Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 3.djvu/109

 without legal force, why sue for and recover it? The doctrine contended for by the petitioner “contravenes,” says Judge Love, “the whole scheme of equity jurisdiction in the matter of appointing receivers, and in the taking of possession through them of the property in litigation.” The property in the hands of a receiver is “a fund subject to the disposition of the court, and under its exclusive control. The principle that the court, which has actual possession of the fund, has the exclusive right to determine all claims and liens asserted against it, is fundamental. Hence, every court of equity in such a case assumes to decide all controversies touching the subject-matter of the suit and the fund; to determine the existence and priority of all liens; to adjust and settle all disputed claims, marshal the assets, and, finally, to distribute the surplus among those who are entitled to it.”

“The ground and reason of this jurisdiction is the inadequacy of legal remedies.” But if petitioner’s theory of the law is maintained—“if a party can, without leave, assert his right against a receiver in another court, and in this way withdraw controversies in regard to the trust fund from the court having the custody of it—the fund would be disposed of, not by the court having it in charge, but by another or other tribunals.” And “before the court appointing the receiver could make a final disposition of the rights of the parties before it,” says Judge Love, “other courts might render judgment against the receiver to an amount sufficient to absorb the whole fund or property, and the litigation would prove barren of results to the parties in the cause.” If a party has the right, without leave, to sue a receiver in another court than that of his appointment, it follows that he can select his tribunal. He could, therefore, in proper cases, sue as well before a justice of the peace as in a court of record, and thus subordinate the court of equity to the judgments of justices of the peace. Different parties might sue in as many different courts. These different tribunals, in possession only of parts of the case, and called on to act in the absence of the parties to the original suit, would have to give judgments in