Northampton Trust Co. v. Northampton Traction Co.
Northampton Trust Co. v. Northampton Traction Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The Northampton Trust Company, trustee under three separate mortgages of the Northampton Traction Company, covering its line- of railway from Easton to Nazareth and Bangor, filed a class-bill as trustee and creditor to declare the traction company insolvent, and place its property under control; later, by amendment to these proceedings, it instituted foreclosure -proceedings under the first mortgage. Then the Bankers Trust Company, owners of junior mortgage bonds, resisted the sale, raising a number of questions, which we will consider in their order, reciting such additional facts as may be necessary to the determination of the points involved.
Can a trustee, under different mortgages covering the same security, faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of its trust, as between two or more independent sets of creditors, when foreclosure proceedings have been instituted under the first mortgage?
A trustee of a corporate mortgage has little actual work to perform; selected in part to give tone to the obligation and encourage the sale of securities,—as a sort of certificate of the mortgagor’s standing,—its duties are to a large extent passive until some default occurs, when they become active; it must faithfully discharge the obligations of its trusts to each set of creditors ; having been selected, confided in and used for the purpose of establishing credit, it must preserve its high position of absolute neutrality and equality among all, showing no signs of partiality at which the accusing finger of unfairness can be pointed, even though such acts may not amount to actionable legal wrong. On the other hand, it should not be harassed by wholly unwarranted and unjustifiable demands of disappointed
It is no answer, in this casq, to say the junior creditors knew that other debts were before them, and who was to act as trustee; they do not complain of this; what they complain of is that, through unfairness, they are being “squeezed” out without an opportunity to be heard. It is not necessary for actual fraud to appear before equity will intervene. The trustee is acting in a fiduciary relation with respect to contending creditors, and should be free from the embarrassment of being compelled to deal with himself in a dual capacity. It is not necessary to determine what conflicting claims may arise, either with regard to the extent, validity, terms of the mortgage or application of income from the operation of the property; it is sufficient that they may well arise; and public policy requires, where controversies are brought into court, that each party should be represented by someone whose single object it is to secure all to which such party is entitled, unhampered by personal relations to an adverse party, who is bound in conscience to be a loyal and vigorous champion, without any obligation to a conflicting creditor or party; it is because of this anomalous situation between the several independent sets of creditors that equity, always jealous of her impartiality, should have acted in this case. See Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. v. Northern Pacific Ry. Co. (C. C.), 66 Fed. 169; Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. v. N. P. Ry., 70 Fed. 423; Jones on Corporate Bonds, 399, page 438; Brown v. Denver Omnibus & Cab Co., 254 Fed. 560, 567; Lowenthal v. Georgia C. & P. R. R., 233 Fed. 1010, 1013.
The appellant here was vitally interested in the proceeding as holder of second and third mortgage bonds, and the trustee was under obligation to protect it to
It may be stated as a general principle that an intervener must take a suit as he finds it, and should be bound by the record of the case at the time of intervention: 11 A. & E. Enc. Pl. and Pr. 509. He can, of course, contest the plaintiff’s claim on the ground of collusion (17 Am. & Eng. Ency. of Law (2d ed.) 185; note following Brown v. Saul, 16 Am. Dec. 175, at page 180; Sailor Company v. Moyer, 35 Pa. Superior Ct. 503, 506) and should be permitted to set up as defense such circumstances as would lawfully preclude final judgment or decree—in this case, directing a sale of the property where such judgment or decree works a positive injury to the intervener. Ordinarily, assuming there are different trustees, junior creditors will not be permitted to intermeddle in litigation between plaintiff and defendant unless they show some injury to themselves: Andrews v. Window Glass Co., 268 Pa. 565. That foreclosure will be detrimental to the holders of the second mortgage will not deprive the holders of the first mortgage of the right to proceed: Dickerman v. Northern Trust Company, 176 U. S. 181, 191; Phila. Trust Co. v. Northumberland, etc., Co., 258 Pa. 152; Columbia, etc., Co. v. North, etc., Co. 258 Pa. 447, 454. Nor will de
The bill avers the traction company was insolvent, unable to pay its debts, including interest on bonds, and in arrears for taxes due the Commonwealth; it prayed, among other things, the corporation be decreed insolvent, liens ascertained and determined, a sale of the premises ordered,—a, receiver was appointed meanwhile to take care of the assets. An answer was filed by the traction company admitting all these averments. The amendment to the bill recited the terms of the first mortgage in some detail, and asked the court to find the principal and interest due and owing, and decree a sale under the mortgage. .The traction company again filed an answer, admitting these facts, as did plaintiff as trustee of the second and third mortgages, and the Easton Trust Company, trustee of the fourth mortgage. An order of sale was decreed; it was at this juncture the Bankers Trust Company stepped into the case, setting up the inconsistent position of the plaintiff as trustee in the three mortgages, denied the principal debt was due, as admitted by the traction company, averring interest only was due and collectible, and that the consent of all bondholders of the first mortgage to a sale for such purposes had not been obtained. If anyone of these positions is correct, the harm done the intervener, who must raise a large sum of money or suffer jmpafcaSfe Rtes, is apparent'.
