Morris v. Bright

Urner, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. A deed of trust, executed by the appellant in July, 1911, conveyed all his property to the appellee for the benefit of creditors. The trust estate thus created consisted of a stock of merchandise and a store and dwelling house at Centerville, in Queen Anne’s County. Upon the application of the trustee, in August, 1911, the Court below assumed jurisdiction of the trust.

In October, 1914, the trustee reported receipts from retail sales of merchandise aggregating $4,404.89 and disbursements amounting to $1,501.64. About a month later a petition was filed by the appellant charging that the trustee had unduly delayed the administration of the trust, and that the petitioner had repeatedly requested him to' bring it to a close and to make a full report of his receipts and expenditures, but that the report which he had at length submitted after great delay was not full and complete, for the reason that it did not include a statement of all the disbursements for which credit is claimed. It was accordingly prayed that the trustee be required to file a detailed report of the expenditures as well as the receipts, so that the petitioner might have an opportunity to investigate and determine as to the correctness of the various items. An order was passed dismissing the petition and assigning as the ground of such action that the proceedings had then been referred to the special auditor of the court to state an account between the trustee and the estate.

Some days afterwards another petition was presented to the court by the appellant stating that he had communicated with the special auditor ²⁸⁸ and learned that no special report of all the trustee’s receipts and disbursements had been filed with that officer, and alleging that the petitioner was entitled to have full information as to the condition of the trust estate and to have the original vouchers of all expenditures produced, and, to the end that a full disclosure might be obtained by examination of the trustee under oath and by proof of the facts, an order was prayed for authorizing and directing the special auditor to take testimony' and enforce the production of books, vouchers and records pertinent to the accounting. In dismissing the second petition, the Court below, after stating that the property transferred by the deed of trust consisted of a stock of merchandise and a store building with dwelling attached, which the grantor and his family still occupy, proceeded to -say in its opinion: “The trustee filed his bond, took possession of the stock, and, after having this Court take jurisdiction in the matter, began the administration of his trust. The real estate has not been sold. No bulk sale of the stock has been made.

The trustee has carried on the business, selling the merchandise at retail.He has