Campbell v. Vining

• Decision Date: 19 February 1931
• Citation: 133 So. 555,101 Fla. 939
• Parties: CAMPBELL et al. v. VINING.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

133 So. 555

101 Fla. 939

CAMPBELL et al. v. VINING.

Florida Supreme Court, Division B.

February 19, 1931

Suit by C. E. Campbell and others against C. L. Vining, as receiver of the East Coast Bank & Trust Company, a Florida banking corporation. From an order sustaining a general demurrer to the bill of complaint, complainants appeal.

Reversed.

Syllabus by the Court.

SYLLABUS

Any money received by a bank upon the sale of trust property and remaining in the bank at the time of its going into the hands of a receiver may have constituted a trust fund. This fund may have had the status of a preferred claim, which should have been presented to the receiver within one year after the date of the closing of the bank. This status would depend upon what disposition had been made of the fund by the parties.

The words, 'the State Comptroller may forthwith designate and appoint a receiver to take charge of the assets and affairs of such bank,' imply and mean that the receiver in his representative capacity takes title to the assets and affairs of the institution and the comptroller has complete discretionary power over them, subject to the other provisions of the act, and the 'affairs' of the bank include all business interests of the bank, including trust estates of every character lawfully held by the bank for which receiver is appointed, and the receiver is charged with handling such trust matters in the same manner in which the original trustee was charged with handling such matters until such time as a substitute trustee may be duly appointed by a court of chancery having jurisdiction of the matter.

The provision that 'such receiver shall pay all money received by him to the State Treasurer to be held as a special deposit for the use and benefit of the creditors subject to the order of the Comptroller' will not be held to apply to moneys received by the receiver as acting trustee, because this provision of the statute clearly applies to funds in which creditors of the defunct banking institution have an interest, and such creditors can have no interest in funds accruing from trust estates held by the defunct bank in its trust capacity.

It is the duty of the comptroller, through his receiver or agent to execute the trust according to the terms under which the trust was created.

Equity has jurisdiction in all matters relating to trust estates and may direct the conduct of trustees in their dealings with property which is held or controlled by a trustee and adjudicate the rights between trustees and beneficiaries of the trusts.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Volusia County; M. G Rowe, Judge.

COUNSEL

John S Byington, of Daytona Beach, for appellants.

Parkinson & Riegle, of Daytona Beach, for appellee.

OPINION

BUFORD J.

This is an appeal from a general demurrer to a bill of complaint. The pertinent allegations of the bill of complaint are in effect that certain property described in the bill was conveyed to East Coast Bank & Trust Company in trust for the complainants; that, although the deeds on the faces thereof conveyed the legal title to East Coast Bank & Trust Company, trustee, the grantee named in the deed took the title in trust for the complainants and held the title to be disposed of under the terms of a trust agreement, a copy of which is attached to the bill of complainant, and the bank had no interest in the property except as such trustee.

The bill alleges that a part of the property was conveyed by the trustee; that, while a large portion of the property remained in the trustee, the East Coast Bank & Trust Company, it became insolvent, and C. L. Vining was appointed receiver and succeeded to the trust; that the receiver has conveyed a part of the trust property and received the consideration paid for the same; that a large portion of the trust property remains in the hands of the receiver.

The prayer...