Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-09-19
PIER
IN LITIGATION
Famous Atlantic City Struc-
turs is Involved.
(From the NEWS Correspondent,

Trenton, Sept. 19:-Upon applica
ton of Daniel l.. Collins, of Pleas.
antville, and other directors of the
Sterling Realty Corporation, which
last January purchased the Young's
pier and hotel property in Atlantic
City for more than $1,000, 900,
Chancellor Walker yesterday after
moor made an order requiring the
Sterling Realty Corporation and
other defendants tt show cause in
Camden September %, why an in
junction should not issue against
them. The injunction is asked to
restrain the defendants from max
ing any move for the dissolution OF
the Sterling corporation. The chan
c%ellor's order carries a temporary re-
straint against the defendants TAX
ing any action at a meeting today,
or at any other time until the fur
Their order of the court from pre-
senting to the stockholders any reso-
luton for the dissolution of the cor
poration and directing them to
refrain from voting upon any reso-
luton for such dissolution. The
other defendants named are Assem-
blyman Carlton Godfrey, William B.
Bell, Frederick c. Robbins, William
A. Faunce and John w. Hackney.
Besides MI. Collins, the complain
ants in the suit are: E. C. Ryon,
Flora l.. Ryon, Edna A. Ryon, Hugh
Collins, Lizzie Collins, Jacob X.
Smith and John r. Ryon, all of At
May County, and Leighton L. Dorey
and William H. Dorey, of Philadel-
phia.
The bill of complaint filed in chan
Gerry alleges that the Sterling Realty
Corporation purchased from the
Young's Pier & Hotel Company Jan
uary Is, 1912, the Young's pier and
hotel property at the valuation the
property was carried on the books
of the latter company, namely, ST.
439,987, less mortgages and bonds
to a considerable amount. After the
sale the Young's Pier e Hotel Com
pany was dissolved and the assets
divided, all of the assets going to
the Sterling Realty Corporation,
which was the sole stakeholder. 1t
is charged by the plaintiffs that the
officers of the Sterling Realty Cor
%poration never had any authority to
make the purchase and that it was
made without the consent or knowl-
edge Of the majority of the directors
of the Sterling corporation.
1t is further charged that notwith-
standing the Sterling Realty Corpor-
alton eve received one cent of
dividends from the Young's Pier &
Hotel Company, but on the contrary
made largo adUanapc and lnanq nf
money for which they never received
any interest, nevertheless, the Sterl-
ing Corporation, through its officers,
Carlton Godfrey and William B. Bell,
purchased from the stockholders in
the Young's Pier & Hotel Company
their stock and paid them interest
thereon at the rate of six per cent.
for seven years. Some of the other
charges made in the bill of COM
plant are:
That no report or account of the
affairs and transactions and the
value of the property of the Sterling
Corporation has ever been furnished
the stockholders, except a. condensed
financial statement made in 1906,
Notwithstanding the corporation has
done a large business amounting to
considerably over s1,000,000; that
despite efforts of Senator Walter E.
Edge, a stakeholder and director of
the Sterling Corporation, it has been
impossible to get a detailed report
of the affairs Of the company; that
several transactions of an important
character have been conducted by
the officers Of the corporation with
out warrant from the stockholders;
that the stockholders Of the Sterling
Corporation have never been able to
determine with any accuracy the
fairness and validity of the transac-
ton between the Sterling Realty
Corporation and the Young's Pier &
Hotel Company; that Carlton God
quest made by Daniel l.. Collins, one
of the plaintiffs. to show him the
books Of the corporation and to fur
nish him with a list of the stock
holders, and that a tract of land in
the Chelsea section of Atlantic City
was purchased by the Sterling Cor
poration at the solicitation of Carl
ton Godfrey, who Is the president OF
the company, for $3.50, 900, although
Immediately prior to this purchase
the premises had been offered fol
sale by Mrs. Fishblatt for 100000
1t is also charged that there has no
been a proper accounting of tht
money received from the sale 0,
property by the Sterling Corporation
A further charge is that the move tt
dissolve the Sterling corporation |
being taken without the stockhold
ers being informed as to the actua
condition of the concern.
The plaintiffs allege that Presi
dent Godfrey represented that New
York parties wished to purchas'
Young's hotel and Young's pier, blu
after the stockholders had-consente,
to the proposition and the propert,
had been transferred, it was discov
cred that the real purchasers wer
Godfrey; Clement j. Adams, a direc
tor Of the Sterling corporation
Lewis T. INLAY and Horace G. Han
ris, also connected with the Sterlin
corporation. 1t is claimed that tn
Sterling corporation cannot be dis
solved under the present status @
things without menacing the inter
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