J. Henry Schroder Banking Corp. v. Schultz

373 F. Supp. 1283, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12148
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedFebruary 22, 1974
DocketCiv. A. Nos. 73-B-127, 73-B-128
StatusPublished

This text of 373 F. Supp. 1283 (J. Henry Schroder Banking Corp. v. Schultz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
J. Henry Schroder Banking Corp. v. Schultz, 373 F. Supp. 1283, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12148 (S.D. Tex. 1974).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

GARZA, District Judge.

This action originally started out as two separate suits, Civil Actions 73-B-127 and 73-B-128, filed pursuant to the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C.A. § 2201, which were consolidated by Order of this Court on November 6, 1973. Jurisdiction is predicated on diversity, 28 U.S.C.A. § 1332 and 28 U.S.C.A. § 1331, in that this action arises under the laws of the United States. For purposes of simplification, the parties will be referred to as they were, or would have been, aligned in the first suit, Civil Action 73-B-127.

The subject of this lawsuit is bonded goods, some of which were in transit, most of which is liquor, and all of which are presently located in bonded warehouses in the Texas counties of Webb and Hidalgo. Plaintiff-Cross Defendant J. Henry Schroder Banking Corporation, hereinafter referred to as “Bank”, is a business organized under the laws of New York and is here seeking a declaratory judgment that certain attempted Sheriff’s sales were not in violation of federal law; the Bank is also seeking a Writ of Mandamus to compel Customs officers to release the above mentioned bonded goods pursuant to a state court order, and an injunction to prevent Ben R. Hendrix Trading Co., Inc. from removing any of the goods in bond from the warehouses.

Defendant-Cross-Plaintiff Ben R. Hendrix Trading Co., Inc., hereinafter referred to as “Hendrix”, is a Louisiana corporation, and is here seeking a declaratory judgment that the attempted Sheriff’s sales and the underlying state court order are void.

Defendant George P. Schultz, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States; Shelby L. White, Acting Regional Commissioner of the United States Bureau of Customs; Anthony J. P. Farris, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas; and Elliot Richardson, Attorney General of the United States, all hereinafter referred to as “Customs”, seek a finding by this Court that Customs officers are not bound by processes and orders of a state court which seek to control goods in Customs bond.

Defendant Victor M. Guerra, a resident of Hidalgo County, d/b/a Guerra Customs Bonded Warehouse; Defendant Alamo Express, Inc., a Texas Corporation; and SAIA Motor Freight Line, Inc., a Louisiana' corporation, all hereinafter referred to as “Intervenors”, are here seeking to protect their freight and warehouseman’s liens.

Defendant Claudio Castaneda is the Sheriff of Hidalgo County.

Defendant Jud Brady, d/b/a Brady’s, is a resident of Hidalgo County, Texas, and transacts an export business in the state of Texas.

[1286]*1286Defendant Ken Kellar, d/b/a Exports, Inc., a Washington corporation, is a resident of the state of Washington and transacts an exporting business in the state of Texas.

Since the year 1968, the Bank has loaned substantial sums of money to Hendrix to finance its inventory. These loans were backed by a secured lien in favor of the Bank on Hendrix’ assets, which, because of the nature of its exporting business, were continually changing. When Hendrix became unable to pay the amounts due on its notes, the Bank filed suit against Hendrix on April 25, 1973, in the 93rd District Court of Hidalgo County, Case # B26651, seeking foreclosure of the lien and a money judgment in the amount of $295,465.97, plus costs. On the motion of the Bank, the state court sequestered all of Hendrix’ assets located in either Hendrix’ own warehouse or the Guerra’s Custom Bonded Warehouse in Hidalgo County. As will be discussed later, other goods that were in transit at the time of this sequestration would also become involved.

The Bank and Hendrix continued to work out their problems and soon reached a now controversial “compromise agreement” on May 22, 1973, wherein Hendrix admitted its debt to the Bank and agreed to the entry of a judgment against itself in the state lawsuit in the sum of $295,465.97, plus costs, interest and attorneys’ fees. The judgment was to be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of the above sequestered goods to Brady and Kellar, the buyers that the Bank had located. The sequestration was to expire on entry of the judgment, and Hendrix agreed that it would issue the necessary documents to effectuate the sale. In the meantime, however, Hendrix could also sell the goods on its own if, prior to June 2, 1973, Hendrix could find a buyer willing to pay more than the $230,000.00 that the Bank’s buyers had offered. The compromise agreement further stated that the judgment would also foreclose the Bank’s lien on all of Hendrix’ property not sequestered by the court’s order, but this part of the judgment would not take effect until ninety days after the signing of the compromise agreement, giving the Bank an option should Hendrix fail to carry out as agreed the sale of the sequestered goods. The Bank additionally had the right to foreclose immediately on these other non-sequestered assets, if Hendrix tried to fraudulently remove or conceal any of its property from the reach of the Bank. Finally, the Bank agreed to fully release Hendrix from any and all indebtedness upon the payment to the Bank of $300,000.00, on or before June 1, 1973. The agreement was signed by G. H. Laube, a vice president, for the Bank, and by Mrs. Claire B. Wayne for Hendrix. The actual judgment of the state court was signed on behalf of Hendrix by Horace Hall, an attorney; the judgment was not signed by anyone on behalf of the Bank, though the name of Charles Murray, also an attorney, and the law firm of Atlas, Hall, Schwarz, Mills, Gurwitz & Bland appear in print. The judgment was duly entered on May 31, 1973.

By June of 1973, the Bank had located additional property of Hendrix in the form of bonded liquor in transit, carried by Alamo Express, Inc. in nine sealed trailers. The Bank in June, filed an application for Writ of Garnishment against Alamo Express in the 92nd District Court of Hidalgo County, Case No. A-11669. Alamo answered by way of interpleader of the Bank and the United States Bureau of Customs to determine which of the parties had rights to the merchandise contained in the trailers. This action is still pending in the state court. All parties later agreed to warehouse these goods in transit, so as to release the Alamo trailers back into line service, and this Court so ordered on August 31, 1973.

The spirit of compromise soon evaporated and relations between Hendrix and the Bank rapidly deteriorated. According to the Bank, Hendrix did not carry through with the sale of the sequestered [1287]*1287goods and started to dispose of its property, contrary to the compromise; fearing the loss of other secured property, the Bank, pursuant to the option contemplated in the compromise agreement, obtained Orders of Sale on June 18, 1973, directing the Sheriffs of Hidalgo and Webb Counties to hold public sales of the goods previously sequestered. Before these orders could be carried out, Mr. Palmer Kelly, Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, informed the Bank that Customs objected to this type of sale and suggested a reformed Order of Sale. Amended Orders of Sale that fully protected the interests of the Bureau of Customs and directed that the sales be carried out in conformity with all applicable federal laws were issued on July 6, 1973. However, on that same date, Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
373 F. Supp. 1283, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/j-henry-schroder-banking-corp-v-schultz-txsd-1974.