Lake City Corp. v. Michigan Avenue National Bank

337 N.E.2d 251, 33 Ill. App. 3d 100, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 3121
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedOctober 16, 1975
Docket61050
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 337 N.E.2d 251 (Lake City Corp. v. Michigan Avenue National Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lake City Corp. v. Michigan Avenue National Bank, 337 N.E.2d 251, 33 Ill. App. 3d 100, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 3121 (Ill. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE McGLOON

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, Lake City Corporation, filed suit in the circuit court of Cook County to recover certain real estate. The land had formerly been held in a land trust of which defendant Michigan Avenue National Bank of Chicago was the trustee. Defendant, National Republic Bank of Chicago, the owner of tire property, filed a cross-complaint against defendant Michigan Avenue seeking the market value of the property plus the trustee’s fees, real estate taxes and attorneys fees expended on the property. After a bench trial, the court ordered Republic to reconvey the real estate to Michigan as trustee with the beneficial interest exclusively in plaintiff, and in return, plaintiff was to pay Republic the real estate taxes and trustee’s fees expended. Attorneys fees were not awarded. Republic appeals from the trial court’s order, raising the issues of whether the trial court erred by acting in the matter, and whether the court erred by not entering a judgment on the cross-complaint for the value of the beneficial interest.

We affirm.

The record reveals the following pertinent facts. In 1967, Lee J. Snitoff assigned his beneficial interest in a land trust to the Lake City Corporation as collateral in a secured transaction. Snitoff defaulted, and on June 30, 1970, the circuit court of Cook County entered an order which adjudged Lake City to be the owner of the beneficial interest of the land trust in question, Michigan Avenue National Bank of Chicago Land Trust No. 1274. Michigan Avenue, the trustee, was notified of the change of ownership, and adjusted its records accordingly.

Two years later, on September 27, 1972, National Republic Bank obtained a judgment against Lee J. Snitoff in the circuit court of Cook County, and initiated supplementary proceedings. Michigan Avenue National Bank was served with a summons to appear at a hearing on a citation to discover Snitoff’s assets. An officer from Michigan Avenue’s trust department appeared at the hearing with the bank’s records relating to Snitoff’s land trusts, and particularly trust no. 1274. Republic did not know about trust 1274 until the trust officer disclosed its existence, and the officer did not inform either Republic or the trial court that Snitoff’s interest had already been assigned to Lake City. Acting under the belief that Snitoff, the judgment debtor, owned a beneficial interest in trust 1274, but not having personally examined the trust file which reflected the assignment, Republic’s counsel obtained an order from the trial court which directed Michigan Avenue to “convey instanter by assignment the interest of the defendant Lee J. Snitoff, in and to said trusts to the Sheriff of Cook County,” to be sold by the sheriff at a public sale. Michigan Avenue then conveyed to the sheriff a 70% beneficial interest in trust 1274, “per Order of Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois Case No. 72L12789, dated October 27, 1972.” Michigan Avenue executed an affidavit contemporaneously with the assignment which stated that Michigan Avenue had made no previous assignments of the beneficial interest. The sheriff of Cook County sold the assigned beneficial interest in trust 1274 and three other land trusts at a public sale to Republic, which was the highest bidder. Republic bid $40,000 for the interests in the land trusts, paid from a portion of its judgment against Snitoff. On November 17, 1972, the trial court confirmed the sale of Snitoffs interest in the land trusts. On February 20, 1973, Michigan Avenue conveyed its legal interest in the real estate it held in trust 1274 to a nominee of Republic, at Republic’s direction. Shortly thereafter, Republic’s nominee conveyed the real estate to Chicago Title & Trust Company as trustee for tire National Republic Bank of Chicago.

On May 2, 1973, Lake City filed suit, asking for the return of its real estate from defendant banks. Republic filed a cross-complaint against Michigan Avenue upon the theory that if Republic were compelled to return the property, Michigan Avenue should be liable for the market value of the property because Michigan Avenue acted negligently in allowing the sale to proceed while it knew that Snitoff, the judgment debtor, did not own the property which was sold. Republic also claimed from Michigan Avenue its legal costs in the matter plus the real estate taxes and trustee’s fees paid incidental to its ownership of the beneficial interest. After hearing the evidence and listening to arguments of counsel, the trial court returned the parties to their respective positions before the sale, with the exception that none of the parties could recover its legal fees. Lake City received the land and Republic received from Lake City an amount equal to the taxes and trustee’s fees it paid on the property. Republic appeals.

As we view the facts of this case, Republic purchased Snitoff’s interest in trust 1274. Under the law, a purchaser at a judicial sale is subject to the rule of caveat emptor; the court does not warrant the title to the property sold. (Checkley & Company, Inc. v. Citizens National Bank of Decatur (1969), 43 Ill.2d 347.) Since Snitoff owned no beneficial interest in trust 1274 at the time of tire sale, it follows that Republic received only that title which Snitoff owned. In other words, Republic purchased a worthless interest since Lake City owned what was once Snitoff’s interest. Since Snitoff was a judgment debtor before the court, the circuit court had jurisdiction to sell Snitoff’s property at a judicial sale so that the sale of Snitoffs worthless interest in trust 1274 was proper, albeit useless.

The legal problem arose when Michigan Avenue conveyed the res of trust 1274 to Republic’s nominee on February 20, 1973. Michigan Avenue was holding the real estate as trustee for Lake City, the acknowledged assignee of SnitofFs beneficial interest. According to the terms of the trust agreement which was introduced into evidence, Michigan Avenue agreed to “deal with said real estate only when authorized to do so in writing” by the beneficiary of the trust. On February 20, 1973, Republic was not a beneficiary of the trust; the beneficiary was Lake City. Michigan Avenue improperly conveyed the realty to Republic’s nominee without Lake City’s consent.

Lake City’s complaint in chancery prayed for a mandatory injunction directing defendants to return the real estate in question, for a money judgment for reasonable attorneys fees and costs against defendants for their wrongful acts, and for any other just and proper relief. The trial court granted the injunctive relief sought. The applicable rule is well stated at 35 Ill. L. & Pr. Trusts § 225 (1958):

“As a general rule, as long as superior rights of innocent third persons have not intervened and the property can be traced and identified, a cestui que trust may, in chancery, follow and recover, or impress a trust on, trust funds or property which have been diverted, regardless of the form into which they have been converted or into whose hands they have come.”

Such is the rule followed by this court in In re Estate of Joseph (1961), 30 Ill.App.2d 492, 495. The trustee, Michigan Avenue, conveyed the trust res to Republic’s nominee at Republic’s request without the beneficiary’s consent. The trust res was easily traced to another land trust of which Republic held the beneficial interest.

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Bluebook (online)
337 N.E.2d 251, 33 Ill. App. 3d 100, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 3121, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lake-city-corp-v-michigan-avenue-national-bank-illappct-1975.