Olympic Finance Co. v. Thomas R. Thyret, Trustee in Bankruptcy for Azure Hills Club, Inc., Bankrupt

This case arises on appeal from a district court affirmance of a referee’s order denying Olympic Finance Company’s petition of August 16, 1962 to reclaim certain personal property from the trustee in bankruptcy. Olympic Finance Company (herein referred to as “Olympic”) asserted its right to the property on the ground that the bankrupt, Azure Hills Club, Inc., (herein referred to as “Azure”) had defaulted on its rental payments to Olympic, the assignee of the personal property lease agreements. The-order denying the petition based its findings on the existence of a novation in the form of an escrow agreement of August 29, 1960. This novation extinguished all' prior rights and obligations of the parties with respect to the personal property lease agreements as well as certain conditional sale contracts covering the same’ personal property. The court below had', jurisdiction. 11 U.S.C. § 11 , sub. a (10). So have we on this appeal. 11 U.S.C. §' 47.

The events leading up to the escrow agreement of August 29, 1960 (the alleged novation) are as follows:

On October 8, 1957, a personal property' lease agreement was entered into between-. D. A. Financial Service Co., Inc., lessor (herein…