White v. Hardy

180 Misc. 63, 39 N.Y.S.2d 911, 1943 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1597
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 23, 1943
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 180 Misc. 63 (White v. Hardy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
White v. Hardy, 180 Misc. 63, 39 N.Y.S.2d 911, 1943 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1597 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1943).

Opinion

Benvenga, J.

The plaintiff, as Superintendent of Banks, sued to recover an assessment against stockholders of a bank in liquidation and obtained a judgment against defendant. From that judgment, defendant appealed. Pending appeal,-plaintiff sold and assigned the judgment; and defendant moves to have the assignees substituted as plaintiffs.

It is not disputed that the action is properly brought in the name of the Superintendent of Banks as plaintiff (Banking Law, § 113-a; Civ. Prac. Act, § 210); that, as Superintendent, he was authorized to sell and assign the judgment (Banking Law, § 632; Personal Property Law, § 41), and that the motion is properly made at Special Term of this court (Civ. Prac. Act, § 579; Campbell v. Friedlander, 51 App. Div. 191-193). But it is urged that the motion should be denied because the assignees do not wish to be substituted, and because, should the judgment be reversed, it is questionable whether the assignees could proceed with the new trial.

It is elementary that every action must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest,” unless it is otherwise expressly provided (Civ. Prac. Act, § 210), as in the instant situation (Banking Law, § 113-a). This rule abrogates the common-law principle and requires the assignee or transferee to bring action on any assigned claim or demand. The assignee in such a case is the real party in interest. He must bring the action in his name, and not in the name of the assignor, as at common law. (Foster v. Central Nat. Bank, 183 N. Y. 379, 384; Whiting v. Glass, 217 N. Y. 333, 335; 2 Carmody’s New York Practice, §§ 501, 502.)

[65]*65The Civil Practice Act also provides that where, during the pendency of the action, the interest of a party has been transferred, the action “may be continued by * * * the original party, unless the court directs the person to whom the interest is transferred * * * be substituted in the action.” (Civ. Prac. Act, § 83; Griswold v. Caldwell, 14 Misc. 299, 302.)

Therefore, reading sections 83 and 210 together, as they should be, it would seem that where, after the action is brought, the plaintiff transfers his interest in the claim or demand, it is then within the discretion of the court, depending upon the circumstances, whether the action should be continued in the name of the original party or in the name of the assignee or transferee. (Lawson v. Town of Woodstock, 37 Hun, 352, 353.)

It is true that in Rothbarth v. Herzfeld (159 App. Div. 732) doubt is expressed whether, under section 83 (supra), the assignee or transferee can be substituted or joined with the original plaintiff in the face of opposition on the part of the original plaintiff and the person sought to be substituted or joined (pp. 734, 735). In support of this dictum, the court said: “ Such is the effect of the decision in Lawson v. Town of Woodstock (37 Hun, 352), although the precise question was not presented. It was directly so held in Packard v. Wood (17 Abb. Pr. 318), and although the later case of De Bost v. Albert Palmer Co. (21 Wkly. Dig. 369) seems to hold that it lies within the discretion of the court whether such a substitution or joinder shall be made.”

The De Bost case is directly in point. The other cases are distinguishable. Thus, in the Rothbarth case (supra), defendants learned during the trial that plaintiffs had made a composition agreement with creditors and assigned the cause of action to trustees. Defendants then moved, under the Code of Civil Procedure, sections 452 and 453 (now Civ. Prac. Act, §§ 193, 219, 220), to bring in the trustees as additional parties plaintiff. It was held that those sections were inapplicable, and that the applicable provision was the Code of Civil Procedure, section 756 (now Civ. Prac. Act, § 83, supra). Then, referring to the latter provision, the Court gave utterance to the dictum in question.

i In the Lawson case (supra), plaintiff, after commencement of the action, made a general assignment for the benefit of creditors. Defendant obtained an order, over the objection of the assignee, staying all proceedings until the assignee should cause himself to be substituted as plaintiff. In holding that the stay was improvidently granted, the court pointed out that the [66]*66assignee “ has no personal interest in the matter, ’ ’ and, should he refuse to make himself a party, the action would be forever stayed; while, on the other hand, plaintiff “ is still interested in the claim,” and, should there be any surplus, it would go to him. Significantly, the court added: “It is possible that where the cause of action has been absolutely transferred an order of this kind would do no injustice. But that is not the present case.” (Italics supplied.) :

The Packard case (supra) construed the Code of Procedure, section 121, from which the Code of Civil Procedure, section 756 (now Civ. Prac. Act, § 83), was derived. That section (§ 121) provided that in case of any transfer of interest, other than by death, marriage, or other disability of a party, “ the action shall be continued in the name of the original party; or the court may allow the person to whom the transfer is made to be substituted in the action.” (Italics supplied.) It was held that “ the language of this paragraph is poor authority for compelling a person to whom an interest has been transferred, pending an action, to become a party thereto ” without his consent.

However, as carried into section 756 of the Code of Civil Procedure (now Civ. Prac. Act, § 83), section 121 of the Code of Procedure (supra) was materially revised and amended. The action may now be continued by the original party, “ unless the court directs [that] the person to whom the interest is transferred * * * be substituted in the action ” (Civ. Prac. Act, § 83). It would seem therefore that, while under the old practice the defendant was not entitled to compel the assignee to become the plaintiff without his consent, he is now entitled to such relief. Thus, in the De Bost case (supra), which was decided but a few months before the Lawson case, defendant moved to substitute as party plaintiff the sole transferee of plaintiff’s cause of action. Special Term denied the motion on the ground that the Code of Civil Procedure, section 756 (now Civ. Prac. Act, § 83), under which it was made, did not contemplate a motion on behalf of the defendant — apparently following the Packard decision. General Term reversed, holding that the new statute conferred upon the court a very broad discretion to bring in a party who might have an interest in the suit; and that it was within the discretion of the court, upon motion of either party, to substitute as plaintiff the sole transferee of the plaintiff’s cause of action.

. The principle to be deduced from the cases would seem to be this: That where the assignment is absolute, leaving no interest whatever in the assignor, as in the case at bar, the [67]*67motion should be granted, for, under such circumstances, the assignee is the real party in interest.” But where the assignment is not absolute, or where, notwithstanding the assignment, the assignor still has some interest in the cause of action, as in the Lawson and Rothbarth cases (supra),

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Related

Marco v. Sachs
201 Misc. 928 (New York Supreme Court, 1951)
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White v. Hardy
266 A.D. 660 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1943)

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180 Misc. 63, 39 N.Y.S.2d 911, 1943 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1597, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/white-v-hardy-nysupct-1943.