Williams v. Owensboro Savings Bank & Trust Co.'s Receiver

• Decision Date: 20 May 1913
• Citation: 156 S.W. 899,153 Ky. 789
• Parties: WILLIAMS v. OWENSBORO SAVINGS BANK & TRUST CO.'S RECEIVER et al.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

156 S.W. 899

153 Ky. 789

WILLIAMS v. OWENSBORO SAVINGS BANK & TRUST CO.'S RECEIVER et al.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

May 20, 1913

Appeal from Circuit Court, Daviess County.

Action between the Owensboro Savings Bank & Trust Company's receiver and others and H. A. Williams. From orders of the circuit court sustaining exceptions to the first sale and overruling exceptions to a second sale, Williams appeals. Reversed, with directions to confirm the first sale, and to set aside all orders made with reference to the second sale.

W Foster Hayes, of Owensboro, for appellant.

R. A Miller and R. S. Todd, both of Owensboro, for appellees.

CARROLL J.

Under a judgment of the Daviess circuit court in favor of the receiver of the Owensboro Savings Bank & Trust Company, there was ordered to be sold certain real estate of the appellant Williams to satisfy lien debts amounting to some $9,000. The commissioner of the court offered this real estate for sale in January, 1912, when the receiver became the purchaser at the price of $6,625; the property purchased by the receiver having been appraised at $6,500. The receiver failed to execute bonds for the purchase money, and filed exceptions to the report of sale, which were sustained by the court and the sale set aside. Thereafter, in July, 1912, a second sale of the property was made by the commissioner, and it was again purchased by the receiver at the price of $5,000. To the report of this sale Williams filed exceptions, which were overruled by the court, and this appeal is prosecuted by Williams from the orders of the court sustaining the exceptions to the first sale and overruling the exceptions to the second sale. As we have reached the conclusion that the court erred in sustaining the exceptions to the first sale it is not necessary to further notice the exceptions to the second sale or the arguments of counsel in reference to the ruling of the court in sustaining this sale.

Four exceptions were filed by the receiver to the first sale. The first exception was because the sale was not advertised as required by law. The second exception was because the commissioner demanded that the receiver as purchaser execute sale bonds for erroneous amounts. The third exception was because there were liens for taxes on the property of which the purchaser had no notice at the time of the sale. The fourth exception is the one chiefly relied on by counsel for the receiver, and it is in these words: "After the bidding on said property at said sale reached fifty-five hundred dollars ($5,500.00) the only other bids made thereon thereafter besides those made by the undersigned were made by the defendant, H. A. Williams, and his bids were the only competitive bids with those of the undersigned after the sum of fifty-five hundred dollars ($5,500.00) had been bid for said property. The said Williams was at the time of said sale and is now insolvent, which was known to the undersigned and he did not believe that the bids of said Williams were made in good faith or that he would or could execute bonds for the purchase price should he become the successful bidder for said property, and believed that the said Williams' bids were made for the purpose of delay and to prevent a sale of the property. With this view of the subject and so believing, he bid on the said property in competition with the said Williams and it was finally knocked off to him by the commissioner at the sum of sixty-six hundred and twenty-five dollars ($6,625.00). The undersigned had not been authorized by any order of this court to bid on said property and he did not know and does not now know whether he had power or authority to bid thereon as receiver as he did do, and he submits to the court as to whether he had such power or authority and whether as receiver aforesaid, he could become the purchaser of said property and bind the trust estate in his hands for the payment of the amount which had been adjudged in favor of the said Citizens Life Insurance Company as a prior lien thereon and as to whether under the circumstances said sale should be confirmed. The said property was appraised for said sale as shown by the report of the commissioner at the sum of $6,500.00, and the undersigned believes that it is reasonably worth seven thousand dollars ($7,000.00)."

The receiver was appointed under section 616 of the Kentucky Statutes, providing that, when the...