Investors Diversified Services, Inc. v. Reconstruction Finance Corp.

153 F. Supp. 595, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3263
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedJuly 15, 1957
DocketCiv. A. No. 53-949
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 153 F. Supp. 595 (Investors Diversified Services, Inc. v. Reconstruction Finance Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Investors Diversified Services, Inc. v. Reconstruction Finance Corp., 153 F. Supp. 595, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3263 (D. Mass. 1957).

Opinion

FORD, District Judge.

A previous motion of plaintiff in this case for summary judgment was denied, Investors Diversified Services, Inc., v. Reconstruction Finance Corporation, D. C., 144 F.Supp. 497. Plaintiff now renews its motion and defendant also moves for summary judgment on its counterclaim.

Plaintiff’s renewed motion is based on certain additional facts appearing from defendant’s further admissions of facts under Rule 36, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A., and on two new theories of recovery which it now sets forth.

These additional facts consist chiefly in statements made in the course of correspondence between the parties, or between RFC and third parties or in internal communications between personnel of RFC in which reference is made to the fact that IDS has an “interest” or a “50% interest in ownership” in the Anchorage plant conveyed to RFC. Any such statements, of course, could not change or amend the original participation agreement, since this could be done only by the Board of Directors of RFC or by other officials of RFC duly authorized to make such changes. The fact that RFC personnel may have thought that IDS had a 50 per cent ownership interest in the property is not significant where it is clear, as pointed out in the previous opinion of the court, that under the participation agreement IDS had no ownership interest in the property itself, but only an interest in RFC’s loan. In any case, none of these statements was made for the purpose of explicitly defining the status of IDS with regard to the property involved. They were all in the nature of incidental references to the position of IDS. In fact IDS did have an “interest” in the property in the sense that it was only from the proceeds of the disposal of. the property that it could obtain payment of its claims based on-the loan, and furthermore under' the terms of the agreement RFC had to obtain the consent of IDS before disposing of the property. Moreover, since there were grounds for believing the proceeds of the property might not amount to more than enough to- cover the claims based on the first loan, it was not unnatural to refer to the interest of IDS as a “50% interest.” The language of these documents appears to be only a loose or shorthand way of describing the existing situation, and in no way amounts to any express recognition that IDS was the co-owner of the property in the strict sense for which IDS now contends.

Plaintiff argues at length that in regard to the loan made under the participation- agreement the parties here were joint adventurers. But it does not help in the solution of the issues here to classify the relationship by the still not fully defined name of joint adventure. Cardullo v. Landau, 329 Mass. 5, 8, 105 N.E. 2d 843. Merely calling the transaction a joint adventure gives no ground for changing the rights of the parties as spelled out in the participation agreement. Similarly plaintiff contends that a trust relationship existed between the parties, arguing alternatively for an express trust, a constructive trust, or a resulting trust. Again the basic issues here are not solved by saying that RFC held the property or the proceeds thereof in trust for itself and IDS as beneficiaries. Calling the relationship a trust does not help to determine how the proceeds are to be distributed to the beneficiaries. The share of the proceeds to which plaintiff is entitled must still be determined by the provisions of the participation agreement.

There is no merit to plaintiff’s contention that the participation agreement was no longer in effect after November 17, 1948, on the ground that it contemplated an existing loan and the loan no longer was in existence after that date. The agreement was clearly intended to cover the whole transaction into which the parties were entering. Even though after November 17, 1948, [597]*597there was no longer any loan in existence in the sense that the borrower had no further liability, the transaction cannot be said to have ended while property or funds received in satisfaction of the loan had not yet been distributed.

Plaintiff moreover relies on Article 6 of the agreement as remaining in effect at all times. This article requires that losses be borne ratably by RFC and plaintiff. The only loss, however, for which plaintiff indicates it should be compensated is for interest from November 17, 1948, until the date of payment, based on the view that RFC wrongfully withheld the money during that period, thus depriving IDS of the use of its funds. It is difficult to see any valid basis for' this argument in the light of the fact that the delay was due solely to the desire to obtain the best possible price for the property, and seems to have been taken with the full consent of plaintiff. Assuming, however, that' RFC should have sold the property at once, the only basis on which it can now be determined what IDS should have received is to assume that the property would have been sold for its value at that time as stipulated by the parties. Half of that sum with interest to the date of actual payment would be less than what IDS has actually received, and plaintiff, of course, rejects this solution when defendant advances it as a basis for its counterclaim.

Plaintiff further contends that the court’s previous ruling that the property conveyed to RFC by the trustee in reorganization was in satisfaction of both loans was erroneous by pointing out that the conveyance included raw materials not covered by the mortgage given in connection with the first loan and on which a first mortgage was given to RFC-as part of its security on the second loan. Hence it is contended that the convey-' anee should be interpreted as conveying’ the real estate and personal property solely in satisfaction of the first loan and the raw materials alone in satisfaction of the second loan. But this contradicts the' plain language' of the trustee’s conveyance which transferred all the property’ in satisfaction of both loans’ with’ no attempt to distinguish between loans or assign specific property to the satisfaction of either of them. It offers no basis for holding that RFC lost its right to apply proceeds of the sale of the Anchorage plant to its loan secured by a second mortgage on that plant once the claims based on the first loan had been met. Of course, as plaintiff suggests, if the proceeds of the sale of all the property conveyed were more than enough to pay all the claims based on both loans, a question would arise as to the proper disposition of the surplus. But since there is no evidence at present before the court that such is the fact, the question does not arise on this motion.

To sum up, the real issue here is whether plaintiff has received all it contracted for in advancing money to RFC to be loaned to Anchorage. Clearly the participation agreement provides that it is to receive back its share of the principal advanced, interest thereon until the loan was terminated, and reimbursement for expenses. This is, in fact, exactly what it has received.

Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment denied.

Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment on Counterclaim

Defendant moves for summary judgment on its counterclaim, which ’is based on its contention that it has in fact overpaid the plaintiff.

Its first argument may be summarized as follows. The parties have stipulated that on November 17, 1948, the total value of the property conveyed to RFC which had been given as collateral for the loan of April 24, 1947, was $517,083.

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Bluebook (online)
153 F. Supp. 595, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/investors-diversified-services-inc-v-reconstruction-finance-corp-mad-1957.