Knudson v. Powers

230 N.W. 282, 56 S.D. 613, 1930 S.D. LEXIS 54
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedApril 11, 1930
DocketFile No. 6555
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 230 N.W. 282 (Knudson v. Powers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Knudson v. Powers, 230 N.W. 282, 56 S.D. 613, 1930 S.D. LEXIS 54 (S.D. 1930).

Opinion

BROWN, P. J.

This is an appeal from an order made upon the final report of a receiver who was appointed in an action to foreclose a real estate mortgage on property in the city of Sioux Falls, owned in equal shares 'by the defendants Wilson Powers and Dakota Land & Loan Company, a corporation. Plaintiff’s mortgage was given originally for the sum of $9,400, subject to two prior mortgages, one for $12,000 bearing interest at 7 per cent and the other for $22,500 bearing interest at 6 per cent. At the time of the commencement of the action, plaintiff’s mortgage had been reduced to $5,900 with interest at 6 per cent from August 1, 1924. Plaintiff had also paid to protect his lien $2,315.01 interest on the prior mortgages and $819.91 for insurance on the premises, and there were also unpaid1 and delinquent taxes on the premises tO' an amount exceeding $2,288.08 at the time the same were claimed to [616]*616have been paid as hereinafter referred to. The complaint asked for the appointment of a receiver to take possession of the property, collect rents, etc., and on notice to all defendants N. O. Monsrud was appointed receiver on July 27, 1925. Thereafter judgment by default was entered in the sum of $10,049.13 together with costs in the sum of $49.45, and directing a foreclosure sale of the mortgaged premises and that the receiver should in the meantime continue to collect the rents and apply the same to maintaining the propery, paying interest, etc. Pursuant to the judgment the mortgaged1 premises were sold to plaintiff herein for $9,000, leaving a deficiency of $1,206.10. On August 28, 1926, objections to the sale and the confirmation thereof were filed on behalf of defendants Wilson Powers and D!akota Land & Loan Company, among which objections was one claiming the purported judgment and sale thereunder were void because the judge before whom the proceedings were had was disqualified to act by reason of being a stockholder and director in Dakota Trust &' Savings Bank, one of the defendants. This objection was sustained, and on November 23, 1926, the court vacated and set aside the judgment and filed a certificate signed by the judge setting forth that he deemed himself disqualified to act in any further proceedings in the action and directing that all further proceedings be had before one of the other judges of the circuit. Thereafter an application was made to vacate the receivership and require an accounting from the receiver, and on January 11, 1927, an order was entered vacating the order of the court whereby Monsrud was appointed receiver, “the same as if said order had never been entered,” and requiring Monsrud to relinquish possession of the premises and file a complete account of all of his doings while he was acting as such receiver. On January 24th the receiver filed a final report, to four items of which appellants filed written objections. These items were: 'Receiver’s fees to February x, 1925, $250; October 9, 1920, receiver’s fees, $250; November 20, 1926, receiver’s fees four months, $166; October 28, 1926, interest paid, $2,288.08. The court found that reasonable compensation for the services of the receiver would be 5 per cent of the amount collected and accounted for by him, which 5 per cent amounted to $427.23, and that the balance of the fees charged in the receiver’s report should be disallowed, and allowed the item of $2,288.08 objected to, on the ground that while it was paid as [617]*617interest on the prior mortgages, plaintiff had agreed in consideration of its payment to him to pay the delinquent taxes on the property, the receiver not being able to pay such taxes 'because he had not sufficient money in his hands to redeem the premises from tax sale and the payment of subsequent taxes by the tax purchaser, so that the court held that this payment was in reality a payment of taxes. On April 21, 1925, which was about two months before the commencement of the action, appellant Powers made an assignment to plaintiff of his undivided one-half interest in the rents and profits of the mortgaged premises until the amount secured by plaintiff’s mortgage should be fully paid to him. The assignment provided that the rents collected should be applied, first, to the payment of interest on the first and second mortgages, second, to^ the payment of taxes on the premises, and, third, to the payment of interest and principal of the mortgage held by plaintiff and recited that it was not intended to and did not extend the time of payment of the sum secured by the mortgage, nor should it prevent the foreclosure of the mortgage by plaintiff at any time he should desire to foreclose, but in case of foreclosure the assignment of rents should remain in full force and rentals collected should be applied, as above provided, to payment of the amount secured by the mortgage. The order holds that this instrument assigns Powers’ one-half interest in the rents and profits to plaintiff, finds that the balance in the hands of the receiver is $1,195.62, that disallowed items in his account amount to $278.39, making a balance to account for of $1,474.01, that out of this should be paid items for the necessary maintenance and operation of the property aggregating $592.61, and that of the remaining balance of $881.40 one-half should be paid to plaintiff under the assignment and one-half to the Dakota Land & Loan Company. From this order defendants Powers, Dakota Land & Loan Company, and Security National Bank of Fargo appeal.

We think the item for compensation for the receiver was properly allowed. The right of a receiver to compensation “does not depend upon the correctness of the order of appointment where the appointment has been made by a court having general jurisdiction to take such action.” 34 Cyc. 467. The application for the appointment of a receiver was delayed at least once, perhaps oftener, at the request of appellants’ attorneys. After such [618]*618postponements, appellants’ attorneys advised respondent’s attorneys that they would not oppose the application for the appointment of a receiver. Having thus acquiesced in the receivership, they cannot be heard to oppose the allowance of a reasonable compensation to the receiver.

That the amount allowed by the court was reasonable Is not disputed. Regarding the allowance of $2,288.08, the receiver’s report showed that it was paid to respondent as interest; but his testimony, which is undisputed, showed that he had tried with this money to redeem from tax sale and pay delinquent taxes, but that the money was not sufficient to< redeem from the delinquent tax sale and pay subsequent taxes paid by the tax purchaser. The county treasurer informed him that redemption from the tax sale could not be made unless he could take up the certificate and all subsequent taxes paid by the tax purchaser. • After consultation with one of the attorneys for respondent, this attorney stated that if the receiver would pay the amount of the funds he had on hand to respondent on the interest that respondent had paid on prior mortgages, respondent could make arrangements to get the additional amount with which to clean up the taxes and prevent the property from being conveyed by tax deed, and in answer to the question, “And that is what was done?” the receiver replied, “That is what was done.” Appellants contend that this question and answer simply show that respondent made arrangements

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Bluebook (online)
230 N.W. 282, 56 S.D. 613, 1930 S.D. LEXIS 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/knudson-v-powers-sd-1930.