Wollenberger v. Hoover

179 N.E. 42, 346 Ill. 511
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 17, 1931
DocketNo. 18202. Reversed in part and remanded.
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 179 N.E. 42 (Wollenberger v. Hoover) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wollenberger v. Hoover, 179 N.E. 42, 346 Ill. 511 (Ill. 1931).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Duncan

delivered the opinion of the court:

Herman Wollenberger filed a bill in the circuit court of Cook county on June 3, 1921, the prayer of which was that a deed executed by Ira J. Hoover dated March 8, 1921, to Anna Pritilcin, a trust deed of the same date from Anna Pritikin to David K. Cochrane, and a deed of Anna Pritikin dated March 10, 1921, to Oscar Rubin, all conveying the Lafayette apartment building, which was described in the bill, and all releases executed and delivered by the complainant or Wollenberger & Co. to Evans Larson, Larson & Co. and the Larson Construction Company may be canceled and the title to the property described in such deeds and trust deed re-invested in Hoover subject to the payment by him of the balance due the complainant under the agreements under which Hoover held title; that the amount due complainant for the balance of the purchase price for the Lafayette building be established by the decree of the court; that a lien be declared for the remainder of complainant’s purchase money against said building; that an account of the receipts from the income of the property by the defendants, or any of them, be taken, and that they be decreed to pay the same; and that the interests of all the defendants who furnished supplies or furnishings for the building be established with reference to the lien of complainant, to the end that all valid indebtedness created with respect to said matters may be paid, for a receiver, for an accounting, for an injunction and for general relief. Evans Larson, Larson & Co., the Larson Construction Company, Anna Pritikin, David K. Cochrane, Hoover, Rubin and others were made defendants to the bill. Answers and cross-bills were filed by the defendants, issues were joined, and after reference and re-references to a master, the taking of evidence and the reports of the master, the cause was heard by the chancellor and a decree was rendered granting relief to complainant. Oscar Rubin has sued out a writ of error to reverse the decree.

Second — The litigation arose out of the following facts averred in the bill and shown by the evidence: The complainant was the principal stockholder and president of Wollenberger & Co., a corporation of the State of Delaware, having its principal place of business in Chicago and engaged principally in the mortgage banking and brokerage business, which prior to January 9, 1920, on the request of the complainant, had advanced money to finance certain building operations of Evans Larson, who was a contractor engaged in building in Chicago. Through such advancements Larson had acquired certain properties, the title to which had been taken in his own name or the names of others for his use, subject to such advancements as had been made by Wollenberger & Co. at the instance of the complainant. Because of his ownership of several apartment buildings described in the bill and the indebtedness incurred in their purchase and erection Larson’s financial affairs were involved, judgments had been recovered against him, mechanics’ liens had been taken against and receivers had been appointed for some of the buildings, and disputes had arisen between Wollenberger & Co. and Larson and between the complainant and Larson which the parties desired to settle. Therefore, on January 9, 1920, the complainant and Larson entered into a written agreement for the conveyance of certain apartment buildings, known as the Clarke, the Carmen and the Magnolia buildings, to John J. Rahlf, and an apartment building known as the Lafayette building to William S. Miller, all to be held under the contract for the benefit of the complainant and Larson; that the indebtedness of Larson, of Larson & Co. and of the Larson Construction Company, and all mechanics’ liens and other charges against such apartment buildings, should be advanced by Wollenberger & Co., not exceeding $15,000, and the net proceeds arising from the sale or disposition of the buildings, after providing for matters contained in the prior provisions of the contract, should be divided equally between the parties, one-half to the complainant and one-half to Larson, deducting first from the shares coming to Larson the indebtedness due or to become due under the contract from Larson to Wollenberger & Co. The agreement provided for the formation of a corporation under the laws of Illinois to take the title to the Lafayette apartment building, and for one-half of the stock to be issued to the complainant and one-half to Larson, the stock, when issued, to be delivered to Wollenberger & Co. and held in escrow for the benefit of the parties, subject to the terms of the contract and as collateral for all advances made by the complainant and Wollenberger & Co. to Larson. The corporation was to have the right to issue a series of first mortgage bonds secured by mortgage on the Lafayette building to the amount of not less than $150,000, for the purpose of refunding the indebtedness against the building. Larson was to have the exclusive right until January 1, 1921, to sell the Clarke building at a minimum price of $30,000, the Carmen building at the minimum price of $40,000 and the Magnolia building at the minimum price of $50,000. The buildings were conveyed to Rahlf and to Miller in accordance with the agreement, but it is contended by the complainant that after the execution of the contract Larson refused to sell the Clarke, Carmen and Magnolia buildings at prices alleged by the complainant to be advantageous to the parties or to co-operate in the organization of a corporation to manage or sell the Lafayette building. In consequence the complainant and Wollenberger & Co. on June 17, 1920, filed a bill in the superior court against Larson, Rahlf and Miller for an accounting, which was still pending when the bill in this case was filed.

Third — The other allegations in the bill are substantially the following: While the bill of June 17, 1920, was pending, Larson caused Hoover to be introduced to the complainant as a man of great wealth, and proposed to the complainant that instead of disposing of the premises mentioned in the contract of January 9, 1920, in the manner agreed upon, a price should be fixed upon the properties that would be satisfactory to the complainant and Larson and the title should be vested in Hoover. Hoover confirmed the representations made to the complainant that he was the president of the Bankers’ Mortgage Company of Kansas City, and stated that he was in such a position that he could command the large resources of that company to carry out his projects and that he was in such relation to Larson that he could secure his assent in all respects thereto, and, relying on these representations, the complainant agreed that title to three of the buildings, the Clarke, the Carmen and the Lafayette, should be vested in Hoover. Thereupon a contract in writing was entered into between Hoover and the complainant on October 1, 1920, by which Hoover agreed to purchase from the complainant the three buildings for $292,375 and to place a loan on the Lafayette building for $150,000, dated October 1, 1920, payable in annual installments, secured by a trust deed on the building executed by Hoover to the Chicago Title and Trust Company, as trustee. The complainant relied on the representations made to him by Larson and Hoover and was deceived both as to Hoover’s financial responsibility and his personal character.

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Bluebook (online)
179 N.E. 42, 346 Ill. 511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wollenberger-v-hoover-ill-1931.