New York Security & Trust Co. v. Lipman

36 N.Y.S. 355, 98 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 554, 71 N.Y. St. Rep. 193, 91 Hun 554
New York Supreme Court·Decided December 18, 1895·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

PARKER, J.

This suit was brought on the equity side of the court, for the purpose of obtaining a determination of all controversy relating to the title of the proceeds of 200 bales of burlap which had been sold by the plaintiff under a warehouse receipt, issued by the Terminal Warehouse Company. The plaintiff claimed to be entitled to the greater part of the proceeds. Some 30 of the defendants each preferred a claim to the proceeds of some portion of the 200 bales. The several claims of these appellants were as follows: Antony Gibbs & Sons asserted title to 15 of the bales, the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation to 22 bales, Cotesworth & Powell to 9 bales, and each party claimed to be entitled to the proceeds of the sale of the several bales to which they asserted ownership.

The point is made by one of the appellants that no case was made for any relief in equity, and that the complaint should' have been dismissed, citing the decision of this court in Trust Co. v. Blydenstein, 70 Hun, 216, 24 N. Y. Supp. 164. Blydenstein & Co. opposed a motion made in this suit for a preliminary injunction restraining any of the defendants from prosecuting any other suit against the plaintiff affecting the title to any of the 200 bales. Their opposition was unsuccessful at the special term, and Blydenstein & Co. appealed, resulting in a reversal of the order, so far as they were concerned, at general term. This order was subsequently affirmed in thé court of appeals. 139 N. Y. 657, 35 N. E. 208. Had the appellant who now makes the point seasonably made-objection that an action in equity would not lie, the decision of the court in Blydenstein’s appeal would sustain his position. But all of the defendants, except Blydenstein & Co., seem to have acquiesced in the form of the action; and this appellant did not, by his answer, raise the question whether the suit was properly brought on the equity side of 'the court. Nor do we find in the record that he made such an objection during the progress of the trial. It is now too late to make the objection for the first time, and as to these appellants it must be held that the form of the action is good. Town of Mentz v. Cook, 108 N. Y. 504, 15 N. E. 541; Ostrander v. Weber, 114 N. Y. 95, 21 N. E. 112.

After the decision of the court of appeals on the appeal of Blydenstein & Co., to which we have referred, they prosecuted their action in the federal court against the trust company (this plaintiff), for a conversion of the proceeds of the bales claimed by them; and it resulted in a judgment in favor of the trust company. 59 Fed. 12. Subsequently this judgment was affirmed in the circuit court of appeals. 67 Fed. 469. The decision of the special term is based upon the decision of that court, and we should be content to rest an [357]*357affirmance of the judgment upon the discussion of the court in that case were it not that the appellants apparently take a different position than did the counsel for Blydenstein & Co. in the circuit court of appeals. The argument of the court in Blydenstein’s Case, leading to the conclusion that these appellants- had so clothed Lipman & Co. with the indicia of ownership, as to the bales of burlap in question, as to protect any one who, within the terms of the factors’ act, dealt with Lipman & Co. upon the faith of such apparent ownership, seems to us conclusive. The appellants have apparently reached the same conclusion, for neither of them, on this- appeal, undertakes any discussion of that question. On the contrary, one of the counsel states in his brief that:

“It may very well be, if Lipman & Company had sold the goods, and had been paid for them, or had pledged them to some one who had parted with something on the faith of their possession, the title of Gibbs & Sons and the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation would have been lost; but this would be because they would be estopped under the factors’ act.”

While a discussion of that question is now wholly undesirable, for the reasons given, it is, nevertheless, necessary to state briefly the leading facts, in order to appreciate fully the questions which the appellants bring to our attention.

September 7, 1892, Lipman & Co. issued their notes for $50,000 to the New York Security & Trust Company, the plaintiff. As security for the loan, Lipman & Co. pledged to the trust company 500 bales of burlap, in the bonded warehouse of the Terminal Warehouse Company of New York City. The evidence of the pledge consisted of five negotiable warehouse receipts-, for 100 bales each, issued by the Terminal Warehouse Company. Each of the receipts bore the date of December 1, 1891, at which time they were issued to Lipman & Co., and by them, at about that time, delivered to the plaintiff, as collateral for a loan of .like amount with that made on September 7, 1892. In October and November, 1892, Lipman & Co. reduced the amount of the loan by payments aggregating $30,000, and received from the plaintiff three of the warehouse receipts, representing 300 of the 500 bales of burlap. The situation of the loan on December 15, 1892, was that Lipman & Co. still owed the trust company, on account of the loan, $20,000; and its security consisted of the pledge of 200 bales of burlap, which was represented by the warehouse receipts. These receipts were in the name of Lipman & Co., which firm had indorsed them in blank. On the day last named, the trust company presented the two receipts at the warehouse, and received in exchange a single warehouse receipt for 200 bales, made out in its own name. Shortly prior to this action being taken, Lipman & Co. failed, without having paid the $20,000 then owing to the plaintiff on account of the loan. Thereafter the 200 bales were sold, the amount realized being $22,823.84. The judgment directs the payment of plaintiff’s claim in full, and awards to the appellants a pro rata share in the sum remaining after satisfying plaintiff’s claim. The appellants severalty insisted then, as now, that they should each receive the total proceeds of the bales which they claimed to own.

[358]*358In order to avoid confusion, we shall only discuss the facts relating to the claim of Antony Gibbs & Sons. Their case is taken,' rather than that of the other appellants, because in its facts it is, at least, as favorable to the position taken by the appellants as any. The bales claimed by Antony Gibbs & Sons were stored in the Terminal Warehouse Company’s warehouse on the 8th day of December, 1892, three months after the loan by the trust company was made, and only seven days before it surrendered to the warehouse company the warehouse receipts, which had been indorsed to it in blank by Lipman & Co., and received from the warehouse company a receipt, in its own name, for the 200 bales. When the last-named warehouse receipts were given, there were but 200 bales of burlap which had been stored there by Lipman & Co., and included among the 200 bales were the 15 bales of Antony Gibbs & Sons, which Lip-man & Co. stored in the warehouse seven days before.

As we have already observed, the appellants, in effect, concede that notwithstanding Antony Gibbs & Sons were the owners of the 15 bales stored December 8th by their factors,. Lipman & Co., still they had so clothed Lipman & Co. with the indicia of title that, had the plaintiff thereafter made a loan to Lipman & Co.

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New York Security & Trust Co. v. Lipman, 36 N.Y.S. 355, 98 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 554, 71 N.Y. St. Rep. 193, 91 Hun 554 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1895).

36 N.Y.S. 355 (New York Security & Trust Co. v. Lipman) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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