Yacht Charterers v. Diesel Yacht Yankee Clipper, 4520

• Decision Date: 26 February 1954
• Docket Number: 4517.,No. 4520,4520
• Citation: 121 F. Supp. 118
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: YACHT CHARTERERS Inc. v. DIESEL YACHT YANKEE CLIPPER. BANKERS TRUST CO. v. KENFORD, Inc. et al.

121 F. Supp. 118

YACHT CHARTERERS Inc. v. DIESEL YACHT YANKEE CLIPPER.

BANKERS TRUST CO. v. KENFORD, Inc. et al.

Nos. 4520, 4517.

United States District Court, Connecticut.

February 26, 1954.

Charles A. Van Hagen, Jr., New York City, Vincent P. Dooley, New Haven, Conn., for claimant.

McGuire & McGuire, New London, Conn., Mahar & Mason, New York City, for libellant.

SMITH, District Judge.

The case is before this court on the exceptions of the claimant, Kenford, Inc., to the libel of Yacht Charterers Inc. and the motion to sustain these exceptions. Claimant also moves that the libel of Yacht Charterers Inc. which was included in Adm. 4517, the consolidation of all actions filed against the yacht "Yankee Clipper", be eliminated from that consolidation, and thus that there be a resettling of the order of this court dated November 27, 1953.

The background of the case leading up to the present motion briefly is as follows: The Bankers Trust Company filed its libel on September 2, 1953 to foreclose a certain preferred mortgage on the yacht, "Yankee Clipper", in which libel process was obtained against the yacht as well as the claimant here, Kenford, Inc., citing it to appear and answer. The yacht was attached by the Marshal, and exceptions were filed to the Bankers Trust libel by Kenford, Inc., which were overruled on November 16, 1953. On October 20, 1953 a motion was made by Yacht Charterers, Inc., as well as two other parties to intervene, which was denied on November 16, 1953 but without prejudice to motions that their independent libels pending in the court be consolidated with the Bankers Trust action. Such order was entered on November 27, 1953 resulting in the consolidation into Adm. 4517 of the four actions. Kenford, Inc. filed an answer to the Bankers Trust libel which the Court on November 30, 1953 held presented no triable issue of fact; Kenford never did answer the libel of Yacht Charterers or the other two consolidated libels.

An order was entered by Judge Hincks on November 30, 1953 which provided for the condemnation of the yacht and among other things ordered that "jurisdiction is reserved for future determination of the order of priorities of all claims and of the amounts of the claims of Yacht Charterers, Inc. * * * to be allowed out of the proceeds of sale." The parties are agreed that the amount stated in the claim of Yacht Charterers, Inc. is the correct amount, if the Court had jurisdiction over the claim.

Claimant's exceptions filed on February 5, 1954 were the first objections made to the libel of Yacht Charterers, Inc., which, on the merits, would appear to have been disposed of in the proceedings which culminated in the order of November 30, 1953 retaining jurisdiction of the court only for the priority and amount of libellant's claim. Claimant, however, contends that its exceptions here go to the lack of jurisdiction of ...