United States v. Furniture Exchange, Inc.

193 F. Supp. 925, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5787
CourtDistrict Court, D. South Dakota
DecidedFebruary 20, 1961
DocketCiv. No. 762 W. D.
StatusPublished

This text of 193 F. Supp. 925 (United States v. Furniture Exchange, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. South Dakota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Furniture Exchange, Inc., 193 F. Supp. 925, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5787 (D.S.D. 1961).

Opinion

BECK, District Judge.

Acme Company, a corporation, is in this proceeding, as purchaser of the property described as “Lot 1” at the receivership sale on December 16, 1960, seeking an order vacating the sale and the refunding of its down payment, on the ground that indefiniteness and uncertainty in the description of the property rendered the sale void.

The contentions submitted in support of the relief sought may be summarized as follows: (1) lack of definiteness and certainty in the description of the property advertised for sale; (2) alleged failure by the receiver to inventory the property offered for sale; (3) alleged failure to take possession of it; (4) alleged nonexistence of a receiver’s inventory of the property at the time of sale; (5) existence only at the time of the sale of the Internal Revenue Service inventory of the property taken in August 1960; (6) alleged nondeliverance of the property to the receiver and failure to accept or to receipt for it; (7) alleged failure of the Internal Revenue Service inventory to correspond with the items of property which were on hand and for sale at the time of the sale; (8) alleged sale or sales by one Dorrance Dusek of much of the property before the receivership sale; (9) alleged intermingling after the sale of the receivership property with that of Dusek’s and (10) “that the Notice of Sale did not refer to or incorporate any inventory by reference, and therefore, your petitioner is unable to ascertain what property was intended to be sold by the receiver”, and the answering ones by the receiver: (1) that there is no merit to the claim that the description of the property was too indefinite and uncertain; (2) that the sale was made under the terms and provisions of the “notice of sale” and no others; (3) that the receiver is without notice of any other sale having been made or of any intermingling of property since the time of the sale; (4) that the property sold was that property which was at the locations specified in the notice; (5) that prospective bidders had ample opportunity to inspect the property at those locations and did in fact inspect it prior to the time of the sale and (6) that the agents and employees of the petitioner have in fact sold property out of said “Lot 1” which amounts to the sum of $7,183.50.

The record, insofar as it bears on the issues raised by those contentions, shows that the plaintiff and the defendants stipulated to the “order for appointment of receiver, with all the powers of a receiver in equity”, (Title 26, Sec. 7403, U.S. C.A.), to the order to sell personal property, to the form of the notice of re[927]*927ceiver’s sale by sealed bids, to the entry without hearing of the order confirming sale and to the form of notice of sale, which was as follows:

“United States District Court for the District of South Dakota Western Division
“United States of America, Plaintiff, -vs-Furniture Exchange, Inc., Fred Dusek, LaDonna Dobrusky, and others similarly situated, Defendants.
Civil No. 762 W.D. Notice of Receiver’s Sale by Sealed Bids.
“Pursuant to the order of the court, notice is hereby given that the undersigned receiver will sell at public sale, under sealed bids, which will be opened on the 16th day of December, 1960, at 2:00 P.M., at 717 Kansas City Street, Rapid City, South Dakota, the following described personal property:
“Lot No. 1 — Complete inventory of furniture, new and used, housed principally in two floors of the building of substantial size, known as 910 Main Street, Rapid City, South Dakota, and warehouse situated near what is known as 1415 Quincy Street, Rapid City, South Dakota which property has an approximate retail value of $147,150.00. * * *
“Said sale is without recourse or warranty of any kind, only the right, title and interest of Furniture Exchange, Inc., in and to the property is offered for sale.
“This property may be inspected by bona fide prospective purchasers after the date of this notice between the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M., M.S.T., or by making an appointment with the undersigned Receiver at 14 St. Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota, or his attorneys, Sieler & Brady, at 717 Kansas City Street, Rapid City, South Dakota.
“Sealed bids shall be in writing, describing the property on which the bid is being submitted, and indicating the full price therefor, and signed by the bidder, accompanied by a certified check or bank draft for at least ten per cent of said bid, said deposit to be made payable to John T. Vucurevich, Receiver. The terms of payment of the balance of the purchase price are cash. Failure to comply with said terms of payment will forfeit the deposit and the next highest bid will be considered. Bids must be submitted directly to Sieler & Brady at 717 Kansas City Street, Rapid City, South Dakota, prior to the time set for opening the bids.
“Dated at Rapid City, South Dakota, this 2nd day of December, 1960.
“John T, Vucurevich_
“John T. Vucurevich, Receiver.”
(Description of property not involved in this proceeding has been omitted).

[928]*928There is also in the record the receiver's receipt for the personal property covered by the United States tax lien, dated November 22, 1960, the stipulation dated December 7, 1960, regarding storing and confirmation, proof of advertising and mailing, proceedings at the time of the sale, including bids made, petitioner’s first bid, his four amended, his final one of $51,739.55, the report of receiver’s sale and petition for confirmation, Dusek’s letter showing discrepancies between the property listed in the Internal Revenue Service inventory and the property for sale and the fact of it having been read to the bidders before the sale was made, the notice to the purchasers at the sale that it would be confirmed within three days and the list of events, after the sale, shown in the supporting affidavits.

Counsel for both parties, in view of that record, admitted during oral argument, that many of those contentions had little if any bearing on the merits of the relief sought and that the granting thereof, in the main, depended on the description of the property in the notice of sale, being sufficiently definite and certain, with a further claim by the petitioner of certain alleged negligence on the part of the receiver also being relevant.

In that connection it is the petitioner’s viewpoint, based on dictionary definitions of the word “inventory”, that the description in the notice:

“Lot No. 1 — Complete inventory of furniture, new and used, housed principally in two floors of the building of substantial size, known as 919 Main Street, Rapid City, South Dakota, and warehouse situated near what is known as 1415 Quincy Street, Rapid City, South Dakota, which property has an approximate retail value of $147,-150.00.”,

must be construed as having had reference to the specific items listed in the Internal Revenue Service inventory, since the term inventory, according to the dictionary definition thereof and generally in the cases, is defined as:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
193 F. Supp. 925, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5787, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-furniture-exchange-inc-sdd-1961.