United States v. One 1936 Model Ford V-8 De Luxe Coach, 4243.
Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit) |
Citation | 93 F.2d 771 |
Docket Number | No. 4243.,4243. |
Parties | UNITED STATES v. ONE 1936 MODEL FORD V-8 DE LUXE COACH. |
Decision Date | 04 January 1938 |
Thomas A. Wofford, Asst. U. S. Atty., and Oscar H. Doyle, U. S. Atty., both of Greenville, S. C. (Edward P. Riley, Asst. U. S. Atty., of Greenville, S. C., on the brief), for the United States.
Eugene E. Heaton, of Baltimore, Md., Hicks & Johnston, of Greenville, S. C., and Dills, Muecke, Schelker & Levinson, of New York City, for appellee.
Before PARKER and SOPER, Circuit Judges, and COLEMAN, District Judge.
The question in this case is whether the District Judge was justified in remitting the forfeiture of an automobile which had been seized by federal officers while being used by one B. G. Walker for the unlawful transportation of distilled spirits in violation of R.S. § 3450, 26 U.S.C.A. §§ 1156, 1441. The automobile was sold on October 3, 1936 at Greenville, S. C., to one L. P. Walker by a dealer for the sum of $845, of which $325 was paid, leaving a balance due of $520 evidenced by a promissory note which was secured by a conditional sales contract. The note and contract were assigned for value by the dealer to the Commercial Credit Company. The credit company believed that L. P. Walker was the purchaser and owner of the vehicle, but as a matter of fact he was only the nominal purchaser and was acting for his brother, B. G. Walker, who had a previous record and reputation for violating both the state and federal laws relating to intoxicating liquor. L. P. Walker, the nominal purchaser, had also been convicted of violating the National Prohibition Act, 27 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq., in 1929 and had been sentenced therefor, but his subsequent record and reputation had been good. The credit company, before accepting the assignment of the sales contract, made an investigation of L. P. Walker by inquiry at the headquarters of the sheriff of Greenville county, S. C., and of the chief of police of the city of Greenville, S. C., where L. P. Walker resided and where the contract of sale was signed. The credit company was informed that he had no record or reputation for violation of the liquor laws. Information was received from the sheriff's office as to the bad record and reputation of B. G. Walker, but his relationship to L. P. Walker was not disclosed or suspected. No inquiry was made by the credit company at the headquarters of the principal federal internal revenue officer engaged in the enforcement of the liquor laws, or of any other principal local or federal law enforcement officer of the locality.
Under these circumstances, the credit company made claim for a remission of the forfeiture, and the District Judge concluded that it was entitled thereto under the decision of this court in C. I. T. Corporation v. United States, 4 Cir., 89 F.2d 977, where we considered the power of the District Court to remit forfeitures and the duty of the lienor to make inquiries in cases of this sort under the Liquor Law Repeal and Enforcement Act of August 27, 1935, 49 Stat. 872, 878, § 204, 27 U.S.C.A. § 40a. The government contends that the claimant failed to comply with the conditions imposed upon it by subsection (b) of the act, in that (1) it did not prove that it had no reason to believe that the car would not be used in violation of the liquor laws, since the circumstances were such as to call for an investigation which, if made, would have disclosed the true ownership of the car; and (2) that the claimant had not made an inquiry as to the record and reputation of the purchaser of the car of all of the state and federal officials listed in that subsection of the act.
We are of opinion that the judgment of the District Court should be affirmed. The statute does not require the lienor in transactions of this kind to investigate the purchase of an automobile under a mortgage or conditional sales contract in order to ascertain whether the...
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