White v. Cotzhausen

by John Marshall Harlan

United States Supreme Court

129 U.S. 329

White  v.  Cotzhausen

This is an appeal from a decree declaring two conveyances of real property in Illinois, a bill of sale of numerous pictures, a judgment by confession in one of the courts of that state pursuant to a warrant of attorney given for that purpose, and certain transfers of property accompanying that warrant, to be void as against the appellee, Cotzhausen, a judgment creditor of Alexander White, Jr. It is assigned for error that the decree is not supported by the evidence. Besides controverting this position, the appellee contends that the conveyances, judgment by confession, and transfers were illegal and void under the provisions of the act of the general assembly of Illinois in force July 1, 1877, concerning voluntary assignments for the benefit of creditors. 1 Starr & C. St. 1303. The record contains a large amount of testimony, oral and written, but the principal facts are as follows: Alexander White, Sr., died intestate in the year 1872; his wife, Ann White, four daughters, Margaret, Elsie, Mary S., and Annie, and two sons, Alexander and James B., surviving him. Each of the children, except James, was of full age when the father died. At the request of the mother, and with the assent of his sisters, Alexander White, Jr., qualified as administrator, and in that capacity received personal assets of considerable value. With their approval, if not by their express direction, he undertook the management of the real estate of which his father died possessed; making improvements, collecting rents, paying taxes, and causing repairs to be made. He received realty in exchange for stock in a manufacturing company, and in part exchange for the homestead, taking the title in his own name. After the death of the father, the widow and children remained together as one household, the expenses of the family, and of each member of it, being met with money furnished by Alexander White, Jr., out of funds he received from time to time, and deposited in bank to his credit as administrator. But no regular account was kept showing the amount paid to or for individual members of the family. In 1878 it was determined by the widow and children to have an assignment of dower and a partition of the real property, and proceedings to that end were instituted in the circuit court of Cook county, Ill. Before the close of that year, or in the spring or summer of 1879, having failed to obtain from the administrator a satisfactory account of the condition of the estate, they consulted an attorney, who, upon investigation, ascertained (using here the words of the appellants' counsel) that Alexander White, Jr., 'had lost the entire personal estate, and had nothing except his interest as an heir in certain of the real estate with which to make good his losses.' It appeared, as is further stated, that he had mortgaged some of the real property the title to which had been taken in his name; had anticipated rents on other property; had exchanged lands for stock in a heating and ventilating company; had allowed taxes to accoumulate; and had, besides, induced some members of the family to guaranty his notes to a large amount. Upon these disclosures being made, the property was put under the immediate charge of the younger son, and the attorney with whom the mother and sisters had advised was directed to collect the amount due from Alexander White, Jr. Thereupon a friendly accounting was had, which resulted in a report by him to the probate court, on the 18th of July, 1879, of his acts and doings as administrator during the whole period from the date of his appointment, April 9, 1872, to July 21, 1879. The report admits a balance due from him as administrator of $89,646.05, and charges him, 'by virtue of the statute,' (Rev. St. Ill. 1874, c. 3, § 113,) with $40,123.80, being interest on that sum from January 21, 1875, to July 21, 1879, at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum; in all, the sum of $129,769.85. He does not seem to have asserted any claim whatever for his services as administrator, or for managing the real property. That report was approved by the probate court, which made an order, July 22, 1879, directing the said sum of $129,769.85 to be distributed and paid by the administrator as follows: To the widow, $43,256.61, and to each of the other children, $14,418.87. It should be stated in this connection, that on the 16th of July, 1879, two days before the report to the probate court, the proceedings in the partition suit were brought to a conclusion by a decree assigning dower to the widow, and setting off specific parcels of land to Margaret and Alexander, respectively, and other parcels to the remaining heirs jointly. On the same day, Alexander White, Jr., executed two conveyances,-one to his sisters (except Margaret) and his brother James, jointly, for part of the lands assigned to him by the decree of partition, and the other to his sister Margaret for the remaining part; the former deed reciting a consideration of $56,859.20, which is about the aggregate of the several amounts subsequently directed to be paid by the administrator to his brother and sisters, (except Margaret,) while the latter deed recited a consideration of $14,214.80, which is about the sum directed to be paid to his sister Margaret. Two days later, July 18, 1879, Alexander White, Jr., executed to his mother, brother, and sisters (except Margaret) a bill of sale of his interest in certain pictures which had come to his hands as administrator; and three days thereafter, July 21, 1879, he executed to his mother a note, accompanied by a warrant of attorney to confess judgment, and by a conveyance and transfer of certain real and personal property as collateral security for the note. Subsequently, September 4, 1879, pursuant to that warrant of attorney, judgment was entered against Alexander White, Jr., for $43,807.50, in the circuit court of Cook county. It is not claimed that any money was paid to him in these transactions, and it is admitted that the sole consideration for his transfers of property to the members of his family was his alleged indebtedness to them, respectively.

By the final decree in these consolidated causes, it was adjudged that the two conveyances of July 16, 1879, the bill of sale of July 18, 1879, and the judgment by confession of September 4, 1879, and the transfers accompanying the warrant of attorney of July 21, 1879, were made without adequate consideration, and with intent to hinder, delay, and defraud the appellee, Cotzhausen, who was found by the decree to be a creditor of Alexander White, Jr., in the sum of $27,842.22, the aggregate principal and interest of four several judgments obtained by him against White, in 1881 and 1882. The debts for which these judgments were rendered originated in the early part of 1878, in a purchase from Cotzhausen of nearly all the stock of the American Oleograph Company, whose principal place of business was Milwaukee, Wis. In this purchase Alexander White, Jr., was interested. It is to be inferred from the evidence that the principal object he had in making it was to transfer the office of the company to one of the buildings owned by the family in Chicago, and to start or establish his younger brother in business. His mother and sisters were evidently aware of his purchase, and approved the object for which it was made. It may be here stated that Margaret White died unmarried and intestate before the decree in this cause was entered, but the fact of her death was not previously entered of record. The parties to the present appeal, however, have, by written stipulation filed in this cause, waived all objections they might otherwise make by reason of that fact. It is further stipulated that the appellants are the only heirs at law of Margaret White. The appellee waives all objections to the present appeal on the ground that Alexander White, Jr., did not join in it.

Ira W. Buell and C. M. Osborn, for appellants.

Enoch Totten and F. W. Cotzhausen, for appellee.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 334-335 intentionally omitted]

Mr. Justice HARLAN, after stating the facts in the foregoing language, delivered the opinion of the court.

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