Northern Central Railway Co. v. Keighler

Bartol, C. J., delivered the opinion of the court. The appellees, complainants below, are trustees, acting under the deed of mortgage, dated the 20th of December, 1855. They pray in their bill — 1st. That they may be allowed a just compensation for their time and trouble in executing the trust, in the form of a commission upon the trust fund; 2d.

That the court shall take jurisdiction of the trust, and that the same may be administered under the direction of the court. There is also a prayer in the bill for general relief. The Circuit Court granted the specific relief asked for — ■ decree an allowance of commissions to the trustees, and directed that the trust should be administered under the direction of the court; requiring the trustees to make full report annually, or oftener, if they see fit, of their proceedings in the matter of the trust, for such action thereon as to the court may seem proper. *This appeal is from that decree. The power of a Court of Chancery to take jurisdiction of a conventional trust, and direct its administration, is unquestionable, and an application for that purpose, by the trustee, or a party in interest, ought not to be refused.

Where there is any difficulty or complication likely to arise in the execution of the trust, or any question of dispute as to the powers or duties of the trustee or the rights of the parties beneficially interested in the trust. In this case, none of these exist or are suggested by the bill. From a reference to the terms of the mortgage, it appears that unless the contingency should happen under which a sale of the property, mentioned in the deed, would become necessary, which is not averred as likely to occur, the duties of the trustees are few and simple, and plainly defined by the deed. They have been performed hitherto without difficulty; no controversy has arisen, or is likely to arise with regard to them, requiring the intervention of the court. ⁵⁸⁰ Under these circumstances, we do not perceive any sufficient reason why the trust should be brought into a Court of Chancery, thus subjecting the fund which, by the deed, is dedicated to other purposes, to the needless burden and costs of such a proceeding.

The main purpose of the bill was, no doubt, to obtain the decision and order of the court allowing to the trustees the .commissions claimed by them; and we are required, under this appeal, to determine whether the decree of the Circuit Court in that particular was correct. In England, the general rule is, that “ a trustee will not be permitted to make any charge for his trouble .or loss of time, or for his services in the administration of the trust, unless the trust instrument expressly empowers him to make such a charge.” Hill on Trustees, 574, m.; 2 White & Tudor’s Eq. Cases, 71 Law Lib. 338, 339, note. This rule, however, does not prevail in Maryland; it has