Lime Rock Bank v. Phetteplace & Seagrave

8 R.I. 56
Supreme Court of Rhode Island·Decided March 15, 1864·Published

Opinion

Ames, C. J.

The surplus which is the subject of this suit, is, without doubt, the properly of the late firm of Seagrave & Steere. It is a portion of the proceeds of their mill estate, which was purchased for the use of the firm, and wholly paid for out of its funds, and greatly enhanced in value by the large expenditures of the firm upon it. This estate was always treated by Seagrave & Steere as a part of their company property; used exclusively in their business ; inventoried as a part of their common stock; insured as the property of the firm; and mortgaged to secure, and assigned to pay, the company’s debts and liabilities. The fact that the legal title to the estate was originally taken in the names of the members of the firm as tenants in common, and when their assignment was released, was returned to them in that character, cannot countervail the decisive presumption aris[60] ing from the source of the funds out of which it was purchased, and the purpose for which it was bought, and to which it was applied, that it was intended to be held as partnership property. The copartners are regarded, in equity, in a case like the present, as trustees merely of the legal title for the uses of the firm; and as this title has been sold by the plaintiffs under a power contained in a mortgage, for the 'payment of a debt of the firm, the surplus of the proceeds of sale, in the hands of the plaintiffs, must be applied to those uses. Tillinghast, Receiver, v. Champlin and others, 4 R. I. Rep. 173, 205-213, and cases cited.

The decision of this question decides all the'other questions raised in the case. It denies the claim of the plaintiffs to retain out of the surplus an individual debt, due to them by Josiah Seagrave, one of the copartners, and the claim of his administrator to, and of his widow to be endowed out of, any portion of the same, in derogation of the rights of the creditors of Seagrave & Steere. It affirms the title of Thomas C. Greene to the surplus, as assignee in trust for the creditors of the firm, under a deed of assignment executed to him by Marquis D. E. Steere, surviving partner of the late firm of. Seagrave & Steere, on the fourth day of October, 1861.

Let a decree be entered, ordering the plaintiffs to pay over to said Thomas C. Greene, assignee as aforesaid, the surplus of the proceeds of sale of the mill estate in the pleadings mentioned by them received, after retaining therefrom the amount of the mortgage of Seagrave & Steere, held by them, with the expenses of sale and all just allowances, and deducting therefrom the amount by them paid to Pbetteplace & Seagrave, under the decree of this court, in full of the sum ascertained to be due to them under their mortgage. If the parties cannot agree to these amounts, the case must be sent to a master to settle them.

As the bill is an amicable one, and filed at the request of the parties to ascertain their respective rights to said surplus, let the costs of the plaintiffs, of Pbetteplace & Seagrave, and of Thomas 0. Greene, assignee, be paid out of the same, and let the decree provide, that as to the said Jacob 0. Seagrave and Phebe H. B. Seagrave, neither party shall recover costs.

[61] The case came again before tbe court, at its March term at Providence, 1864, upon an agreed statement of facts, made by tbe parties in lieu of tbe report of a master, for tbe purpose of exhibiting to tbe court tbe several allowances claimed by tbe plaintiffs out of tbe surplus in their bands, and tbe objections thereto, and counter claims made by tbe assignee of tbe late firm of Seagrave & Steere. From tbe statement of facts, it appeared, that in addition to tbe amount of their own mortgage, with interest, assigned to them by J. C. Howe & Co., and tbe amount of tbe mortgage of Phetteplace & Seagrave, paid as aforesaid, under an interlocutory decree of tbe court, tbe plaintiff bank claimed to retain out of tbe surplus a considerable amount, arranged in eleven items, embracing the expenses of advertising and selling tbe mortgaged property under tbe power, and making a title thereto to tbe purchaser, which included an item of $800, to A. Fiske and R. "W. Greene, for professional advice and services, about tbe same. Their claim also embraced an item of $781.75, with interest on tbe same, amounting to $10.95, for back premiums of insurance upon tbe mortgaged premises, paid by them on tbe twenty-third day of July, 1861, under circumstances set forth in tbe opinion of tbe court, and another item of $2,812.50, for five per cent, commission on tbe gross proceeds of sale of tbe mortgaged property, secured to them as tbe holders of tbe mortgage under which they sold,- by tbe express terms of that instrument. Tbe bank also claimed to retain, against tbe objection of tbe assignee of tbe creditors, a sum of $545, for tbe services of their counsel, H. W. Gfreene, in preparing, arguing and bringing to a decree, this bill in equity, brought by tbe assent of all parties thereto, for tbe purpose of settling all questions in issue between them, and denied that they were liable to tbe payment of any interest on tbe sum of money, or any portion of tbe same, received by them, and remaining in their bands, as tbe proceeds of sale of tbe mortgaged property. Tbe facts relative to tbe disputed items are sufficiently stated in tbe opinion of tbe court, to render tbe grounds of it intelligible.

B. W. Greene, for the Lime Boch JBanh:— I. The five per cent, commission on the gross amount of the sale, under the power contained in the mortgage, is expressly provided for in the agreement which accompanies, and forms a part of, the mortgage. See exhibit —, annexed to bill. It is the agreed compensation for the services and responsibility in making the sale. II. The credit of $781.75, and the interest thereon, amounting to $10.95, for insurance premium, is explained in the answer of Mr. Angelí, cashier, to the fourth interrogatory. III. The bill of E. W. Greene.. The first item of this account is for professional services, in relation to the execution of the power of sale by the Lime Eock Bank. The remaining charges relate to the present bill in equity. The bill was filed for the benefit of the trust fund in the hands of the bank, and the trust fund has had the benefit of the. proceeding. If we regard the present bill as a mere bill of interpleader, the plaintiffs are entitled to the expenses of counsel fees preliminary to the draft, and for the drawing and the filing of the bill, and the term fees thereon, and for such other professional services as may be necessary to protect the plaintiffs in the prosecution and final determination of the suit. IY. With regard to interest. The court are referred to Mr. John Angell’s (cashier of the Lime Eock Bank) answer to the second interrogatory, for an explanation of this subject:- — “This bank was ready, at any time and without previous notice, to pay the whole balance due whenever ordered by the court, either in funds of this city, New York or Boston, as the sum was held in reserve for payment on demand.” Withregardto the surplus, after the payment of Phetteplace & S.eagrave’s claim, the bank have always been prepared to pay. T. G. Greene, assignee, for the creditors of Seagrave & Steere:— The defendants object to certain charges made by the plaintiffs, as mortgagees of the Uxbridge Woolen Mills, upon the surplus funds in their possession.

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Lime Rock Bank v. Phetteplace & Seagrave, 8 R.I. 56 (R.I. 1864).

8 R.I. 56 (Lime Rock Bank v. Phetteplace & Seagrave) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.