Boone v. Lightner

• Citation: 319 U.S. 561,87 L.Ed. 1587,63 S.Ct. 1223
• Decision Date: 07 June 1943
• Docket Number: No. 698,698
• Parties: BOONE v. LIGHTNER et al
• Court: United States Supreme Court

319 U.S. 561

63 S.Ct. 1223

87 L.Ed. 1587

BOONE

v LIGHTNER et al.

No. 698.

Argued May 3, 4, 1943.

Decided June 7, 1943.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 11, 1943.

See 320 U.S. —-, 64 S.Ct. 26, 88 L.Ed. —-.

Mr. Milton I. Baldinger, of Washington, D.C., for petitioner.

M. R. McCown, of Tryon, N.C., for respondents.

Mr. Justice JACKSON delivered the opinion of the Court.

The federal question in this case is whether a stay of proceedings against a defendant in military service has been refused under circumstances which denied rights given by the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, 50 U.S.C.A.Appendix, § 501 et seq. The controversy in which he was engaged is for state courts to settle, and we deal with the facts only as they relate to this federal question.

The petitioner Boone was summoned into a state court in North Carolina in an action to require him to account as trustee of a fund for his minor daughter, to remove him as trustee, to surcharge his accounts for losses caused by illegal management, and to obtain personal judgment for deficiency in the fund.

Boone's mother-in-law, by will of which he was executor and trustee, created a trust fund for the education of her grand-children, including one child of Boone's. Shortly after her death, and in September, 1938, another child was born to him. Since this child was unprovided for in the will the father-in-law made arrangements which upon his death put into Boone's hands a fund of about $15,000. It is conceded that the fund was a trust for the benefit of the daughter. There was controversy whether it was governed, as Boone claimed, by a letter signed by the father-in-law which placed no restriction on his discretion; or, as Mrs. Boone, who has been sustained by the courts of North Carolina, claimed, by the same conditions as the testamentary tr st set up by her mother. For our purposes it is enough that it was admittedly a trust and that grounds were alleged sufficient to move the state court to require an accounting.

The summons and complaint were served on Boone personally in North Carolina on June 23, 1941. He was then in military service of the United States as a Captain stationed in the office of the Under Secretary of War in Washington.

Boone filed a verified answer denying the jurisdiction of the court, claiming that on June 23, 1941, the same day the summons was served, he changed his 'domicile and legal residence' to Washington, D.C., and his daughter's as well. He admitted receipt of the fund in trust, asserted the trust was governed by the letter referred to, and pleaded that he 'is not bound to report to any Court.' He denied all charges of misconduct of the fund, denied that there were grounds for apprehension that the funds were unsafe, and asserted that 'he has exercised at all times good faith in caring for this fund.' He also stated that 'he has not dissipated one penny of the fund, nor has he made any withdrawal from the fund since the day the money was turned over to him.' He pleaded at length facts to support his claim that he was no longer domiciled in North Carolina and to support his allegation that the trust was 'a voluntary trust not subject to the jurisdiction of any court or restricted in any way by the terms of any will.'

On February 2, 1942, the cause came on for hearing. Boone moved for a continuance to the 25th of May, 1942, his counsel, Roy L. Deal, stating that he expected soon to be called into service and would be unable to try the case, and asking the continuance in order to give defendant ample time to employ other counsel. The request was granted, and that date peremptorily set for the trial. The court forbade transfer of securities constituting the trust and required that on the trial date they and any funds of the trust be turned over to the Clerk of the Court to abide further orders. Its order admonished that the court would at the earliest practical date ascertain the status of the trust fund and that the presence of Boone himself at the trial 'is highly desirable,' but left to the discretion of Boone and his counsel whether it was necessary. In order, however, to advise defendant Boone and his superior officers of the importance of the litigation, the court directed that a certified copy of the order be sent to the Adjutant General of the United States Army at Washington.

