Woolfson v. Doyle

180 F. Supp. 86, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5300
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 19, 1960
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 180 F. Supp. 86 (Woolfson v. Doyle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Woolfson v. Doyle, 180 F. Supp. 86, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5300 (S.D.N.Y. 1960).

Opinion

DIMOCK, District Judge.

This is a motion by defendants for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The action is one brought against the trustee in reorganization of the Third Avenue Transit Corporation and his counsel. Plaintiff alleges that ■counsel for the trustee caused a judgment for costs in the sum of $3,767.04 to be ■entered against plaintiff contrary to a mandate of the Court of Appeals and thereafter caused execution to be issued ■and a levy made upon plaintiff’s brokerage account.

Plaintiff has countered with a motion for leave to add a further claim based upon the actual collection of the judgment with interest and costs of the marshal pursuant to the execution.

The judgment for costs arose upon plaintiff’s appeal to the Court of Appeals from orders denying six motions assailing the regularity of the proceeding entitled “In the Matters of Third Avenue Transit Corporation, et al.,” Bankruptcy Numbers 85,851, 86,410, 86,413, 86,412 and 86,537. The Court of Appeals affirmed the order, In re Third Avenue Transit Corporation, 2 Cir., 238 F.2d 665, 668, saying “there is not a shred of merit in any” of the “miscellany of points” that plaintiff raised. The Supreme Court denied certiorari, Woolfson v. Doyle, 352 U.S. 1031, 77 S.Ct. 595, 1 L.Ed.2d 599, and denied plaintiff’s petition for rehearing, 353 U.S. 931, 77 S.Ct. 718, 1 L.Ed.2d 725.

The judgment of the Court of Appeals was entered on November 30, 1956 and was received and filed in the District Court on December 11, 1956. The District Court by order entered December 21,1956, made the judgment of the Court of Appeals the judgment of the District Court and judgment for $3,767.04 costs was entered in the District Court on December 26, 1956.

Plaintiff in his opposing affidavit meets defendants’ claim that the proceedings were in all respects regular by the following allegations:

“1. That no bill of costs was ever served on plaintiff by defendants.
“2. That no notice of taxation of costs was ever received by plaintiff.
“3. That plaintiff had no notice or knowledge of the rendition or entry of judgment for costs on appeal in the Court of Appeals.
“4. That plaintiff had no notice of the rendition or entry of judgment for costs on appeal in the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
“5. That the order on judgment of the District Court dated December 25, 1956 pursuant to motion of defendants made no provision for interest.
[88]*88“6. That the levy made by the United States Marshal of the Southern District of New York did not conform to the judgment filed in the District Court.
“7. That no execution or notice of levy was served on plaintiff.
“8. That the execution delivered to the United States Marshal did not conform to statutory requirements; that there is no statutory authority for a U. S. Marshal to seize property for non-payment of interest; that there is no statutory authority for defendants to authorize a levy for interest.”

In paragraphs 1 and 2 quoted above plaintiff alleges that no bill of costs was ever served on him and that no notice of taxation of costs was received by him. Service of the bill of costs was not necessary and notice of taxation was not necessary. The practice in the Court of Appeals is for the Clerk to request the successful party to whom costs have been awarded to submit his printing bills and, upon such submission, the Clerk fixes the amount of costs ex parte. The unsuccessful party may review the Clerk’s taxation by motion if he desires.

The allegation in paragraph 3 that plaintiff had no notice or knowledge of the rendition or entry of judgment for costs on appeal in the Court of Appeals has no foundation. The judgment of the Court of Appeals concluded with the words “it is now hereby ordered, adjudged and decreed that the orders of said District Court be, and they hereby are affirmed; with costs to the appellees.” The Clerk of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on December 11, 1956, sent plaintiff by mail notice of the entry of a copy of that judgment in his office.

In paragraph 4 plaintiff alleges that he had no notice of the rendition or entry of judgment for costs on appeal in the District Court. The mandate of the Court of Appeals on the judgment of affirmance, as is customary, consisted of a copy of the opinion of the Court of Appeals with a copy of the judgment of the Court of Appeals and a bill of the taxed costs annexed. The bill of taxed costs fixed the amount taxed in favor of the appellee at $3,767.04. A proposed order on this mandate with notice of settlement in the District Court dated December 18, 1956, was served upon plaintiff by mail on December 18,1956. This proposed order contained a provision that defendant Doyle, Trustee of Third Avenue Transit Corporation, recover from Woolfson the sum of $3,767.04 costs on appeal and that said Trustee have execution therefor. The record thus flatly contradicts plaintiff’s claims in paragraph 4 that he had no notice of the rendition or entry of judgment for costs on appeal in the District Court. Plaintiff asserts in his unverified complaint, though not in his affidavit, that he did not receive notice of the entry of the judgment until July 16, 1959. He knew of his liability to pay costs, however, as early as April 11, 1957, when he verified a petition seeking an allowance of compensation for services in the reorganization proceeding in which he also prayed that he “be relieved of the payment of costs in these proceedings.” Those applications were denied.

Plaintiff’s allegation in paragraph numbered 5 to the effect that the order on judgment of the District Court pursuant to motion of defendants made no provision for interest is, of course, true. That matter is left to the operation of law. By allegation in paragraph 5 and his allegations in paragraphs 6 and 8, plaintiff raises the point that the proceedings were irregular in that defendants issued an execution which required the collection of interest. His point is that section 1961 of Title 28 U.S.Code, which directs that interest shall be allowed on any money judgment in a civil case does not apply to judgments in bankruptcy proceedings. The entire section is quoted in the margin.1

[89]*89Plaintiff assimilates the words “civil •case” to the words “civil action” and says that a bankruptcy proceeding is not a civil action. That is doubtless true. A bankruptcy proceeding is, however, a ■civil case in the sense that the words are used in Title 28. Here as elsewhere in that title the expression is used in contradistinction to the expression “criminal case”. For instance section 1254(1) provides for the writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court “upon the petition of any party to any civil or criminal case”. See also section 1921. While it is true that plaintiff seems to be the first person who has ever raised the point that judgments in bankruptcy proceedings do not carry interest, others have litigated the question of rate of interest and in such a controversy our Court of Appeals has allowed interest.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
180 F. Supp. 86, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5300, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/woolfson-v-doyle-nysd-1960.