The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1916-02-17
Case at Grand Forks
Affects Grain Industry

Grand Forks, Feb. 1.-THE question
of whether or not the rights Of stor.
age ticket holders are supreme as
against the insurance collected by a
bankrupt elevator company, is the
issue involved in case now in pro.
gress before Judge C. M. Cooley of the
district court of Grand Forks county.
The case is that involving the dis
position Of the insurance carried on
the Walland Elevator company's ware.
house at McCanna this county, and
the opposing interests are the storage
ticket holders on the one hand, and a
Duluth commission company on the
other hand.
Under the rulings of the North Da-
kota railroad commission it is held
that insurance carried by an elevator
company on it's contents is carried for
the benefit of storage ticket holders,
the ruling on this point following:
Parties holding mortgages on grain
warehouses and grain therein have
some times attempted, through assign
ment by morgagor, to collect the in
surance on stored grain. The railroad
commission holds that insurance on
stored grain in the warehouse, or in
transit, is a trust fund for the bene-
fit of the owner of the grain"
Another ruling by the railroad COM
mission bearing on the issue says:
"Stored grain shipped to a commits
sion house having a private claim
against the warehouseman cannot be
converted, according to the ruling of
the railroad commission, to the set
Element Of such claim to the disad-
vantage of the owners of the grain
and the surety company bonding the
elevator company
In the case, Turtle & Co., of Duluth,
claim the insurance money on assign
ments and mortgage clauses in the in
surance, and they have tied up the
drafts, thus making the insurance COM
panies parties to the action.
Ticket holders base their claims on
the contention that insurance was car
ried on the grain for their benefit, and
that the storage charge includes a
charge for insurance. They insist
that the creditor of an elevator com.
pany cannot come in any size stored
grain, because such grain does not
pass to the custody of the elevator
company until it is actually sold. No
more, they insist, can a creditor seize
the insurance money, which they main.
tain is simply a trust fund for their
benefit.
While the sum involved in the case
at issue is small, the principle is one
that affects every storage ticket hold
er and elevator in the state.
The title Of the case follows:
Ole Grodal, liver Grodal, Joe Shee-
han, Pat Carroll, H. Bennett, Thomas
H. Christensen, and all others sim
ilarly situated, and who shall in due
turn come in and seek relief by this
action, and Northwestern Trust com.
pany, an incorporation, VS.. H. H. Wal
land, Walland Elevator company,
Turtle & c., Ohio Millers Mutual Fire
Insurance company, Michigan Millers
Fire Insurance company, Millers Ma
tional Insurance company, Hartford
Fire Insurance company, Commercial
Mutual Fire Insurance company, New
Hampshire Fire Insurance company,
and Liverpool, London & Globe Fire
Insurance company.
The Northwestern Trust company
becomes a part to the action through
the fact that it had bond on the
elevator. Bangs, Netcher & Hamil-
ton are attorneys for the plaintiffs,
and Hugh McClearn Of Duluth, and
Murphy & Toner of Grand Forks are
attorneys for the defense.