When the trial day came, Boone invoked the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, and demanded that the trial be continued until after the termination of his service in the Army or until 'such time as he can properly conduct his defense.' At this time there were before the trial court not only the pleadings and the affidavits submitted by Boone and his counsel but also certain depo- sitions which Boone had made and procured and which had been returned to the court, and also Boone's own statement of transactions which accompanied certain securities and funds which he turned over to the Clerk of the Court. Boone was not present, but counsel appeared for him to move for a further continuance under the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act. This motion was denied, counsel who had presented the motion withdrew from the case, and the trial proceeded. The verdict of the jury went against Boone; and judgment was entered that the trust was governed by the terms of the will, that Boone had been guilty of serious misconduct of the trust fund, and that he be held personally liable for the consequent loss to the trust fund of more than $11,000, and removed as trustee.

Boone then appealed to the Supreme Court of North Carolina, on the merits as well as on denial of the continuance, and that court affirmed. 222 N.C. 205, 22 S.E.2d 426. As the decision below presented an important question of construction of the Act, we granted certiorari.

The section of the Soldiers' nd Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 principally invoked is § 201,¹ which reads:

'At any stage thereof any action or proceeding in any court in which a person in military service is involved, either as plaintiff or defendant during the period of such service or within sixty days thereafter may, in the discretion of the court in which it is pending, on its own motion, and shall, on application to it by such person or some person on his behalf, be stayed as provided in this Act, unless, in the opinion of the court, the ability of plaintiff to prose- cute the action or the defendant to conduct his defense is not materially affected by reason of his military service.'

The positions urged by petitioner come to these: first, that defendant's military service in Washington rendered a continuance mandatory; second, if not mandatory, that the burden of showing that he could attend or would not be prejudiced by his absence was not on him, but on those who would force the proceedings; third, that the Court did not make the finding required by the Act for denial of a stay; and last, that in any view of the law the trial judge abused his discretion in this case. The petition raises other questions, including the constitutional one as to whether he has been denied due process of law, which we do not discuss because in the light of the facts of the case they are frivolous.

1. The Act cannot be construed to require continuance on mere showing that the defendant was in Washington in the military service. Canons of statutory construction admonish us that we should not needlessly render as meaningless the language which, after authorizing stays, says 'unless, in the opinion of the court, the ability of plaintiff to prosecute the action or the defendant to conduct his defense is not materially affected by reason of his military service.'

The Act of 1940 was a substantial re-enactment of that of 1918, 50 U.S.C.A.Appendix, § 101 et seq. The legislative history of its antecedent shows that this clause was deliberately chosen and that judicial discretion thereby conferred on the trial court instead of rigid and undiscriminating suspension of civil proceedings was the very heart of the policy of the Act. ² While this Court __________

Footnote 2.--Continued.

court in which it is pending, on its own motion, and shall, on application to it by such person or some person on his behalf, be stayed as provided in this act, unless, in the opinion of the court, the defendant is not embarrassed by reason of his military service.'

Accompanying 'Notes as to the Provisions of the Bill' stated that a 'sweeping exemption' such as that provided by most States in Civil War days, was 'too broad, for there are many cases where the financial ability of soldiers and sailors to meet obligations in some way is not materially impaired by their entrance into service.' Hearings and Memoranda before Senate Judiciary Committee on S. 2859 and H.R. 6361, 65th Cong., 1st and 2d Sess., p. 27.

Major John H. Wigmore, one of the drafters of the bill, stated at the Senate hearings, that 'a universal stay against soldiers is wasteful, because hundreds of them are men of affairs and men of assets, and they have agents back here looking after their affairs. There is no earthly reason why the court proceedings should stay against them. It is the small man, or perhaps I shoul say the humble man, who has just himself and no agent and no outside assets, that we do not want to forget. He is the man we are thinking of. These other people can take care of themselves, and the court would say to them, 'No; your affair is a going concern; go ahead with the lawsuit, You have a lawyer, you have an agent, you have a corporation manager, and other things." Id. at p. 97.

As reported by the House Judiciary Committee, H.R. 6361, 65th Cong., 1st Sess., provided in § 201:

'That at any stage thereof any action or proceeding commenced in any court against a person in military service during the period of such service or within 60 days thereafter may, in the discretion of the court in which it is pending, on its own motion, and shall, on...