Hunt v. Bode
Hunt v. Bode
Opinion of the Court
There are two questions presented in the record for our determination, which are:
1. The Atlas National Bank, having in its possession certain warehouse receipts for a stock of whiskey given it by H. F. Stothfang in pledge as collateral for a loan of money made to him by the bank, could the pledgor make another valid pledge or a transfer to Dieckmann of an interest in the same receipts, without any change of possession, as collateral security for a débt due him from the pledgor?
2. If the pledgor filed a deed of general assignment for the benefit of creditors within ninety days after the making of the second pledge or transfer, is such pledge or transfer void’ under the provisions of section 6343, Revised Statutes?
On this branch of the case ■ it may be remarked, that delivery of the property pledged is generally essential to a valid pledge, and it is equally true that to make a valid sale or transfer of any species or article of personal property, a delivery of the property sold or transferred is necessary, and to this extent the authorities cited by counsel for plaintiff in error may be approved. But it does not follow that actual or physical delivery should always accompany the sale or transfer, and this is also true as to the pledging of choses in action or other kinds of personal property. The delivery in some cases may be symbolical, such as the handing over the writing which constitutes the title to the property, just as was done in this case, to secure the Atlas Na
In the case of Wilson v. Little, 2 Comst., 443, the court of appeals of New York held: “Possession of the property is essential to the existence of a pledge, but the possession may be according to the nature of the subject. Where the property is not capable of manual delivery and possession (shares of stock in an incorporated company), a pledge may be created by a written transfer thereof * *
And on page 447, that court says: “There seems to be no reason why any legal or equitable interest whatever in personal property may not be pledged, pro-Added the interest can be put, by actual delivery or written transfer, into the hands or within the power of the pledgee, so as to be made available to him for the satisfaction of the debt. Goods at sea may be passed in pledge by a transfer of the muniments of title, as by written assignment of the bill of lading. This is equivalent to actual possession, because it is a, delivery of the means of obtaining possession.”
The ease of Tuxworth v. Moore, 9 Pick., 347, is also in point. See also Whitaker v. Sumner, 20 Pick.,
“Every sale, conveyance, transfer, mortgage or assignment, whether made in trust or otherwise, by a debtor or debtors, and every judgment suffered by him or them, and act or device done or resorted to by him or them in contemplation of insolvency, or with a design to prefer one or more creditors to the exclusion in whole or in part of others, and every sale, conveyance, transfer, mortgage or assignment made or judgment suffered by a debtor or debtors, or procured by him or them to be made, in any mannerj with intent to hinder, delay or defraud creditors, shall be declared void as to creditors of such debtor or debtors, at the suit of any creditor or creditors, as hereinafter provided, and shall operate as an assignment and transfer of all the property and effects of such debtor or debtors, and shall inure to the equal benefit of all creditors of such debtor or debtors in proportion to the amount of their respective demands, including those which are unmatured.
“And every such sale, conveyance, transfer, mortgage or assignment made, and every such judgment suffered, and every such act or device done or re
“Provided, that nothing in this section contained shall-vitiate or affect any mortgage made in good faith to secure any debt or liability created simultaneously with such mortgage, if the same be filed for record in the county wherein the property is situated, or as otherwise provided by law, within three (3) days after its execution, and where upon foreclosure or taking possession of such property the mortgagee fully accounts for the proceeds of such property.”
The pledge or transfer to Dieckmann was made on the 12th day of May, 1899, by H. F. Stothfang, and he filed a deed of assignment on the 7th of August oí the same year which was within ninety days after the making of the pledge or transfer. Notwithstanding this fact, and the language of section 6343, Revised Statutes, the transactions of the 12th of May are not necessarily void. There still may be valid sales, conveyances and transfers of property made, and which will not be affected although the seller or transferrer may file a deed of assignment within ninety- days thereafter. The clause of this section, and which is an important part of the amendment of the original section, provides that, “every such sale, conveyance, transfer * * * made by any debtor, or debtors, in the event of a deed of assignment being filed within
It will be seen that the word “such” among the first words of the addition to the. original section, fills an important and determinative office in the construction of what follows it. It relates back to the preceding paragraph of the section wherein is provided what sales, transfers * * * shall be declared void as to creditors of such debtor or debtors, at the suit of any creditor or creditors; and the sales and transfers * * * which may be so declared void at the suit of the creditors, are such as were made in contemplation of insolvency, or with a design to prefer one or more creditors to the exclusion in whole or in part of others; and every sale, conveyance, transfer * * * with intent to hinder, delay or- defraud creditors. “Such” sales, conveyances, transfers, etc., as are thus enumerated, shall be declared void at the suit of a creditor. And it is “such” sales, conveyances, transfers, etc., as above enumerated that shall be conclusively deemed fraudulent and void as to the assignee, if the assignment is made within ninety days after such sale, conveyance, transfer, etc. In order to warrant any other construction, we must eliminate and wholly disregard the word “such,” which seems to have been purposely used by the legislature and not through accident or mistake. That word brings the class of acts and things done as set out in the original, and which
We have no right or authority to despise or disregard this significant word, but must construe the section with it performing its legitimate function; and if such construction tends to render the amendment of 1898, somewhat unproductive of intended or desired results, it is not the fault of the court, as it is not the law-making power.
Therefore, if the sale or conveyance or transfer was not in contemplation of insolvency; if it was not made Avith intent to hinder, delay or defraud creditors, or with a design to prefer one or more creditors to the exclusion in whole or in part of others, the transaction will stand in a suit brought by a creditor; and such sale, conveyance or transfer will also stand, although made within ninety days next preceding the filing of a deed of assignment, by the maker of the sale, conveyance or transfer. This conclusion rests upon the ground that the transactions were in good faith, and without the dishonest or fraudulent motive and intent which are the basis of an action to avoid them. The legislature in this part of the law regulating the acts of insolvent debtors and providing a mode of administering their estates, did not intend by the amendment to the section under consideration, to enact a system of bankruptcy, but rather attempted to provide a rule of proof in such cases, as is shown by the entire amendment, because the sales, conveyances and transfers that are “conclusively deemed and held to
It seems clear, therefore, that the transfer or pledge by Stothfang to Dieckmann is not void because it was made within ninety days preceding Stothfang’s assignment, but that proof was necessary to show that such transfer was made in contemplation of insolvency; or with a design to prefer one or more creditors to the exclusion in whole or in part of others; or with intent to hinder, delay or defraud creditors, inasmuch as it is such sales, conveyances, transfers, * * * that fall within the ninety day clause.
The record in this case shows none of the foregoing facts requisite to avoid the pledge or transfer. It is true Stothfang was insolvent when he made the pledge to Dieckmann, but of this, the latter had no knowledge. There is no finding or fact in the record which brings the case within the section as we construe it, and as no fraud, or intent to prefer, hinder or delay, is shown, we will not presume either.
On both questions we approve of the judgment of the circuit court and it is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.