Bullock v. State of Florida Railroad Commission of State of Florida 1920
| Decision Date | 17 January 1921 |
| Docket Number | No. 262,262 |
| Citation | 41 S.Ct. 193,65 L.Ed. 380,254 U.S. 513 |
| Parties | BULLOCK, Circuit Judge, et al. v. STATE OF FLORIDA ex rel. RAILROAD COMMISSION OF STATE OF FLORIDA et al. Argued Dec. 6 & 7, 1920 |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
Mr. George C. Bedell, of Jacksonville, Fla., for plaintiffs in error.
[Argument of Council from pages 514-516 intentionally omitted] Mr. Dozier A. De Vane, of Tallahassee, Fla., for defendants in error.
[Argument of Counsel from pages 516-518 intentionally omitted] Mr. Justice HOLMES delivered the opinion of the Court.
This is a proceeding by the relators seeking a prohibition forbidding a State judge of a lower court to confirm a sale of a railroad 'for the purpose of and with the privilege on the part of the purchaser of dismantling the same' as authorized by a foreclosure decree. The trustee of the mortgage under foreclosure was made a party to the proceeding and demurred upon the ground that the prohibition would deprive him of his property without due process of law contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The Supreme Court of Florida granted the prohibition, State v. Bullock, 82 South. 866, 8 A. L. R. 232; Id., 83 South. 701, and thereupon this defendant sued out a writ of error and filed a petition for a writ of certiorari from this Court. Action upon the latter was postponed to the hearing on the writ of error. Certiorari being the only remedy the petition is granted, as the case is deemed a proper one to be reviewed.
The road concerned is that of the Ocklawaha Valley Railroad Company. It succeeded by foreclosure of a previous mortgage to a logging road, and gave the present mortgage to Hood, one of the plaintiffs in error, in trust for the bondholders. The bonds are held by the Assets Realization Company. Before the present bill for foreclosure was filed the Railroad Company had applied to the Railroad Commission for leave to cease operations had been refused, and the State, by the Railroad Commission, had obtained an injunction forbidding the dismantling of the road and requiring it to go on. It ceased operations however on December 7, 1917. On December 10, 1917, the bill to foreclose was filed. On the same day the State filed a bill in the same Court, ancillary to its other bill, asking for a receiver to operate the road until further order, and a few days later sought to have its bill consolidated with the foreclosure suit. This was denied and the State's bill was dismissed. The decree of foreclosure complained of was entered on December 24, 1917, but on January 22, 1918, in deference to the State's contention that the road could be run at a profit, although the State had not been admitted formally as a party, H. S. Cummings was appointed a receiver, he being the most available man and being able by his connections to give the road a good deal of business in the way of carrying lumber. After nearly a year's trial the Court was satisfied that the road could not go on and thereupon ordered a sale which was made on February 3, 1919. On March 27, 1919, the Court admitted the State as a party and informed counsel that if it turned out as the Receiver and State insisted, 'that the road was operating so as to pay expenses of operation and the taxes and had some reasonable show for business the sale would not be confirmed.' On May 5, 1919, the Court entered an order finding that the road was hopelessly insolvent and could not be operated so as to have any net income whatever but postponing confirmation of the sale until May 12, before which time the proceedings for prohibition were begun.
The foreclosure decree of December 24, 1917, provided for a first offer of the road to be used as a common carrier, but if less than $200,000 was bid, there was to be a second offer with the privilege of dismantling. If, however, the bid on the second offer did not exceed by $100,000 the bid under the first offer, if there was one, the bid under the first offer was to be accepted. The trustee for...
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