St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-02-19
LAWYERS AT WAR.
A Hot Legal Fight Over the
Appointment Of a Re-
ceiyep
FOR THE WHITE BEAR ROAD
Attorneys for Bondholdeps
Charge Collision to De-
fraud.
AsHARP TRICK OF COUNSEL
Defeated Here, They Work 1t
= on Judge Crosby at Hast
ings.

VGIOD INTO d lldIu leSdt liSllt IhieaI SeNii
only be finally settled by an appeal
to the supreme court. In fact, the
matter has already been the means
Of exciting a hot encounter between
the attorneys for the different par
ties interested, but the indications
now are that the battle has little
more than begun.
The first move made in the matter
was an action brought by the st.
Paul Title Insurance & Trust COM
pany against the st. Paul & White
Bear Railway company, which was
presumed to be an application for
the appointment of a receiver. The
case came up before Judge Willis
Attorney c. A. Severance, of the
law firm of Davis, Kellogg & Sew
erance, appeared for the plaintiff
and w. E. Bramhall for the defend
ant. Attorney J. w. Lane appeared
for Ambrose Tighe, counsel for GER
tain bond-holders of the railroad
company, and requested that the
hearing be put over until this week
to give Mr.. Tighe a chance to be
present and represent his clients.
Mr.. Severance protested that
receiver should be appointed at once,
as the interests Of both parties would
suffer serious injury by any delay.
Judge Willis asked if there was
70 tho annOintrnant of
a receiver, and the attorneys for
both sides replying in the negative,
he named J. w. Lane as receiver.
Attorneys Severance ana Bramhall
both said they desired to be heard
further in the matter, so the case
was continued until o'clock.
When the hearing was resumed
at the appointed hour Mr.. Sever
ance said he had decided not to make
application for the appointment of
a receiver and Mr.. Bramhau said
he had consented to the withdrawal
of the application for the reason
that he was not satisfied with the
intimation of the court that Mr..
Lane would be appointed. He
wanted a man named Fritz Moe,
who is motorman on the road, ap-
pointed, because he would serve
without extra compensation.
MIR. Tighe, who was present now,
criticised the attorneys for their
action, and said it was an
i : AFFRONT TO THE COURT
to attempt to withdraw case sim
ply because the anticipated action of
the court was not to his liking.
Mr.. Severance replied that there
was no case pending, inasmuch as
no complaint had been filed or sum-
mons served, and he moved to have
the case stricken from the calendar
on the ground that, though a note of
issue had been filed setting forth by
name certain cause of action, no
such cause in point of fact existed.
Mr.. Tighe and Attorney j. J. Nc
Cafferty, who represented other
bOndholders, made a savage attack
on the attorneys, accusing them of
wanting in good faith, and branded
their conduct as an outrage. They
charged that there was evidently
collision to defraud somebody. At
torneys Severance and BramhalI also
warmed up, and the temperature of
the room warmed up, and rose at the
rate of degree a minute until it
got so hot that spontaneous COM
bustion seemed imminent.
Judge Willis said there was no al
tentative but to grant the motion,
though, in doing so, he administered
a singing rebuke to Attorneys Sew
erance and Bramhall for the means
they employed to bring their case
into court, and yet leave themselves
free to withdraw it if the court did
not see fit to be governed by their
caprice.
The attorneys protested that they had
not intended to slight the court, and
that they had acted in good faith.
But the court replied that acts spoke
for themselves and dismissed the case.
Mr.. 'Tighe then set to work to pre-
pare and file complaint for his clients,
William c. Bramwen and E. w. Peet,
asking for the appointment of a re-
ceiver on the ground that the COM
pany had defaulted in the payment of
the July and January interest coupons
on it's bonds. Mr.. Tighe applied to
Judge Willis late Saturday evening and
secured the issuance of an order calling
fore him at II o'clock yesterday and
yI,xro CHI of
be appointed
But Severance and Bramhall, while
the deputy sheriffs were hunting for
HIM Byllesby, president of the road,
to serve notice of the order, accom-
panied by Mr.. Byllesby, were on their
way to Hastings in search of a sheriff,
and to go before Judge Crosby, of Da-
kotaa county, a portion of the extern
sion of the road from North st. Paul to
White Bear running through that
county. They left here on the 6:55 train
The same papers that had been used
here or papers that were exact dupli-
Gates of them, were filed over there,
and "a summons was placed in the
handsiof the sheriff to be served on Mr..
Byllesby, who was conveniently found
at hotel. Judge Crosby was called
out and the application for the appoint
mentj of a receiver made.
MrIGTighe had kept his eye on the
movements of the enemy, and he also
conveniently happened to be in Hast
ings at that particular moment. He
was courteously invited to take hand
in the proceedings, but with equal cour-
tesy declined the invitation, further
than to inform the court regarding the
proceedings that had taken place be-
fore Judge Willis.
Judge Crosby replied that the case
was regularly before him and he had
no alternative but to pass upon it,
FIFE GRANTED THE APPLICATION
for a receiver, and appointed Mr.. Moe,
as both plaintiff and defendant de-
sired he should.
At IL o'clock yesterday all the at
torneys appeared before Judge Willis
again in answer to the order to show.
cause. Mr.. Severance was not pres
ent. but Frank B. Kellogg, one of the
other members of his firm. was.
There were so many spectators that