Rindge v. Sandford

117 Mass. 460, 1875 Mass. LEXIS 265
CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
DecidedApril 12, 1875
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 117 Mass. 460 (Rindge v. Sandford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rindge v. Sandford, 117 Mass. 460, 1875 Mass. LEXIS 265 (Mass. 1875).

Opinion

Endicott, J.

This is a bill for instructions, brought by the plaintiffs as trustees, and parties of the first part to an indenture, wherein Joseph H. Sandford and others, partners under the style of Sandford, Soule & Co., are parties of the second part, ana certain other persons, firms and corporations, creditors of Sand-[461]*461ford, Soule & Co., are parties of the third part. By this indenture all the assets of Sandford, Soule & Co. are assigned and conveyed to the plaintiffs in trust to convert the same into money and to divide and pay over the proceeds, after deducting costs and charges, among the creditors of Sandford, Soule & Co.

The bill recites that with the property so transferred to them was a certain agreement made between Sandford, Soule & Co. and Gr. A. Walden, who was the owner of a woollen mill. By that agreement Sandford, Soule & Co. agreed to furnish Walden with stock and raw material to be manufactured by him at his mill, and to advance all sums of money necessary to pay workmen, and all other expenses incurred in the manufacture; and also to advance money to pay rent for the use of the mill, and interest which might fall due on a mortgage thereon. It is also expressly provided that all such stock and material, in all stages of manufacture and when manufactured, shall be at all times the property of Sandford, Soule & Co., and shall be consigned in their names to such parties as they shall direct, and that all advances made by the consignees of such goods shall be made to Sandford, Soule & Co., and all proceeds of sales shall belong to them. The agreement further sets forth that all materials so furnished shall be entered on their books as against Walden, but are to remain their property; also all money advanced shall be so entered ; and that all sums received from the sale of, or advanced upon the goods, are to be credited to him; and at the termination of the agreement Sandford, Soule & Co. are to account to Walden for all sums expended and received by them, and to pay over to Walden, “ in full for his services in the premises,” any balance found, over and above the cost and expense of stock and material, cash advanced, interest, commissions and other charges mentioned in the agreement; and it recites that no partnership or agency is created between the parties, but only an agreement to furnish materials to be manufactured and an agreement to manufacture. The agreement also provides that Walden shall, if requested, give to Sanford, Soule & Co. his notes for their use, not to exceed the value of the stock and materials furnished by them, which notes they may use or discount to raise money, but which are to be paid, when due, by Sandford, Soulo & Co.

[462]*462The bill then alleges that under this agreement large advances of materials and money were made by Sandford, Soule & Co., and goods manufactured were delivered to them as provided in the agreement; that at the date of the indenture of trust a large amount of goods so manufactured was in the hands of certain consignees, S. B. Hunt & Co., of New York, the net proceeds whereof had since been paid over to them as trustees; that at said date a large quantity of stock and other material furnished by Sandford, Soule & Co. was in the hands of Walden for manufacture, and in the various stages of manufacture ; that for the interest of the creditors it became necessary that the same should be manufactured; and that said trustees made the necessary advances for that purpose, as provided in the agreement with Walden, and the same was manufactured into goods, and duly consigned for sale to the same consignees in New York, and the net proceeds were received by the plaintiffs as trustees to be disposed of under the indenture.

It is also alleged that before the date of the assignment, Walden gave his notes to Sandford, Soule & Co., as provided in their agreement, and that at the date of the assignment there were notes of Walden’s outstanding, indorsed by Sandford, Soule & Co., to the amount of about $30,000, which had been used by Sandford, Soule & Co., and are now held by parties who had received or discounted the same. The names of these parties are recited in the bill, and they are all parties to the indenture as creditors of Sandford, Soule & Co. There were also four other notes of Walden’s, which came into the hands of the trustees, but which had never been discounted or used.

The plaintiffs then allege that the holders of these notes of Walden, indorsed by Sandford, Soule & Co., contend that they have the right to have the proceeds of all the goods manufactured by Walden, under his agreement with Sandford, Soule & Co., first appropriated to the payment of their notes, and that such proceeds should not be divided among the other creditors of Sandford, Soule & Co.; while the other creditors deny that they have any such right; and the plaintiffs say they are unable to determine as to the rights of the parties, and are liable to be harassed and put to cost and expense by reason of suits by the respective parties. All the creditors who are parties to the in[463]*463denture are named, and the bill prays they may be summoned and interplead as to their respective rights and equities in the proceeds of the goods manufactured by Walden, in the hands of the trustees.

The answer of Marshall P. Wilder and others, holders of the notes in question, sets forth that they are entitled exclusively to the proceeds of the sale of the goods manufactured by Walden, and are entitled to share with the other creditors their proportion of the other property in the hands of the trustees. The answer of George Love joy and others, the other creditors of Sandford, Soule & Co., parties to the indenture, denies that Marshall P. Wilder and others, holders of the notes of Walden, are entitled exclusively to the proceeds of the goods manufactured by Walden, but alleges that the same should be distributed equally among all the creditors. Both answers admit the facts stated in the plaintiffs’ bill.

The main question raised, and the only question argued before us, upon which the two classes of creditors are summoned to interplead, is whether the holders of Walden’s notes are entitled exclusively to the proceeds of the goods manufactured by him.

In support of their claim, the holders of these notes cite several English cases, and also two cases in our own reports. In Ex parte Waring, 19 Ves. 345, it was decided that securities held by a banker against his acceptances were available to the bill-holders, where the drawer and acceptor were bankrupt, to have the securities applied to the discharge of the acceptances. In Powles v. Hargreaves, 3 De G., M. & G. 430, the same principle was laid down, and it was held that it was not restricted to judicial bankruptcy, but applied where the parties were insolvent. See note to Powles v. Hargreaves, (Am. ed.) and cases cited. In a later English case, City Bank v. Luckie, L. R. 5 Ch. 773, it was said, in commenting on these cases, that the bill-holder comes in, not on account of any special lien he has upon the property so held by the acceptor, but because the acceptor holds a security which cannot be taken away until all liability on the bills is at an end. •

In Eastman v. Foster, 8 Met.

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Bluebook (online)
117 Mass. 460, 1875 Mass. LEXIS 265, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rindge-v-sandford-mass-1875.