Marshall v. Knox
| Decision Date | 01 December 1872 |
| Citation | 21 L.Ed. 481,83 U.S. 551,16 Wall. 551 |
| Parties | MARSHALL v. KNOX |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
APPEAL from the Circuit Court for the District of Louisiana; the case being thus:
Marshall was the owner of a plantation in the parish of Avoyelles, in Louisiana, and on the 7th of February, 1867, leased it to Nathan Smith and Henry Fuller for three years, from January 1st, 1867, at $3000 a year, payable in two equal payments. At the end of the first year the tenants were in arrear $1400, and on the 4th of January, 1868, Marshall commenced an action therefor in the District Court of the parish, and applied for and obtained a writ of provisional seizure (as it is called), being the usual process by which a lessor takes possession of his lessee's property found on the premises, for the purpose of enforcing his lien thereon. This writ was served by the sheriff on the 6th of January, 1868, by serving a copy on the lessees, and by a seizure of their property on the land, consisting of mules, wagons, farming implements, and stock, grain, furniture, &c., appraised at $1744.
On the 15th of January, 1868, Smith, one of the lessees, filed in the District Court of the United States for Louisiana a petition to be declared a bankrupt, and was declared such accordingly; and on the 12th of February, 1868, the defendants were appointed his assignees. The controversy in this case arose from the proceedings undertaken by the assignees to take the property aforesaid out of the hands of the sheriff, and to dispose of it under the orders of the bankrupt court. They first obtained from the court a rule upon the lessor and the sheriff to show cause why they should not deliver up the property to the assignees, alleging that various creditors of the bankrupt claimed a privilege on the property, and that it was necessary for a proper adjustment of all claims, privileges, and liens, that the possession should be surrendered to the assignees, to be subject to the bankrupt court. The lessor contested this rule, stated his own rights and proceedings, and claimed possession of the property through the sheriff, for the purpose of selling the same to raise the amount of his rent. The rule, however, was made absolute, without, so far as appeared, any other proof on the subject. The lessor appealed, but the district judge would not allow the appeal, and there was no justice of this court at that time (April, 1868) assigned to that circuit to whom application could be made. The lessor thereupon filed a bill, the present bill, in the court below for an injunction to prohibit the assignees from proceeding under the said order of the bankrupt court, and from taking possession of the property, and for a decree that they be directed to pursue any residuary interest of the bankrupt in the lessor's suit in the District Court of the parish, and not molest him in detaining and subjecting the property to the payment of his rent, and for further relief. Failing to obtain a preliminary injunction, and the property being taken and sold by the assignees, the lessor filed a supplemental bill, complaining of the illegality of the proceedings, asking for a review of the same, and for an account and damages. The bill and supplemental bill set out the lease, the provisional seizure, the proceedings in the bankrupt court, and the acts of the assignees; and complained that the lessor was injured by a sacrifice of the property; and stated that before filing the original bill he had offered the assignees a bond, with sufficient sureties, to protect any persons claiming any superior liens to his on the property, if any such there were, which, however, he denied.
The defendants, in their answer, alleged that the lessees had a counter claim for repairs and permanent improvements, and that a number of hands employed on the plantation had a privilege for their wages superior to that of the lessor; but no proof of these facts was offered in the case.
The principal allegations of the complainant were proved, and the defendants on their part adduced proof to show that they had acted in good faith under the orders of the bankrupt court, and that they had sold the property fairly, and held the proceeds for distribution, according to the rights of the parties in due course of the bankruptcy proceedings.
On hearing, the bill was dismissed for want of jurisdiction; and Marshall, the lessor and complainant, appealed.
Three questions now came before this court:
1st. Was this decree dismissing the bill for want of jurisdiction rightly made? Ought not the court below contrariwise, to have entertained the case and decided it on its merits?
2d. Supposing that it ought to have done so, how stood the case on the merits? and
3d. If these were with the complainant, what relief ought he to have?
Messrs. E. T. Merrick and G. W. Race, for the appellant; no opposing counsel.
The first question is, whether the decree dismissing the bill for want of jurisdiction was rightly made, and this is to be solved by reference to the second section of the Bankrupt Act. By this section it is declared that the Circuit Courts 'shall have a general superintendence and jurisdiction of all cases and questions arising under this act; and, except when special provision is otherwise made, may, upon bill, petition, or other proper process, of any party aggrieved, hear and determine the case as in a court of equity.' By a subsequent clause of the same section it is declared that said courts 'shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the District Courts . . . of all suits at law or in equity . . . by the assignee against any person claiming an adverse interest, or by such person against such assignee, touching any property, or rights of property, of said bankrupt, transferable to or vested in such assignee.'
The first clause confers upon the Circuit Courts that supervisory jurisdiction which may be exercised in a summary manner, in term or vacation, in court or at chambers, and upon the exercise of which this court has decided that it has no appellate jurisdiction.1
The second clause confers jurisdiction by regular suit, either at law or in equity, in the cases specified; that is, in controversies between the assignee and persons claiming an adverse interest, touching any property of the bankrupt.
The present case is in form a regular bill in equity; but it also asks a revision of the action of the District Court in the premises. As an original bill in equity it cannot stand, if the District Court had jurisdiction to proceed as it did; for the matter was already decided in that court. As a bill to review the proceedings and decision of the District Court, it was a very proper proceeding, and ought to have been entertained by the Circuit Court. The revisory jurisdiction of the Circuit Court may be exercised by bill as well as by petition; and as this bill complains of the action of the District Court, and asks for a review and reversal thereof, the Circuit Court erred in dismissing it for want of jurisdiction. But regarded as a bill of review, we could not, according to our decision in Morgan v. Thornhill, entertain an appeal from the decision of the Circuit Court in the case.
The appeal, therefore, must be dismissed, unless it can be shown that the District Court proceeded without jurisdiction. If this were the case, then the bill may be regarded as an original bill, of which the Circuit Court clearly had jurisdiction, and the appeal to this court was properly taken.
The case here, then, depends on the question whether the District Court had jurisdiction to proceed by rule as it did. The goods, it has been seen, were in the custody of the sheriff, under a writ of provisional seizure, and held as a pledge for the rent of the lessor. The seizure had been made before the bankruptcy. The landlord claimed the right thus to hold possession of them until his claim for rent was satisfied. This claim was adverse to that of the assignee. The case presented was one of conflicting claims to the possession of goods, and the sheriff had present possession for the benefit of the lessor. Neither the sheriff nor the lessor was a...
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