Fidelity Trust & Safe Deposit Co. v. Archer

Citations

• 179 F. 32
• 103 C.C.A. 16
• 1909 U.S. App. LEXIS 5003

Syllabus

<p>Corporations (§ 259*) — Jurisdiction—Adequate Remedy at Law — Preventing Multiplicity of Suits — Suits by Receiver Against Stockholders.</p> <p>A federal court of equity is without jurisdiction of a suit by the receiver of an insolvent corporation against numerous stockholders to enforce payment of an assessment of a fixed sum per share on its stock, made by authority of a court in another jurisdiction in a suit to wind up the affairs of the corporation to which suit the defendant stockholders were not individually parties, either on the ground of preventing a multiplicity of suits, or on the ground that it is ancillary to the main suit, where it does not appear that there is any ground of defense common to the defendants, and the bill does not pray for any equitable relief, but merely seeks to collect from each defendant a definite sum as the assessment against his stock.</p> <p>[Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Corporations, Cent. Dig. §§ 1059-1067; Dec. Dig. § 259.*</p> <p>Stockholders’ liability to creditors in equity, see notes to Rickerson Roller-Mill Co. v. Farrell Foundry Co., 23 C. C. A. 315; Scott v. Latimer, 33 C. C. A. 23.]</p>