De La Vergne Refrigerating Machine Company v. German Savings Institution

This is a consolidation of eight actions brought by the German Savings Institution and seven other plaintiffs, in the circuit court of the city of St. Louis, against the De la Vergne Refrigerating Company and John C. De la Vergne, its president and principal stockholder, personally, for a failure to deliver to plaintiffs certain stock in the Refrigerating Company.

Certain personal property was seized upon on attachment issued, a forthcoming bond given therefor, and the several actions were afterwards removed to the circuit court for the eastern district of Missouri upon the joint petition of the defendants. In that court the several actions were consolidated and submitted upon an agreed statement of facts upon which judgment was entered for the defendants.

Pending the proceedings in the state court, and on May 12, 1896, John C. De la Vergne died, and on November 5, 1896, his death was suggested to the court, when William C. Richardson, public administrator of the city of St. Louis, entered his appearance, and with his consent an order was entered reviving each of such actions against him.

From the judgment so entered in the circuit court, a writ of error was taken from the circuit court of appeals, the judgment of the court below reversed, and the cause remanded with directions to grant a new trial. 36 U.S. App. 184, 70 Fed. Rep. 146, 17 C. C. A. 34.

Amended answers were filed in the lower court, much testimony taken, the cause submitted to the court without a jury, and a judgment entered in favor of the plaintiffs for $126,849.96.

From this judgment a writ of error was prosecuted by the Refrigerating Company, one of the defendants. The judgment was affirmed by the court of appeals by an equal division. 49 U.S. App. 777, 84 Fed. Rep. 1016, 28 C. C. A. 681. Whereupon the Refrigerating Company applied for and was allowed a writ of certiorari from this court.

Messrs. Frederick W. Lehmann, Charles H. Aldrich, and Charles Nagel for petitioner.

Messrs. Leo Rassieur, J. M. Wilson, and Eleneious Smith for respondent.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 41-48 intentionally omitted]

Mr. Justice Brown delivered the opinion of the court: