The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-02-23
UNITED STATES Drsrs,cr CorRr-J Judge r. |

UNITED STATES D1SThiCT Sothf-V0oSo .s'
". RugheS presiding.--Ia Chancery.--
the matter Of Armistead Il Morton, assign
ees, cs. isaac Jacobs and others, involving
the validity Of a sale made by The trustees
Of the German Building Fund Association,
the Court delivered the following opinion:
In the matter Of I. Jacobs, bankrupt,
the motion is to set aside sale which has
been confirmed by order Of this court, after
the purchase money has been paid, the deed
executed and delivered TO the purchaser, the
proceeds, except small amount, distri-'
huted sill by order Of this court.
The chief objection relied upon to avoid
the sale is irregu|arity, though inadequacy
of price is complained Of.
II we look upon the sale as judicial one,
and As the result Of proceedings either in the
chancery suit 20, or in the bankrupt case 81,
ncndinc there, there was, indeed, great ir-
recularities /: but, in fact, the sale was not
iudicial except in q pe,7nisstcc sense. Ihose
who conducted it tthe trustees OF the Ger
man Buildjng Fund Association, No. -
looked to the trust-deed as the source OF
their authority. They acted mlnisteriany
under the deed, and their sale was a MINIS
,eral sale. Their powers under tne trust
were ample, and they tried to AVOID comPli,
cstion with the TWO suits In this cause ana
they did so as faraS It was possible tor them
70 do consistently with their respect fof the
order of the court. They made the sale IN ac-
cordance with the requirements OF their trust
deed, advertised according TO the require
ments, and relied in their whole action upon
the authority conferred upon them by the
deed ottrust. The psrties legally interestedln 10
the amount due under the trust agreed oy
counsel upon areference to commissioned
for ascertaining the amount due; there was
report by the commission; the sate was
then made; the ascertained debt OF the
Building Fund Association, NO. :, was
paid and the remaining purchase-mohey
deposited. A proper deed to the purchaser
was executed by the trustees, and the Whoie
transaction was begun and ended In accord
ance with the requirements OF the trust deeu.
As ministerial sale it was regular and IN
due form and complete, and as such it can
not be impeached for irresularity. OF when
there was non2, except so far as lrregularltg
was caused By the orders Of this court. AS
a ministerial sale by the trustees it must
stand.
In permisssre way only was it judicial
sale. The authority upon which the sale
was made was rot derived from orders or
this court. Although this court intcrfered
to control the action of the trustees, yet IN
the course Of exercising that control 1t con-
tirmed the sale, directed the payment and de.
posit of the purchase-money, ordered deed
to be made to the purchaser, and in the most
formal manner ratified the entire action OF
the trustees in their proceedings.
After al this had been done, motion Is
now made TO set aside the sale for irreSu-
laritv. have looked quite laboriously into
the decisions on this subject, and find that
the uniform tenor of them all is that this
motion comes too late.
Their doctrine in such cases Is, that the
rights of the purchaser must be respected,
and nav not be destroyed, disregarded, or
prejudiced by an avoidance of the sale. This
rule bas to be applied frequently in cases
where DEGREES of sale have been reversed
on appeal The author of the recently pub
Iished textbook on judicial sales, who was
so highly eXtolled by the counsel, noticing
this section, says: (Rover's Judicial Sales,
section 49,
When the sale is to third person, and
bona .tide purchaser, and has been fully
completed by confirmation. conveyance, ana
payment, it will neither be avoided, nor Will
it be set aside by reason Of subsequent re-
yersal of the decree. This rule is so gener-
ally recognized as to scarcely require au'
thorities to support II.
An order was entered in accordance with
the opinion.
The court adjourned until the 18th Of
March. In the interim Judge Hughes VIII
hear cases at Norfolk and Alexandria.