Rugen v. Van Berschot

274 Ill. App. 359, 1934 Ill. App. LEXIS 742
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 14, 1934
DocketGen. No. 36,820
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 274 Ill. App. 359 (Rugen v. Van Berschot) 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
Rugen v. Van Berschot, 274 Ill. App. 359, 1934 Ill. App. LEXIS 742 (Ill. Ct. App. 1934).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Wilson

delivered the opinion of the court.

This was an action brought by George Rugen and Amanda Rugen, his wife, against Arthur L. Van Berschot and E. B. Harrell and others in the superior court of Cook county, on the chancery side, to restrain the enforcement of a judgment .of the superior court in a proceeding which had been instituted by themselves against the defendant Harrell, and also praying in their bill of complainant for the rescission of a contract between Amanda Rugen and Perry Perkins. Perkins, one of the defendants, was never served with process and others of the defendants took no part in the trial and this appeal is prayed, allowed, and perfected by Van Bersehot and Harrell.

The amended bill charged that George Rugen and Amanda Rugen were the owners of promissory notes of the value of $30,000; that on or about the 8th day of June, 1931, Van Bersehot, Perkins and Harrell entered into a conspiracy and conspired together for the purpose of gaining possession of the notes of the complainants. The foundation of the bill seems to be based upon the wooing of the complainant, Amanda Rugen, by the defendant Van Bersehot during which he expressed his affections for her and caused her to place faith and confidence in him. The complainant, Amanda Rugen, relying upon these representations and manifestations of affection, entered into an agreement with Van Bersehot under which the complainants agreed to purchase approximately 71 acres of land in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, and in consideration therefore to exchange a residence located in Des Plaines, Illinois, together with $27,000 of the notes in question and $3,000 in mortgage notes.

It is not clear from the bill just what the fraud practiced upon George Rugen was, but it is evident that he is seeking to avail himself of the promises of Van Bersehot to marry his, Rugen’s, wife.

The bill also charges that at the time Amanda Rugen signed the contract she did not have her glasses with her and therefore could not read the agreement.

Before discussing the evidence it might be well to consider the original proceeding which was started in the superior court by the complainants as a suit in replevin against Harrell, the holder of the notes. There is no direct evidence that Harrell participated in any conspiracy. The complainant had no talks or dealings with' him and, so far as is disclosed, his only connection with the defendants appears to have been that he had driven the car of Perkins when he, Perkins, took the parties out to view land situated in the Rio Grande Valley.

Harrell testified that he had lived at Mercedes, Texas, for 9 or 10 years and was in the container business and prior to that in the produce business; that he was the owner of the notes totaling about $14,500 which he had obtained from Perkins, and that as a consideration he gave to Perkins $5,000 of Mercedes Development Company stock and $4,700 worth of Hidalgo County Road and Bridge Warrants. There is. no testimony as to the value of the stock and warrants other than that of Harrell, who testified they were worth their face value. He also testified that he had been in business in Texas and owned land on which he employed others to do the work. He sent the notes for collection through the Hidalgo County Bank & Trust Co. to the Continental Bank of Chicago as they became due, but they were not paid. Subsequently, Van Bersehot, who was in Chicago, wired stating that he had a sale for the notes and that if he, Harrell, would bring them to Chicago he would be able to sell them. Thereupon, he came to Chicago and was introduced to a Mr. Schmidt who told him there would be a delay of a few days and he was taken by a Mr. Branower to an office in Chicago where he was introduced to a man who told him he was the secretary to the man who was to purchase, the notes and seated that he wished to check them over; that thereupon, he, Harrell, laid his notes on the desk and they checked them over and asked him in what form he wanted the money, and just then the man who said he represented the one who was to purchase the notes told him he was from the State’s attorney’s office and had a writ of replevin and several deputy sheriffs appeared on the scene and read this writ to him; that he accompanied the deputy sheriff to the office of the sheriff, but they would not give him a receipt for -the notes. This transaction took place in the office of Branower, who appears to have been an indorser on the back of the notes held by Harrell. The defendant, Harrell, was served as John Doe, and it appears that one Jacob Kosbie, one of the solicitors for complainants here, and the attorney in the replevin suit for the plaintiffs, either served the writ or was present at the time.

The entire transaction shows on its face that no person intended to purchase the notes and that Harrell was induced to come into the jurisdiction of the courts of Cook county by a subterfuge and was met by a summons made out to John Doe, defendant, as a result of which he found himself a party to the replevin suit brought by the Rugens.

While the value of the notes was over $10,000, the bond to the sheriff was for only $5,000, although the statute required a bond in twice the amount of the value of the property replevined. This all took place about August 1, 1931, although the sheriff did not return the replevin writ with his indorsement thereon together with a statement of the bond until April, 1932, and then only in answer to a petition filed by Harrell in the replevin suit. On motion of Harrell in the superior court in the replevin suit an order was entered requiring the plaintiffs to furnish a proper bond of $40,000. This plaintiffs failed to do and an order was entered in that court dismissing the replevin action and an order of retorno habendo entered of record. No appeal was perfected from this order although prayed and as it stood it was complete with a judgment for costs against the plaintiffs. This final order was entered May 17, 1932, but in the meantime on May 4 of that year, this bill of complaint was filed in the superior court and a temporary injunction secured from Judge Lindsay without notice. At the time of obtaining the temporary injunction a bond of only $500 was required and furnished. On motion of the defendant Harrell this injunction was dissolved on May 16, 1932, by Judge Lindsay. Subsequently and long after the judgment retorno habendo, Judge Gentzel, sitting in chancery, granted another injunction on an amended bill of complaint on the filing of a $5,000 bond which, in effect, restrained the sheriff of Cook county from turning over the notes under the order of Judge Steffen. Thereupon Van Bersehot asked for and obtained the appointment of a receiver to hold the notes.

We are at the outset of this case confronted with the unique position of finding a complainant who had elected to bring an action at law in replevin, after being defeated in that action, asking by a bill in chancery in a court of concurrent jurisdiction that the execution of the judgment be restrained. We are familiar with the rule that where a party who has been made defendant in a proceeding at law comes into chancery and sets up facts showing that he has a good defense to the action which is not cognizable at law, that a court of equity will take jurisdiction of the matter.

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Bluebook (online)
274 Ill. App. 359, 1934 Ill. App. LEXIS 742, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rugen-v-van-berschot-illappct-1934.