Zimmern Coal Co. v. Coal Trading Ass'n of Rotterdam
| Decision Date | 27 February 1929 |
| Docket Number | No. 5434.,5434. |
| Citation | 30 F.2d 933 |
| Parties | ZIMMERN COAL CO. v. COAL TRADING ASS'N OF ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, et al. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Harry T. Smith, of Mobile, Ala., and Philip D. Beall, of Pensacola, Fla. (Wm. G. Caffey, of Mobile, Ala., on the brief), for appellant.
William Fisher, of Pensacola, Fla., for appellees.
Before WALKER and BRYAN, Circuit Judges, and GRUBB, District Judge.
Appellant filed a libel to enforce its maritime lien for bunker coal supplied to the German steamship Totila, formerly Harald, at the port of New Orleans. During the period intervening the furnishing of the coal and the filing of the libel, the ship was seized at Rotterdam, and there sold free of liens under judicial proceedings brought in a court of Holland to enforce the lien of a mortgage. The proceeds of sale were required to be and were deposited in the registry of the court for distribution to those entitled according to the priority of their liens against the ship. The District Court held that the decree of the Holland court had the effect of destroying appellant's lien on the ship, and dismissed the libel.
The proceedings in Holland were had before the Arrondissements-Rechtbank, a court of general admiralty jurisdiction under the laws of the Netherlands. Where a ship is mortgaged by nonresidents, as is the case here, jurisdiction is given by law to seize the ship and transfer title to the purchaser free of liens. In such a case all privileges and liens are transferred to the proceeds of sale. There is no provision of law requiring the publication of notice, but the sale takes place in open court. The Harald was seized and sold in accordance with these provisions of law.
In the court below many objections were made on the ground that the proceedings before the Holland court were not properly authenticated, but the only one of those objections urged here is that the payment of the purchase price is shown only by the declaration of the attorney for the libelant. That objection is not supported by the record, as the payment of the purchase price is clearly shown by the minutes of the court.
The principal contention of the appellant is that the Holland court did not acquire jurisdiction to order the ship sold free of liens, because notice by publication was not required by law, and was not in fact given. It is argued that the proceeding was in personam, and therefore that seizure of the ship was...
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...from proceedings lacking other forms of notice required by American courts have been upheld. See, e.g., Zimmern Coal Co. v. Coal Trading Ass'n, 30 F.2d 933, 934 (5th Cir.1929) (notice by publication, while required in United States, not essential to validity of Dutch decree; seizure suffici......
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...Cir.1929); G. Gilmore & C. Black, supra, at 799.10 The Trenton, 4 F. 657 (E.D.Mich.1880); Zimmern Coal Co. v. Coal Trading Association of Rotterdam (The Totila x Harold), 30 F.2d 933 (5th Cir.1929); G. Gilmore & C. Black, supra, at 787, et seq.11 G. Gilmore & C. Black, supra, at 802.12 See ......
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