Smythe v. Chicago & S. R.

22 F. Cas. 710, 11 Chi. Leg. News 407
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the Northern District of Illnois
DecidedSeptember 15, 1879
StatusPublished

This text of 22 F. Cas. 710 (Smythe v. Chicago & S. R.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the Northern District of Illnois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smythe v. Chicago & S. R., 22 F. Cas. 710, 11 Chi. Leg. News 407 (circtndil 1879).

Opinion

DRUMMOND, Circuit Judge.

In 1873, the Chicago, Danville & Vincennes Railway Company, having the right to construct a railway from Chicago to Thornton (a distance of about 20 i/b miles), executed a deed of trust, under which certain bonds were issued, of which Loewenthall, one of the defendants, owns forty, of ifl,000 each. After the execution of this deed of trust, the C., D. & V. Railway Company in that year graded twelve miles of the road, and then was obliged to abandon its further construction on account of want of funds. The Chicago & Southern. Railroad Company was organized in 1874 to construct a road, over substantially the same route, and, in doing so, took possession of and used the grading, which was done in 1873 by the C., D. & Y. Railway Company. John B. Brown was the contractor of the Chicago & Southern Railroad Company, and, it is conceded, was entitled to the first lien on the whole line of road, the Loewenthall bonds being claimed to be a lien on the twelve miles, subject only to Brown’s lien. There was litigation in the state court, before this bill was filed, as to the rights of these parties, in which, among other things, Brown sought to enforce his prior equities. By a decree of the state court, he was adjudged to have a first lien on the entire railroad for the amount due to him. It was also decided that Loewen-thall’s forty bonds, and any other bonds given under his deed of trust, were a lien upon the twelve miles already graded by the C., D. & Y. Railway Company, subject to the lien of Brown, and that the rights of the Chicago & Southern Railroad Company, and [Henry A.] Smythe, the plaintiff in this ease, were subsequent in equity to the rights of Brown and Loewenthall. The plaintiff in this suit files a bill as the trustee of certain overdue bonds, issued on the first day of. April, 1S74, and under a deed of trust by the C. & S. R. R. Co. on the whole road from Chicago to Thornton. The litigation is still pending by appeal to the supreme court of the state, between the plaintiff and Loewen-thall, or those who claim under him, as to his right to a lien, as against the claim of the plaintiff here to the twelve miles of road graded by the C., D. & V. Company. On the 30th of March, 1S7S. Brown filed an intervening petition in this case, asking that the receiver, in whose possession the property had been placed, be required to sell the same, and that the money be brought into court, and his lien first paid. Upon this petition. [711]*711an order was made by this court, directing the receiver to sell the whole road, that Brown’s lien might be paid, and the remainder of the purchase money brought into court, subject to the equities of the various parties. The road was sold for $155,050.00.

The case was referred to the master to take the proofs and report to the court the relative value of the twelve miles covered by the Loewenthall decree and of the balance of the road, and the master has made and filed his report, in which he finds that the property was sold for its fair value; that the claim of Brown had been paid, and costs, and other items, amounting in all to $50,538.64, leaving a balance of the purchase money of $104,-511.36. He also reports that the value of the twelve miles covered by the Loewenthall decree was 39.4 per cent, of the value of the whole property sold, and that part of the balance should be held instead of the twelve miles of road, to await the final disposition of the Loewenthall decree; leaving 60.6 per cent, of the whole as the value of the remainder of the property and franchise sold. To this report various exceptions have been taken by the parties in interest, under which the controversy arises.

It perhaps ought to be stated, that in Octoer, 1874, the common council of the city of Chicago passed an ordinance giving permission and authorizing the Chicago & Southern Railroad Company to come into the city of Chicago with its road, and it is claimed by some of the counsel that this permission was an important element in the value of the property, and enhanced the price for which it was sold.

The principal objections made to the master’s report are, first, that he subjected the twelve miles of railroad, upon which the Loewenthall decree was a lien, to the payment of the amount due to Brown, whereas, that amount should have been paid out of the proceeds of that part of the railroad on which Loewenthall had no lien; and, secondly, that the master erred in deducting from the proceeds of the sale a large sum as the value of the authority or license granted by the common council of the city of Chicago, to the Chicago & Southern Railroad Company, and credited that amount to the proceeds of the eight miles of road not covered by the lien of Loewenthall.

As the parties now before the court were also parties to the litigation in the state court, we must assume that the decree of the state court, until reversed by the supreme court, is binding, and so concludes the plaintiff. in this case. As I understand, the counsel, who except to the master’s report, claim that the distribution of the funds arising from the sale should be made upon principles which have been long settled in courts of equity; that where there are two funds on which one party has a lien, and another party had a lien on one of the funds only for another debt, the latter has a right to compel the former to resort to the other fund in the first instance for satisfaction, whenever it will not operate to the prejudice of the party^ entitled to the double fund; and. where there is a lien upon an entire tract of land, as by a mortgage, and then a part of the land is sold by the mortgagor, it is the right of the purchaser to have that part of the land still remaining in the mortgagor first sold to satisfy the lien. If these principles apply to this case, then the objections to the master’s report ought to be sustained; and the 'question is whether they are applicable under the facts of the case.

As I understand, it is claimed that the price paid for the road should be averaged upon each mile of the whole road. That being done, and the state court having decided that Brown had the first lien upon the whole line of road, it is insisted his claim should be satisfied out of that part of the road upon which Loewenthall has no lien. Let us recur to the facts of this case. The Chicago, Danville & Vincennes Railway Company made the deed of trust under which Loewenthall claims, and in the bill which he filed in the state court, and under which, with other pleadings, the decree of the state court was made, alleged that the company had only expended abofit $15,000.00 in grading the road, and had th^n abandoned it; so that in equity the only fund upon which that deed of trust could attach was the grading and appendages which had been done. When the Chicago & Southern Railroad Company was organized, it .proceeded to build the whole line of road, with the grading, bridging, culverts, ties, iron, and all the necessary material to make it a finished railroad. It is true the state court has found that Brown had a lien upon the whole road; though it does not appear whether he was the contractor under which the twelve miles were graded by the C. D. & V. Railway Company. He was the contractor under which the remainder of the road was finished, and perhaps it is not important whether he was for both companies or not, as the court decided he had a lien upon the whole road, and it is conceded by parties to the litigation now before this court that his lien was prior to that of all others.

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Bluebook (online)
22 F. Cas. 710, 11 Chi. Leg. News 407, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smythe-v-chicago-s-r-circtndil-1879.