John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. v. Casey

155 F.2d 229
CourtCourt of Appeals for the First Circuit
DecidedMay 8, 1946
DocketNo. 4128
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 155 F.2d 229 (John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. v. Casey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the First Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. v. Casey, 155 F.2d 229 (1st Cir. 1946).

Opinion

MAGRUDER, Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal from several orders relating to disbursements in a proceeding for corporate reorganization under Chapter X of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C.A. § 501 et seq.

On November 1, 1940, Carlton Hotel, Inc., hereinafter referred to as the debtor, purchased iron! John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, hereinafter referred to as the appellant or the mortgagee, the premises known as the Hotel Buckminster, in Boston, and certain personal property contained therein, for $360,-000. As part of the purchase price the debtor executed a mortgage note in the sum of $345,000 secured by a mortgage of the real property with statutory power of sale. The mortgage contains no acceleration clause, and runs until November 1, 1955, when a final balance of $183,170 becomes due. The note was also secured by a chattel mortgage on the personal property contained in the hotel and by an assignment to appellant of existing leases, such assignment empowering the assignee, upon default of payments under the terms of the mortgage note, to take possession of the premises and collect the rents and profits thereof. Included in the assignment was a lease of part of the premises to the Yankee Network, Inc.

On August 1, 1942, the debtor failed to make the payments on the mortgage note falling due on that date.

On August 5, 1942, the debtor filed in the court below its petition for reorganization pursuant to § 128 of Chapter X of the Bankruptcy Act, 52 Stat. 886, 11 U.S.C.A. § 528. On this date the debtor was in possession of the premises.

[231]*231On August 12, 1942, the mortgagee took possession of the premises under the terms of the mortgage for breach of condition.

The debtor’s petition for reorganization was approved by the court on August 18, 1942, and Thomas J. Casey, Esq., an ap-pellee herein, was appointed trustee.

Meanwhile, on August 17, 1942, the United States filed, also in the court below, a petition for condemnation of the Buck-minster Hotel premises except that portion thereof occupied by the Yankee Network, Inc., as lessee. The interest sought to be taken was “a term for years ending June 30, 1945 * * * said term to be cancellable at the election of the United States on June 30, 1943, or on June 30, 1944, which election shall be signified by the giving of sixty days’ notice.” On November 18, 1942, the United States deposited with the clerk of the district court the sum of $34,945 as the estimated just compensation for taking the use and occupation of the premises from August 17, 1942, to June 30, 1943. Judgment was entered for the United States on the petition for condemnation and the statutory declaration of taking. On August 21, 1943, the United States made an additional deposit of $40,000 into'the registry of the court as the estimated just compensation for taking the use and occupation of the premises from July 1, 1943, to June 30, 1944. On August 24, 1943, the United States filed an amendment to its declaration of taking, correcting the estate to be acquired so as to read as follows: “The estate taken for said public uses is a term for years ending June 30, 1944, extendable for yearly periods thereafter during the existing national emergency at the election of the United States, notice of which election shall be filed in this proceeding at least sixty days prior to the end of the term taken or subsequent extensions thereof * * * ,”1

The present appeal is the tenth taken by John Hancock, the mortgagee, on one or another phase of the above reorganization proceeding and condemnation proceeding. The earlier appeals are found in John Hancock Mutual Life Ins. Co. v. Casey, 1 Cir., 1943, 134 F.2d 162, certiorari denied 1943, 319 U.S. 757, 63 S.Ct. 1176, 87 L.Ed. 1709; Id. (2 cases), 1 Cir., 1943, 139 F.2d 207; Id., 1 Cir., 1944, 141 F.2d 104, certiorari denied 1944, 323 U.S. 713, 65 S.Ct. 39, 89 L.Ed. 574; John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Thompson, 1 Cir., 1944, 147 F.2d 761; John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Casey (2 cases), 1 Cir., 1945, 147 F.2d 762; Id., 1 Cir., 1945, 149 F.2d 484, and John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Hurley, 1 Cir., 1945, 151 F.2d 751, certiorari denied John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Donovan, 1946, 66 S.Ct. 819. In addition, in No. 4054, John Hancock petitioned for leave to file a petition for a writ of mandamus in relation to the reorganization proceeding, which was denied by us, without opinion, January 10, 1945.

In John Hancock Mutual Life Ins. Co. v. Casey, 1943, supra, 134 F.2d 162, we affirmed an order in the reorganization pro--ceeding entered September 16, 1942, enjoining the mortgagee from pursuing foreclosure proceedings and exercising the power of sale, also ordering it to relinquish to the trustee possession of the premises and of the personal property therein. In the same case we affirmed an order entered September 17, 1942, directing the mortgagee to turn over to the trustee the sum of $1,100 which it had collected from Yankee Network, Inc., lessee. Since then, the rentals due from Yankee Network, Inc., have been collected by the trustee in reorganization.

By order entered May 4, 1943, in the condemnation proceeding, the court below directed the clerk to disburse to the trustee the initial deposit of $34,945 made by the United States. We affirmed that order in John Hancock Mutual Life Ins. Co. v. Casey, No. 3930, 1943, supra, 139 F.2d 207. On September 14, 1944, the district court in the condemnation proceeding directed [232]*232disbursement to the trustee, out of the further deposits which had been made by the United States, of the sum of $13,922.-17; and by an order of the same date, entered in the reorganization proceeding, the court directed the trustee to pay to the mortgagee the said sum of $13,922.17 plus the sum of $34,945 aforesaid (total $48,-867.17), in satisfaction of arrears of principal and interest upon the note and mortgage to and including May 1, 1944. These two orders were affirmed by us in John Hancock Mutual Life Ins. Co. v. Casey, 1945, supra, 147 F.2d 762. Subsequently, by orders entered in the condemnation proceeding, the district court has directed disbursement to the mortgagee, out of the condemnation fund on deposit, sums to meet further installments of principal and interest falling due on the mortgage note.

On October 7, 1943, the district court entered an order denying a motion by the mortgagee that the reorganization proceeding be dismissed or that the debtor be adjudged a bankrupt. This court reversed that order in John Hancock Mutual Life Ins. Co. v.

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Bluebook (online)
155 F.2d 229, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-hancock-mut-life-ins-v-casey-ca1-1946.