Merchants' Bank of St. Joseph v. Crysler

67 F. 388, 14 C.C.A. 444, 1895 U.S. App. LEXIS 2760
Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit·Decided April 3, 1895·No. No. 521·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

THAYER, Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal from a final order in an equity case allowing Charles S. Crysler, one of the appellees, $5,000 as an attorney’s fee, in addition to amounts previously allowed, for services by him rendered to the receiver appointed in said case. The allowance was made under the following circumstances: In the month of June, 1893, a bill was filed by Ezra V. Snively against the Loomis Coal Company to establish and to enforce a vendor’s lien against the property of the coal company, and at the instance of the complainant, James A. Bovard, who has since died, was appointed receiver of all its property and effects, consisting of coal lands and mines, a store, and the usual tools and appliances for operating coal mines. By an order made in the case on June 30,1893, the receiver was authorized to employ said Charles S. Crysler, the appellee, as his attorney, to represent the interests of the trust estate in the receiver’s charge. Subsequently, on March 3, 1894, the present appellants, the Merchants’ Bank of St. Joseph and the First National Bank of Hannibal, Mo., who held mortgages on the coal lands in question to the amount of about $40,000, includ[389] ing interest, were allowed to intervene in the canse for the protection of their interests. On April 3 6, 1894, a decree was entered by-consent of all parties in interest, which provided, in substance, that the property in the hands of the receiver should be sold at public sale by a commissioner appointed for that purpose, and that the proceeds of the sale should be distributed in the manner following; First, to the payment of all costs and expenses in the case, including compensation to the receiver and his attorney, and such indebtedness as the receiver had lawfully contracted while in control of the property; second, to the payment of the interveners’ mortgages; third, to the payment of a judgment lien on a portion of the lands held by the appellant herein, John Vaughn; fourth, to the payment of the vendor’s lien held by the complainant, Snively; the residue of the fund, if any, to be paid to the Loomis Coal Company. On the last day of the same term, to wit, on June 2,1894, on an oral motion made by the receiver’s attorney, without notice to the appellants, the circuit court allowed the receiver and his attorney each §5,000 as compensation, in addition to the compensation theretofore allowed to them, arid at the same time it approved certain lengthy reports that had been filed by the receiver. Previous to making this order, and on December 5, 3893, the court had made an order allowing the receiver to pay to himself, out of the funds in his hands, §250 per month, as compensation, from the date of his appointment, and to pay to his attorney, said Charles S. Crysler, §100 per month from the date of his appointment, and to continue such payments to himself and his attorney until further order. The appellants herein made a motion on June 11, 1894, which was duly served on the appellees, to have the court vacate the final allowance in the sum oí §5,000 that was made to said Crysler on June 2, 1894, alleging as a ground for said motion that the allowance was irregularly made without notice; that the interveners were interested in the amcaflt of said allowance; and that they desired to he heard in relation thereto. This motion was denied by the circuit court on July 2, 3884, and the interveners prayed for an appeal, which was allowed.

The question does not arise upon this appeal as to whether the allowance made to the appellee Crysler was reasonable in amount: or otherwise. No testimony was offered on that point. When the motion to vacate the allowance and to grant a rehearing was heard, the interveners insisted that the allowance was irregularly made; that their interests were vitally affected by the amount of the allow - ance; and that they were entitled to notice of the motion for additional compensation, and to an opportunity to be heard before a motion of that nature could be regularly tried and determined. The circuit court apparently took a different view, holding that it was a motion which could be heard by the court ex parte without notice. It accordingly denied a rehearing, and ordered the allowance to stand on such evidence as may have been offered when the allowance was made, which evidence, however, is not contained in the record. If the circuit court -was right in the above view, then the order must be affirmed; otherwise it must be reversed. It is familiar learning [390] that all motions which may be made during the progress of an equity case are classified as “motions of course” or “special motions." To the former class belong all of those which are granted “without the court being called upon to investigate the truth of any allegation or suggestion upon which they are founded”, to the latter class belong all of those applications addressed to the chancellor, which he may or may not grant in his discretion, and which usually involve an investigation of the facts or circumstances on which the application is predicated. Daniell, Ch. Pl. & Prac. (5th Ed.) 1592, 1593. Special motions are subdivided into two kinds: Those which may be granted ex parte, and those which require notice of their presentation and hearing. It is obvious that the motion with which we are concerned in the case in hand was not a motion grant-able of course because it involved the production of evidence and a judicial inquiry into the nature and extent of the services that had been rendered by the appellees and the value thereof. The only point that admits of any controversy is whether it was a special motion of the kind that can regularly be heard ex parte. Mr. Daniels says that it is impossible to lay down any clear rule defining such special motions as may properly be heard ex parte, but that any application addressed to a chancellor concerning proceedings to be taken in a pending case, that is not regulated by some general order or by any clearly-defined rule of practice, must be made on notice. Daniel, Ch. Pl. & Prac. 1593. Also in Isnard v. Cazeaux, 1 Paige, 39, it was held that notice of every application for an order must be given to the opposite party, in case he has appeared, where the motion relates to any matter pending in court, or where a final order is sought, orders for time and those of a like nature alone excepted; otherwise the applicant or petitioner will only be entitled to an order nisi. See, also, Marshall v. Mellersh, 5 Beav. 496, and Hart v. Small, 4 Paige, 551.

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Merchants' Bank of St. Joseph v. Crysler, 67 F. 388, 14 C.C.A. 444, 1895 U.S. App. LEXIS 2760 (8th Cir. 1895).

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