Singer v. Goff, 28
| Decision Date | 01 April 1952 |
| Docket Number | No. 28,28 |
| Citation | 54 N.W.2d 290,334 Mich. 163 |
| Parties | SINGER et al. v. GOFF et al. , |
| Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
Anderson & Anderson, Paw Paw, for defendant and appellant, C. C. goff.
C. L. Stickler, Three Rivers, for plaintiffs and appellees.
Before the Entire Bench.
This is an appeal by defendants C. C. Goff, individually and as trustee, and his wife, from an order denying their motion to vacate a decree under which Goff was required to pay certain moneys into court.
Goff, the owner of an oil and gas lease in Bloomingdale township, Van Buren county, entered into trust agreements with plaintiff Daniel C. Singer and others. Singer's agreement, dated March 3, 1942, provides in part as follows:
'It is agreed by the first party (Goff) that he will drill a well for oil or gas on the above described lands to the traverse limestone or to the approximate depth of 1300 feet and furnish all necessary drive pipe, casing necessary to drill said well.
'The second party (Singer) hereby agrees to pay the sum of Fifty-Eight Dollars for the One Forty-eighth (1/48) of the seven-eighths working interest in said lease and well.
'It is agreed by the first party as Trustee that after the cost of labor, casing, drive pipe, tubing, rods, tanks and other necessary equipment has been fully paid for out of any proceeds derived from the sale of oil or gas by said Trustee, that he will turn over to the second party One forty-eighth (1/48) of the seven-eighths of all remaining revenues received by him. * * *
'It is agreed by C. C. Goff that he will retain for himself at least three-eighths of the seven-eighths working interest.
'It is understood that the above moneys paid are in full for the drilling of well No. 1 and in case of commercial production the costs of casing, tubing, rods, pumps, tanks, and all other necessary equipment are to be paid for by the trustee out of the funds derived from the sale of oil; and after discontinuing operations the proceeds derived from the sale of equipment shall be paid to the different parties of this agreement as their interest appear.'
On September 16, 1943, plaintiffs filed a bill of complaint in which they stated that Goff had drilled a producing well but had failed to account for the proceeds of the sale of oil therefrom. They sought an accounting, the appointment of a receiver, and an injunction restraining defendants from unlawfully using or disposing of funds or property.
On March 3, 1944, Singer was appointed receiver with 'power to act in all things relating to such receiver(ship) not exceeding one year'. Singer later filed a bill of particulars in which he stated that Goff, contrary to the 'trust articles,' had wrongfully charged plaintiffs $1,296.63 for his cost of drilling the well, and that he also had hand $929.23, for which he had not accounted.
The sale of the leasehold interest and personal property by Singer for $2,375 was confirmed and the residue ordered distributed. Singer later filed a petition asking for a money decree against Goff, and on November 4, 1949, Goff was ordered to pay into court the $1,296.63 and $929.23 items, totaling, $2,225.86.
On appeal, Goff argues that the court was wihout jurisdiction to require him to pay funds over to the county clerk in the absence of a hearing on the merits, and he denies that Singer proved the claimed indebtedness.
Ordinarily a receiver may not in a summary manner take property from the possession of strangers to the record who claim adverse rights therein. Reed v. Baker, 42 Mich. 272, 3 N.W. 959; Ex parte Renfro, 115 Tex. 82, 273 S.W. 813, 40 A.L.R. 903; State ex rel. Nenzel v. Second Judicial Dist. Court, 49 Nov. 145, 241 P. 317, 43 A.L.R. 1340. Goff, however, is not a stranger to the receivership proceedings. He is named therein as a defendant both as trustee and individually. The fact that he came into possession of the money and personal property prior to the appointment of Singer is immaterial. Fidelity Trust Co. v. Saginaw Hotels Company, 259 Mich. 254, 242 N.W. 906.
Singer's appointment, limited by the terms of the order to one year from March 3, 1944, was never extended. Goff, therefore, claims that Singer lacked authority to file the 1949 petition. Equity courts have inherent power to appoint a receiver, Michigan Minerals, Inc., v. Williams, 306 Mich. 515, 525, 11 N.W.2d 224, and it is a matter of discretion whether a receivership shall be continued or discontinued. The First National...
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