Susi v. Belle Acton Stables, Inc.
| Decision Date | 06 December 1966 |
| Docket Number | No. 61 Civ. 778.,61 Civ. 778. |
| Citation | 261 F. Supp. 219 |
| Parties | John SUSI, Plaintiff, v. BELLE ACTON STABLES, INC., Harold Rosenberg, Jack Stahl and Bona Plastics Corporation, now known as Stahl Liquidating Corp., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Casey, Lane & Mittendorf, New York City, for plaintiff, William E. Kelly, and Alan R. Wentzel, New York City, of counsel.
Julius Gerzof, Freeport, N. Y., for defendants.
This diversity suit for conversion of race horses is before the Court upon remand by the Court of Appeals for recomputation of damages in accordance with its opinion, 360 F.2d 704 (2 Cir. 1966). All parties have stipulated that the findings of District Judge Henry N. Graven, before whom the case was tried without a jury, may be accepted for purposes of recomputing damages, except to the extent that Judge Graven's findings have been modified by the decision of the Court of Appeals. This decision deals with certain questions of law that have been raised by the parties with respect to principles to be applied in adducing evidence of the amount of damages.
The horses Belle Acton, Wonderful One, Storm Moraka and a half interest in the horse Esquire Direct were alleged to have been converted by defendants. Judge Graven found that the half interest in Esquire Direct was converted by the defendant Rosenberg as a result of his purchase of this interest from Landers, the former owner on July 6, 1960; that the three other horses were converted by the defendants' acquisition of legal title to them from Landers on August 2, 1960; and that the horses had the following values on the dates of conversion:
Belle Acton $40,000
Wonderful One 3,500
Storm Moraka 5,000
Half interest in Esquire Direct 2,750
________
$51,250
He entered judgment in the sum of $51,250, without any allowance or setoff for a stableman's lien claimed by one William Haughton under § 183 of the New York Lien Law, McKinney's Consol.Laws, c. 33, and his subrogation rights under an earlier $8,000 mortgage on the horse Belle Acton, known as the Tuccio mortgage, acquired by him from Tuccio and assigned by him on August 2, 1960 to the defendants under a tripartite agreement between himself, Landers and Rosenberg.
On appeal the Court of Appeals held that the defendants' acceptance of legal possession under the August 2, 1960 agreement did not, in and of itself, constitute conversion if, as Haughton claimed, he was entitled to a stableman's lien on each of the horses, since he would be entitled to retain possession of each horse that was the subject of such a lien. The Court indicated, however, that conversion did occur later when the defendants exercised a dominion that was inconsistent with Susi's ownership, such as when the defendants (on February 25, 1961) sold three of the horses to third parties without compliance with the statutory provisions for enforcing the assigned lien, and when the defendants failed to recognize plaintiff's title pursuant to his demand (made on or about February 28, 1961). The Court of Appeals further held that the measure of recovery for conversion of Belle Acton, Storm Moraka and Wonderful One, with proper adjustment for interest, should be the value of these three horses on the date of conversion, less whatever lien Haughton had upon them on August 2, 1960, including his rights under the $8,000 Tuccio mortgage on Belle Acton; and that with respect to the half interest in the horse Esquire Direct, the damages would be the value of that half interest on the date of conversion, less an allocable share of Haughton's lien attributable to that horse on August 2, 1960.
Upon remand the parties have stipulated that for purposes of recomputing damages there was no substantial difference in the value of the horses from the time when the District Court found them to have been converted (i. e., August 2, 1960 in the case of Belle Acton, Storm Moraka and Wonderful One, and July 6, 1960 in the case of the half interest in Esquire Direct) through February 1961. Since defendants unquestionably exercised dominion over the first three horses by February 1961, it thus is unnecessary to determine the exact date of conversion for purpose of computing damage, although such date may be material for the purpose of fixing the time when interest began to run.
Under the Court of Appeals' opinion plaintiff is entitled to recover from all of the defendants the value of the three horses, Belle Acton, Storm Moraka, and Wonderful One, less whatever lien Haughton had on them on August 2, 1960. With respect to plaintiff's one-half interest in the horse Esquire Direct, if the parties are unable to agree upon a solution, a determination must be made as to whether there was a conversion of plaintiff's half interest in that horse, in which event damages may be awarded against all defendants except Belle Acton Stables, Inc. in the sum of the stipulated value of the half interest in that horse, i. e., $2,750, less an allocable share of Haughton's stableman's lien.
Haughton having acquired Tuccio's outstanding $8,000 mortgage on the horse Belle Acton, the August 2, 1960 agreement between Landers, Haughton and Rosenberg recites that Haughton had outstanding stableman's bills in excess of $21,000 for feeding, training and caring for six horses: Belle Acton, Danny Dares, Esquire Direct, Esquire Gold, Storm Moraka, and Wonderful One; and that on the same date he agreed to assign his liens to the defendant Rosenberg for the sum of $21,000, which...
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...(holding "that defendant has failed to satisfy its burden of proof on its claims for set-off or recoupment"); Susi v. Belle Acton Stables, Inc., 261 F.Supp. 219, 222 (S.D.N.Y.1966) ("[T]he burden of proving ... a set-off, recoupment, or reduction of damages is upon the defendants."). New Yo......
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Susi v. Belle Acton Stables, Inc.
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