The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-01-17
KNOCKED THEM OUT
JUDGE REED sUSTAINS THE P0sI-
TON OF RECEIVER LEVY.
He Held That Court Of Equity
Could Take Charge Of the Assets
of AN Insolvent Partnership
and Distribute Them Equal.
Iy Among the Creditors.

| The district court passed upon the W his-
taker packing house case, as it is COM
monty called, yesterday. :
The questions involved were first the
right of he receiver to dissolve the attach
men;s, it being contended that the receiver
AS such had no such power. The court
decided that the receiver mad such right;
that the duties of the receiver were not
simply tnat of custodian but that he had
the right to protect his possession when
| controverted by motion to dissolve at
tachments. The court also decided that
a court of equity had the right
to take charge of the assets Of an insolvent
partnership and distribute its assets
| among it's general creditors, nothwith-
standing the general law of assignment.
1t became hotly contested question ii
there existed a partnership in this case
and the court held there was partnership
and that the attachment should be dis
solved and the assets distributed equitably
among all of the creditors.
In 1889 the wholesale packing house was
built aud the board of trade contributed
$150,OO0 to it in money and law. The hard
times came on and the company. consist
IuR VI AlCudcl anu cOoA w hie'
taker, found they were insolvent and
owed 100000. The assets were the pack
ing plant aud about S175,OO0 in meats.
They came here on June and applied for
the appointment of a receiver and NJ
W. Levy was appointed. The next
dag the National Bank of Commerce of
ST. Louis attached the plant and stock for
the payment of $4,000, and a few days
later Jerome Bergman of Kansas City at
tached for $50, 900 more, claiming to hold
note against the company. The next step
taken Mr.. Levy MS receiver filed motions
10 dissolve attachment in both cases on
the ground that the attachments
were run after his appointment
as receiver and the property being in the
hand. of receiver could not be attached.
Afterwards by leave of the court the Ma
tionsl Bank of Commerce and Bergman
filed their intervening petitions setting
forth and claiming that there WAS no
partnership existing between McErmes
and Whitaker; tEat the court had
no right to appoint receiver
and that the receiver was col
lusively and fraudulently appointed,
and prayed that the court sustain their
attachments and order the receiver to pay
the National Bank of Commerce and
Bergman the amount of 500, 0GO, first out
Of the funds in the hands of the receiver.
The receiver answers the claims of the
Narional Bank of Commerce and
Bergman aud asked that his appoint
ment be sustained and that he
pay funds in his hands equally among all
the creditors with the exception of Berry
man and that the latter be denied any
Judgment whatever. All the other credit
ors who had not attached also filed their
cross petitions. asking that all the prop
erty be divided equally among the credit !
ors except Bergman, claiming that he
had no right whatever to any interest in |
the property in the hands of the receiver. !
The case occupied three days in its
trial and was very Interesting. The at
torneys were Stanley and Hume for Mr..
Levy. the receiver: j. NJ. Holmes of 81. /
Louis, representing the general creditors;
A. L. Hrsch of this city, representing
some foreign creditors, aud Bentley q
Ferguson and Judge Robinson OF Kansas
City representing the attaching creditors. |