OCR Text |
Show HARRIMAN IS DEFEATED IN NORTHERN SECURITIES CASE IN FEDERAL COURT PHILADELPHIA- Jan. . 8. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Judicial .district, in an opinion filed here today, reverses a decision of the New Jersey Circuit court which restrained re-strained the Northern Securities company com-pany from distributing certain stock of the Northern Pacific Railroad company. com-pany. - l ;. : . The decision is a defeat for the interest inter-est represented by E. II. Harriman. By a decree of the New Jersey court the Northern Securities company was restrained from disposing of 370.320 shares of the common stock of the Northern Pacific 'Railway company, alleged to have been received from E. H. Harriman and Wlnslow 8. Pierce, and of 847,090 shares of the common stock of the Northern Pacific Railway company received by the Northern Se- curl ties company from the Northern Paclflo company. Today's decision, however, gives the .Northern Securities company the right to dispose of the stock. Harriman and Pierce, when the Northern Securities company had been declared by the United States Supreme court to be aa Illegal combination, demanded de-manded . the return of - the original stock they had contributed at the time of the organisation of the combination. The Northern Securities company, It was claimed, Intended to make a prorata pro-rata distribution of the stock of the contributing company. The opinion was written by Judge Dallas. After reviewing the organization organiza-tion of the combination and subsequent history the decision says: "Harriman averred that the shares of railway stock in Question were acquired ac-quired by the Securities company; that it would hold them aa custodian, depository, trustee and owners of said shares were the parties who originally exchanged the same for stock in the Northern Securities company. "The Northern Securities company claimed that it acquired the stock by purchase and that It owns the stock outright," After quoting the resolution under which, the stock was aoqaiivd the opfnA. ion says the resolution contemplated' a purchase and not a trust and that the resolution was adopted at a meeting at which . Harriman was present. The opinion continues: "The Northern Securities company is the owner of 1,537.594 shares of the stock of the Northern Pacific Railway company which has been restrained from voting or receiving dividends and in view of this restraint all the parties agree, that It should not continue. The Northern Securities company, accordingly accord-ingly proposes to assign them pro-rata to its shareholders. Including not less than 2500 persons whose shares are unquestionably un-questionably acquired by purchase and who are not parties to this suit." |