We need not discuss the question as to whether the amendment to the bill was proper. There is no exception to the order of April 5,. 1920, allowing the amendment; nor has the amendment been assigned for error. The court has definitely found the amount due under the default, and, by reason of this breach, not only the interest and principal became due January lst, but there were defaults in the payment of taxes, causing the principal sum to become due.
There was no error in the final order of sale; the assignments are overruled and the decree of the court below is affirmed, at the costs of appellants.
Reference
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- Northampton Trust Company, Trustee v. Northampton Traction Co.
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- Trusts and trustees—Trustee under different mortgages covering same property—Foreclosure proceedings—Inconsistent interests— Trustee in different capacities—Duty to resign trust as to junior mortgages—Corporations. 1. A trustee, under different mortgages covering the same security, may not faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the trust, as between two or more independent sets of creditors, when it has instituted foreclosure proceedings under the first mortgage. 2. The trustee, in such ease, should resign the trust as to the junior mortgages, and request the court to appoint successor trustees for such mortgages, and, in default of such appointment, should permit the holders of bonds secured by the junior mortgages to intervene and defend against a foreclosure. Mortgages—Foreclosure—Defense by junior mortgages—Decree refusing intervention—Final judgment—Appeals. 3. Holders of bonds secured by junior mortgages should be permitted to intervene, in proceedings to foreclose the first mortgage, and to set up as a defense such circumstances as would preclude final judgment where such judgment would cause a positive injury to them. 4. A decree refusing to permit holders of bonds secured by junior mortgages to defend against a foreclosure of the first mortgage is a denial of a substantive right and is so far final to that right as to warrant an appeal to be taken therefrom. Mortgages—Corporate mortgage—Foreclosure—Default — Failure to pay interest — Powers of trustee — Bights of bondholders under junior mortgages. 5. On default of payment of interest and taxes, the trustee under a corporate mortgage is entitled to a decree of foreclosure to recover the whole of the principal debt remaining due and all interest thereon under a provision in the mortgage providing that it shall be lawful for the trustee, in ease of default in payment of interest for the space of sixty days, “forthwith to sue out a writ of scire facias or take any other proceeding at law or in equity thereon, and to proceed to judgment and execution for the recovery of the whole debt remaining due upon the bonds aforesaid, and all interest due thereon.” 6. The trustee is not limited to foreclosure merely for interest, unless all the bondholders agree to such sale for unpaid interest, by reason of another provision in the mortgage that, upon default in payment of interest, the principal sum shall become due and payable at once at the option of the bondholders. 7. The latter provision is an independent remedy given to the bondholders while the former provision empowers the trustee to act on a default without request from any of the bondholders. 8. In such case, bondholders under junior mortgages have no standing to have the foreclosure stopped on payment of the overdue interest and costs on the theory that the principal of the bonds is not yet due and payable.