Cummins v. Christie

• Decision Date: 23 May 1901
• Citation: Cummins v. Christie, 179 Mass. 74, 60 N. E. 396 (Mass. 1901)
• Parties: CUMMINS v. CHRISTIE.
• Court: Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

179 Mass. 74

60 N.E. 396

CUMMINS v. CHRISTIE.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Worcester.

May 23, 1901

COUNSEL

Arthur P. Rugg, for appellant.

OPINION

HAMMOND J.

This is an action brought originally in the district court, where the trustee was charged upon its answer. It appealed to the superior court, where it was again charged on its answer. The case is before us upon an appeal from that order, and was submitted upon the brief of the trustee, no other party appearing. William B. Clark voluntarily appeared in the superior court as a claimant, and filed a statement of his claim, but nothing more appears in the record concerning it. The only question, therefore, is whether, in this state of the record, upon the facts stated in the answer, the trustee should be charged. Briefly stated, the answer discloses that the city has in its hands money, being the balance of the proceeds of land sold for nonpayment of taxes after satisfying the taxes and charges; that at the time of the tax sale the record title to the land stood in the name of the defendant, subject to two mortgages theretofore given by him and that at the time this suit was commenced it stood in the name of one Nelson, subject to a mortgage to the claimant. The answer further states that it holds this money for the owner of the real estate, in accordance with the provisions of St. 1888, c. 390, § 40, by which we understand the trustee to mean that the money is held for the person entitled to it under that statute, upon the facts stated. The statute directs the city to pay such proceeds to the owner of the land at the time of the sale. In Worcester v. City of Boston (Mass.) 60 N.E. 410, it has been recently decided that the term 'owner,' as used in that section, does not include a mortgagee, unless either he is in possession at the time of the sale, or the mortgage is of the...