Lynch v. Roberts
Lynch v. Roberts
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The only question raised by this appeal, is whether upon the case presented by the bill of complaint, the Court below erred in granting the injunction prayed for. The appeal is from the order of the Circuit Court for Carroll County, dated 26th of November, 1880, granting an injunction staying further proceedings in certain actions at law.
The "bill charges, that on the seventh day of October, 1878, Elijah Wagoner and his wife executed a deed to Martin L. Main and William A. MoKellip, trustees, professedly for the benefit of Elijah Wagoner’s creditors; that the trustees accepted the trust and sold large portions of the property conveyed to them by the deed, and received the proceeds amounting to several thousands of. dollars ; that this deed of trust was made for the purpose of, and as the instrument of defrauding the creditors of Elijah Wagoner, the grantor, and was therefore void. It also charges, that, on the twenty-sixth day of May, 1879,
Looking to the bill and its exhibits and to them alone, as we must for the purposes of this decision, we see no error in the action of the Court awarding the injunction. It alleges that, the deed of trust to Martin L. Main and William A. McKellip, was executed expressly for the purpose, and as the instrument of defrauding the creditors of Elijah Wagoner; and, that such was its object and purpose had been duly found by a jury, in the attachment suit of Edward Lynch on the law side of the Circuit Court for Carroll County. In this proceeding the insolvent trustee asserts its fraudulent character as against all the creditors of .Elijah Wagoner, and representing the creditors, as he does, for the purpose of such inquiry and determination, asks that the deed may be declared void by a decree of a Court of equity. Waters vs. Dashiell, 1 Md., 472 ; Gardner vs. Lewis, 7 Gill, 397.
The seventh section of Article 48 of the Code declares all conveyances in fraud of the rights of creditors to be vóid, and that the property or thing conveyed by such deed shall vest in the insolvent trustee ; and because this deed professed to be a deed for the benefit of creditors, and in trust for them, it is not protected from impeachment, and decree declaring it void, if its object was in fact, as alleged, fraud upon and hindrance of the creditors. By the express language of the Statute, the property conveyed by a fraudulent deed shall vest, not in its grantee, but in the insolvent trustee. So that if the deed to Main and McKellip was such as the bill charges it to be, no title ever vested in them; and if any of the property has been disposed of by them and put beyond the control of the insolvent trustee, the complainant, the pro
. In Laupheimer vs. Rosenbaum, et al., 25 Md., 219, it is distinctly held by this Court, that attaching creditors may be enjoined pending proceedings to vacate the deed, saving their rights in respect to any lien acquired by the attachment proceedings, “ in the event of the deed being finally vacated.” The order granting the injunction will be affirmed without prejudice to any claim the several attaching, creditors may have of lien acquired by their attachments.
Order affirmed, and cause remanded.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Edward Lynch, Denton Gehr, Elias O. Grimes, and others v. Charles B. Roberts, Trustee in Insolvency of Elijah Wagoner
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published