Kingston v. Creedon
Kingston v. Creedon
Opinion of the Court
The appellant claims that the action cannot be maintained against him because, (1) the selling bank had gone out of existence and therefore could not be a “delinquent bank;” (2) the guaranty forming the basis of the only claim against the selling bank expired in one year and the seller owed no indebtedness; (3) the appointment of trustees by the selling bank to administer its retained assets deprived the commissioner of power to liquidate the bank; (4) the attempt to take over the bank was ineffectual because no order for taking it over was ever made by the commissioner; also because no order was made by the commissioner determining the necessity to levy a stockholders’ assessment; (5 ) the obligation of the seller to the buyer, if any exists, is not such a one as may support a stockholders’ assessment because it was not made in the course of regular banking business.
The recent decision of this court in Schaefer v. Bickel, 217 Wis. 278, 258 N. W. 797, is conclusive against the appellant upon all his claims above stated. It was there held in effect, although the statutory grounds for the holdings were not explicitly stated, (a) that objections to the commissioner’s action in taking over a bank for liquidation must be made in the court having jurisdiction of the liquidation proceedings, and (b) that any objection to the allowance of claims must be made therein. The claims above stated all fall under either (a) or (b).
The reason for holding (a) of the Bickel Case, supra, is that a paragraph of the banking code, sec. 220.08 (9), Stats., provides that, when the Banking Commissioner takes over a bank for liquidation, the bank may within ten days after possession is taken bring an action in the circuit court for the
The reason for the holding (b) above stated is that sec:. 220.08 (8), Stats., provides that any claim against a liquidating bank allowed by the Commissioner of Banking may be litigated in the court having jurisdiction of the proceedings, if any person interested files his objections to the allowance. - A stockholder is an interested person within this provision. If the defendant desires to resist the claim of the buying bank against the selling bank based upon the selling bank’s guaranty, when and if it is allowed by the commis
The appellant contends that, unless he is permitted to litigate the claims asserted by him on this appeal, his property will be taken from him without the due process of law secured to him by the Fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States, and cites Page v. Jones, 7 Fed. (2d) 541, and Moss v. Whitzel, 108 Fed. 579, in support of his contention. These cases hold that, unless the stockholder of a national bank is permitted to litigate such claims in a suit against him brought by the comptroller of the currency to collect a statutory assessment made by the comptroller under the national banking act, he is denied due process. But the federal act contains no provision for litigating such claims in the liquidating proceedings. Under our state statutes cited, opportunity to litigate the existence of any fact essential to the right of the Banking Commissioner to take over a bank and to litigate any claim allowed against the bank is fully secured to the stockholder, and due process is thus expressly granted to him.
The above seems sufficiently to cover all claims of the appellant above enumerated except claim numbered (1). If in fact there was no 'bank for the commissioner to liquidate, then there was no bank to institute the action provided for by sec. 220.08 (9), and the appellant stockholder would be denied due process under the rule of the federal cases cited supra. But this point was also decided adversely to his contention by the Bickel Case, supra. While the two cases may differ as to some of their facts, the situation as to the existence of the two selling banks involved is the same. While in the instant case four and a half years intervened between the assignment of assets and the act of the commissioner in taking over the bank and in the Bickel Case only two and a half years, this difference is immaterial. A bank necessarily continues in existence for purposes of liquidation
By the Court. — The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Kingston, Commissioner of Banking v. Creedon
- Status
- Published