MAE STEWART JUNGBLUTH, APPELLANT,
v.
AMERICAN BANK & TRUST COMPANY, A BANKING CORPORATION, AND GUY B. SHEPARD, AS LIQUIDATOR OF SAID BANK, AND GENERAL SANITARIUMS, INC., APPELLEES

Fla. | 1931-04-22
Buford, C.J., and Whitfield, Ellis, Brown and Davis, J.J., concur.
101 Fla. 289 Florida Supreme Court (1931) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

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Synopsis

Mae Stewart Jungbluth sought removal of Guy B. Shepard as trustee of a special trust created when he was appointed liquidator of American Bank & Trust Company, alleging negligence and bad faith. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's denial of removal, finding no evidence of negligence or breach of fiduciary duty.


Holding

The court affirmed the Chancellor's denial of removal, finding no evidence of negligence or breach of fiduciary duty. The acquisition of a tax certificate by the bank does not place it in an antagonistic position toward the trust absent evidence to the contrary, and the law presumes the certificate was purchased for the protection of the trust.


Key Quotes

“the aid of a court of equity may at any time be invoked in the interest of a particular trust when the subject-matter thereof is put in jeopardy or when other good cause is shown”

Establishes the standard for when a court may remove a trustee and appoint a successor.

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Facts & Procedural History

Shepard was appointed liquidator of American Bank & Trust Company and thereby became trustee for a special trust. The bank purchased a tax certificate…

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Opinion of the Court
Terrell, J.

Terrell, J.

— Appellant as complainant below brought suit against appellees to have Guy B. Shepard, as liquidator of the American Bank and Trust Company, and trustee for a special or particular trust, relieved as such trustee and to have a substitute trustee appointed in his place. A demurrer to the bill was overruled, answer was filed, testimony was taken, and on -final hearing, the relief sought was denied and the bill of complaint dismissed.

The primary question pressed for our determination is whether or not Guy B. Shepard‘has been guilty of such negligence and bad faith as to warrant his removal as trustee for said special or particular trust.

Guy B. Shepard became trustee, for the special trust brought in question by virtue of his appointment as liqui*291dator of the American Bank and Trust Company as authorized by Section 4162 Revised General Statutes of 1920 (Section 6102 Compiled General Laws of 1927) as amended by Chapter 13576 Acts of 1929. In Knott vs. Morris decided March 28, 1931, this Court held that it was competent for a court of equity on proper showing made to appoint a successor or substitute trustee for any special or particular trust and when appointed all books, records, funds, or securities in the hands of his predecessor trustee or deposited with the State Treasurer in trust for such particular trust should be turned over to him.

In a well rendered opinion, the Chancellor below followed the requirement of the Federal equity practice and set out his finding of fact. Such a finding, though not required by our practice, if made and supported by the evidence, will not be reversed merely on conflicting testimony. Commercial Bank of Ocala vs. First National Bank of Gainesville, 80 Fla. 685, 87 So. 315.

The bill alleges that Shepard should be relieved as trustee because he was negligent generally and in that the bank purchased a tax certificate against the property forming the subject-matter of the trust for which it and Shepard were trustees and then he permitted said property to sell for taxes. The bill also charges that both the bank and the liquidator neglected and failed to take such steps as were necessary to protect the beneficiaries of the trust.

We have examined the record and find no reason whatever to reverse the Chancellor. The charges of negligence were not sustained and no reason was disclosed for the appointment of a successor trustee. We understand the rule to be that the aid of a court of equity may at any time be invoked in the interest of a particular trust when the subject-matter thereof is put in jeopardy or when other *292good cause is shown. Gary vs. Kissimmee River Cattle Co., 85 Fla. 268, 95 So. 657.

The fact that the bank acquired a tax certificate to the subject-matter of the trust does not place the bank or the liquidator in an antagonistic or adverse attitude toward it as in the absence of any showing to the contrary the law presumes that the certificate was purchased for the protection of the trust and will inure to it. There is not even a suspicion that the certificate was purchased to acquire a personal interest in the trust property. In fact on the whole record it is shown to be in a precarious condition. No rule of law is better settled than that a trustee cannot use trust property or his relation to it for his personal advantage. Wiswall vs. Stewart, 32 Ala. 433; Roberts vs. Mosely, 64 Mo. 507; Brittin vs. Handy, 20 Ark. 381, Petrie vs. Badenoch, 102 Mich. 45, 60 N. W. Rep. 449, 47 A. S. R. 503; Renew vs. Butler, 30 Ga. 954, 39 Cyc. 298; Perry on Trusts (6th Ed.) Vol. 1, 433.

The decree of the Chancellor is affirmed.

Affirmed.

Buford, C.J., and Whitfield, Ellis, Brown and Davis, J.J., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • White v. Bourne, 151 Fla. 12 (Fla. 1942)
    …consistent with law. It follows without question that a trust will not be set up or continued merely for the benefit of the trustees. Their only proper interest can be that of the ones they represent. Jungbluth v. American Bank & Trust Co., et al., 101 Fla. 289, 134 So. 618. The judgment is reversed. WHITFIELD, TERRELL, BUFORD and CHAPMAN, JJ., concur. BROWN, C. J., and THOMAS, J., dissent.…
  • Minsky v. Minsky, 779 So. 2d 375 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)
    …l asset. The husband cannot convert his children’s trust funds into marital assets by misusing his position as trustee. “[A] trustee cannot use trust property or his relation to it for his personal advantage.” Jungbluth v. American Bank & Trust Co., 101 Fla. 289, 292, 134 So. 618, 619 (1931); see Keye v. Gautier, 684 So. 2d 210 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (holding that trustee mismanaged and misappropriated trust funds by loaning trust funds to himself without court approval). The children, who are the beneficiaries…
  • Keye v. Gautier, 684 So. 2d 210 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)
    …ns, frowns upon a trustee using trust funds for his own benefit and, as a result of this action, placing these trust funds unnecessarily at risk. See Crawford v. Crawford, 129 Fla. 746, 176 So. 838 (Fla.1937); Jungbluth v. American Bank & Trust Co., 101 Fla. 289, 134 So. 618 (Fla.1931); Bailey v. Leatherman, 615 So. 2d 810 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); Barnhart v. Hovde, 490 So. 2d 1271 (Fla. 5th DCA), review denied, 500 So. 2d 543 (Fla.1986); Centrust Savings Bank v. Barnett Banks Trust Co., 483 So. 2d 867 (Fla. 5th…

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