Division of Labor Law Enforcement v. Goggin
| Decision Date | 29 March 1948 |
| Docket Number | No. 11669.,11669. |
| Citation | 165 F.2d 155 |
| Parties | DIVISION OF LABOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, v. GOGGIN et al. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Pauline Nightingale and Edward M. Belasco, Attys., Div. of Labor Law Enforcement, both of Los Angeles, Cal., for appellant.
Sewall Key, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen., A. F. Prescott and Fred E. Youngman, Sp. Assts, to Atty. Gen., and James M. Carter, U.S. Atty., and Loren P. Oakes, Sp. Atty., Bureau of Internal Revenue, both of Los Angeles, Cal., for appellee Westover.
Martin Gendel, of Los Angeles, Cal., for appellee Goggin.
Before MATHEWS, STEPHENS, and ORR, Circuit Judges.
Writ of Certiorari Granted March 29, 1948. See 68 S.Ct. 746.
The Kessco Engineering Corporation, a California corporation, brought a voluntary petition in bankruptcy, and orders of adjudication and general reference were made on March 26, 1946. At that time the Collector of Internal Revenue had physical possession of the assets of said bankrupt pursuant to certain tax claims, notices of such liens having been filed. The property was put up for sale, but the sale was never completed because the price obtainable was unsatisfactory. The collector then relinquished the assets to the receiver in bankruptcy under an alleged agreement made by and between an official of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the said receiver, George T. Goggin, in the following circumstances. The Los Angeles office of the collector was contacted in regard to the assets and their sales value by Goggin. A telegram was thereafter sent by the Bureau to the Los Angeles office as follows: The information as to these transactions were received, but no formal acceptance or acquiescence by the receiver was ever made. No notice thereof was given to the creditors or other parties in interest, nor was any notice of an intended trustee's sale ever given them. The receiver, with knowledge of the telegram, took physical possession of the assets from the collector and later in the capacity as trustee caused the assets to be sold at public auction. What notice, if any, was given does not appear in the record. Prior wage claimants filed their wage claims against the assets through the Division of Labor Law Enforcement of California. The referee put the government's claim ahead of the wage claims to the same extent as though the lien on the property followed the proceeds of its sale. The district court confirmed, and the labor claimants appeal through the California Division of Labor.
The appellant takes the position that by surrendering possession of the assets to the receiver, the collector lost the superior position which he had theretofore enjoyed. It is contended that the collector, not having enforced his lien by sale, subjected himself and his claim to the provisions of Section 67, sub. c, of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S. C.A. § 107, sub. c, when he appeared in the proceedings and voluntarily surrendered possession of personal property to the trustee, and that the alleged agreement heretofore detailed has no legal binding effect on statutory rights of prior wage claimants. It is also urged that, since the referee directed payment of expenses of administration prior to payment of the collector's lien, Section 67, sub. c, of the Act makes it obligatory to also pay the labor claims before payment of the government's claim.
The referee's order and judgment in the district court upheld the superiority...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Matter of Chantler Baking Co., Civ. A. No. 77-211.
...holding that, because the Collector relinquished possession to the property, the tax claim must be postponed for the wage claims. See 165 F.2d 155. The appellate court reasoned that, since § 67(c) of the Bankruptcy Act provided for postponement of tax claims when the government was not in p......
-
In re Chicagoland Ideel Cleaners, Inc.
...v. O'Dell, 160 F.2d 304 (6th Cir. 1947); City of New York v. Hall, 139 F.2d 935 (2d Cir. 1944); see also Division of Labor Law Enforcement v. Goggin, 165 F.2d 155 (9th Cir. 1947), reversed on other grounds, 336 U.S. 118, 69 S.Ct. 469, 93 L.Ed. 543. It is also significant that even Givan and......
-
Goggin v. Division of Labor Law Enforcement, of California
...must be postponed, in payment, to the debts of the bankrupt for certain wage claims, pursuant to § 67, sub. c of the Bankruptcy Act. 165 F.2d 155. Because of the importance of the issue in the administration of the Bankruptcy Act, we granted certiorari. 333 U.S. 860, 68 S.Ct. The bankrupt f......
-
Kampelman, Matter of
...in the distribution of proceeds derived from property under the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court. See Division of Labor Law Enforc., Cal. v. Goggin, 165 F.2d 155, 157 (9 Cir. 1947); rev'd on other grounds, 336 U.S. 118, 69 S.Ct. 469, 93 L.Ed. 543 (1949). The same is generally true in co......