Warner v. Dworsky

98 F. Supp. 466, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2250
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedJune 22, 1951
DocketCiv. No. 3165
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 98 F. Supp. 466 (Warner v. Dworsky) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Warner v. Dworsky, 98 F. Supp. 466, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2250 (mnd 1951).

Opinion

NORDBYE, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff is the trustee in bankruptcy for Hyman Cohen, who did business as the American Footwear Company. By an amended complaint plaintiff alleges that on or about June 2, 1947, the defendant Sachs (acting individually and as attorney for the North Union Company), the defendant Nathanson (acting individually and as attorney for A. B. Saltzman and Grace B. Wright), and the defendant Carl K. Lifson, conspired together and with the other defendants herein and induced the debtor Cohen to execute to Sachs, Nathan-son, and Lifson as common-law trustees a trust deed of Cohen’s property, including the merchandise in question here. The merchandise involved was a type not exempt from liability for Cohen’s debts in bankruptcy proceedings. The North Union Company and A. B. Saltzman and Grace B. Wright were creditors of Cohen at that time. Plaintiff alleges that the trust deed was obtained by the trustees in fraud of Cohen’s other creditors and as a part of the conspiracy among the defendants to defraud, hinder, and delay Cohen’s other creditors. After receiving the deed, plaintiff charges, the common-law trustees, acting in reliance on the deed and pursuant to their conspiracy, transferred, assigned, and delivered to North Union Company, to Grace B. Wright and A. P. Saltzman, and to a concern known as the Sales Enterprise, certain footwear and allied merchandise owned by Cohen and which possessed a total reasonable market value of $157,206.64. Plaintiff charges that the transferees knew of the common-law trustee’s fraudulent intent and that the transfers of t)he merchandise were made without fair consideration and rendered Cohen insolvent in violation of law.

Plaintiff alleges that by the transfer from the trustees to the defendants and others, Cohen’s other creditors were defrauded, hindered, and delayed in the collection of the debts due them from Cohen, which were and are provable debts in bankruptcy proceedings.

The bankrupt Cohen was not a party to the fraudulent transactions between the common-law trustees and the defendants, and assigned his property to the trustees in good faith, according to the complaint herein. In fact, the amended complaint sets forth with considerable detail that the trust deed was procured from Cohen by false and fraudulent representations and that the trustees concealed from him their intention to make the fraudulent transfers which form the basis of this action. Plaintiff bases his action upon Section 70, sub. e of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C.A. § 110, sub. e, and alleges violation of the Minnesota Fraudulent Conveyances Act, Minn. Stat. of 1949, Sec. 513.23, et seq., M.S.A. Recovery of the goods allegedly transferred in fraud of Cohen’s other creditors is prayed. In the alternative, damages in the amount of $157,206.64 are requested.

Defendants move for dismissal of the action upon the grounds that this Court lacks [468]*468jurisdiction over this action, and that the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can he granted.

Section 70, sub. e of the Bankruptcy Act states the basis upon which this Court’s jurisdiction must be predicated. It provides,

“e. (1) A transfer made or suffered or obligation incurred by a debtor adjudged a bankrupt under this Act, which, under any Federal or State law applicable thereto, is fraudulent as against or voidable for any other reason by any creditor of the debtor, having a claim provable under this Act, shall be null and void as against the trustee of such debtor.

“(2) All property of the debtor affected by any such transfer shall be and remain a part of his assets and estate, discharged and released from such transfer and shall pass to, and every such transfer or obligation shall be avoided by the trustee for the benefit of the estate. The trustee shall reclaim and recover such property or collect its value from and avoid such transfer or obligation against whomever may hold or have received it, except a person as to whom the transfer or obligation specifiéd in paragraph (1) of this subdivision e is valid under applicable Federal or State laws.

“(3) For the purpose of such recovery or of the avoidance of such transfer or obligation, where plenary proceedings are necessary, any State court which would have had jurisdiction if bankruptcy had not intervened and any court of bankruptcy shall have concurrent jurisdiction.”

Section 11, sub. 30, of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C.A. § 11, sub. 30, provides, “ ‘Transfer’ shall include the sale and every other and different mode, direct or indirect, of disposing of or of parting with property or with an interest therein or with the possession thereof or of fixing a lien upon property or upon an interest therein, absolutely or conditionally, voluntarily or involuntarily, by or without judicial proceedings, as a conveyance, sale, assignment, payment, pledge, mortgage, lien, encumbrance, gift, security, or otherwise”.

Defendants contend that no transfer was “made or suffered” by the bankrupt as required by Section 70, sub. e and therefore that this Court lacks jurisdiction. Plaintiff, on the other hand, urges that because Cohen, by the assignment to the common-law trustees, placed within their hands the power to make a fraudulent conveyance, he “suffered” a transfer when they did dispose of that property in fraud of some of his creditors. Cohen placed the power to make fraudulent conveyances in the trustees’ hands, the plaintiff urges, by an assignment which made them his attorneys in fact with full power to do all things necessary in conducting the trusteeship and fulfilling the conditions of the assignment. Plaintiff also urges that Cohen “made” the transfer because the common-law trustees were his agents.

This action has been presented to this Court upon the jurisdiction issue previously with respect to Count VI of the original complaint. This Court then held that Cohen had “suffered” a transfer upon those allegations. 91 F.Supp. 884. Count VI of the original complaint alleged only that defendants had wrongfully taken merchandise from Cohen through self-help. It did not allege the existence of the common-law trusteeship which is alleged by this amended complaint now before the Court. However, the question presented now is essentially similar to that presented originally. For in both complaints a wrongful appropriation without the consent or participation of the debtor is alleged. The plaintiff here relies upon the transfer from the trustees to the other defendants as the transfer which was fraudulent as against the creditors. Consequently, the basic question here is similar to the one presented previously, and this motion presents essentially a request for reconsideration of this Court’s previous decision.

Defendants cite several cases which were decided under the bankruptcy statutes as they existed prior to the enactment of the Chandler Act. They are Park v. Cameron, 237 U.S. 616, 35 S.Ct. 719, 59 L.Ed. 1147; Harris v. First National Bank, 216 U.S. 382, 30 S.Ct. 296, 54 L.Ed. 528; Waite v. Gottstein, D.C., 224 F. 281; Siegel v. Municipal Capital Corp., 2 Cir.; 102 F.2d 905. These cases held that without the' consent [469]*469or participation of the debtor, no transfer is made by the debtor within the meaning of Section 70, sub. e.

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Bluebook (online)
98 F. Supp. 466, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2250, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/warner-v-dworsky-mnd-1951.