins, as nominee of Thorn. Thereafter, Thorn acquired additional Combustion stock, some of which was placed in the name of Higgins and some in the name of Baabe. As a result of stock splits before November, 1950, 10,239 shares then stood in the name of Higgins and 1,761 shares in the name of Baabe.

Most of Thom’s corporations, including Mid-West, borrowed money from time to time from Maryland Trust Company and other banks, and Thorn made the Combustion stock available to the several corporations as security for such loans. Thom also guaranteed personally many of the bank loans of the different corporations.

In January, 1947, Maryland Trust made a loan to Eastern Road Material Corp., one of Thorn’s corporations, which was secured by some of the shares of Combustion stock. That loan was repaid.

[166]*166In October, 1947, Maryland Trust made a loan to Thorn personally which was secured by shares of said stock. That loan was repaid.

By an undated agreement, which was prepared for signature before January 1, 1950, Higgins agreed with Maryland Trust as follows:

“I Hereby Declare That Mid-West Tar Products Corp. (hereinafter called ‘Pledgor’), has my full consent to pledge 9,000 shs. Combustion Engineering Superheater, Inc. with the Maryland Trust Company (hereinafter called ‘Bank’) as collateral for any loan to Pledgor, and for any indebtedness of any nature whatsoever to said Maryland Trust Company for which said Pledgor may be liable, and that so long as said above mentioned securities may remain in the custody of said Bank, I expressly ratify and agree in advance to any and all agreements which said Pledg- or may make with the Bank regarding the use of said collateral or any such indebtedness of said Pledgor to the Bank whether as maker or endorser or otherwise, and I expressly authorize the Bank to sell said securities at public or private sale in accordance with the terms of any note or agreement which said Pledg- or may give to represent said loans or other indebtedness or liability to said Bank and/or redeliver said securities to said Pledgor upon repayment of said loans and all other indebtedness, And I do hereby agree to save the Bank harmless and indemnified forever against any result which may follow such action.
“/s/ Edwin G. Higgins “Witness:
“/s/ Robert J. Baabe”

On February 10, 1950, Maryland Trust made a loan to Mid-West which was secured by shares of said stock. That loan was repaid before November 16, 1950.

On November 16, 1950, Maryland Trust Company made a loan of $253,000 to Grant Thorn personally, which was secured by the 12,000 shares of Combustion stock referred to above. On the same day Thorn turned the $253,000 over to Eastern Road Material Corp. and that company checked it out. Five days later, on November 21, 1950, $253,000 passed in and out of Eastern Road again, going this time to Eastern Tar Products Corp., another corporation of Thom’s.

On November 27, 1950, Thom arranged for Maryland Trust to lend $199,-000 to Mid-West, and $66,000 to Eastern Road, on the security of the Combustion stock. $190,000 of the $199,000 and $63,-000 of the $66,000 were used to repay to Maryland Trust the $253,000 loan which that bank had made to Thorn on November 16, 1950. The 12,000 shares of Combustion stock were thereby made available to secure the new loans; 9,000 shares were used to secure the $199,000 loan to Mid-West, and 3,000 shares to secure the $66,000 loan to Eastern. The note for the $199,000 loan to Mid-West was signed by Thorn as president of Mid-West, and endorsed by Thorn individually.

Maryland Trust made four additional loans to Mid-West, as follows: December 1, 1950 — $15,750; December 12, 1950— $5,250; December 12, 1950 — $26,000; February 1, 1951 — $9,000. The notes for all of these loans stated on their face that they were secured by “collateral previously pledged”. They were not endorsed by Thom individually, but he had signed a guarantee agreement with Maryland Trust which covered all of these loans. The proceeds of these four loans were probably used for the corporate purposes of Mid-West, including the reduction of its indebtedness to Consumers Company, hereinafter referred to.

On February 8, 1951, Mid-West repaid $27,000 of its loans to Maryland Trust, and Maryland Trust released 1,000 shares of the Combustion stock, taking a receipt signed Mid-West Tar Products Corp., Robert J. Baabe, secretary. This stock was then pledged to Harrisburg Trust Company as security for a loan to Eastern Road Material Corp.

[167]*167There is nothing on the records of Maryland Trust to show who was the equitable owner of the Combustion stock.

In November, 1950, and thereafter until the loans were liquidated, all of the shares remained registered in the names of Higgins or Baabe, who admit that they never had any beneficial interest in any of the shares which were registered in their names as nominees.

The books of Mid-West do not show and never have shown any stock of Combustion as an asset of that company. Mid-West never reported dividends on Combustion stock in its income tax returns.

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150 F. Supp. 163, 52 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1122, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2278, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-mid-west-tar-products-corp-mdd-1956.