Arnold v. Kutinsky, Adler & Co.
Tobacco growers in Southwick, Massachusetts, and Simsbury, Connecticut, filed suits against Kutinsky, Adler & Co. of New York and Luther M. Case of Winstead, Connecticut, with Constable George B. Woodruff of Suffield, Connecticut, serving the defendants papers on August 11, 1906. Constable Woodruff also placed attachments on the tobacco, about $10,000 worth, that Kutinsky, Adler & Co. had stored in Suffield. (Serving Case was a formality as a court-approved petition forced him into bankruptcy in June.)
Below is a list of the Southwick tobacco growers and the amount of each suit against Case and Kutinsky, Adler & Co. (Some growers also sued Starr Bros., who Case did business with or for.)
Fred Arnold $6,000 ($5,500 tobacco, $500 damages)
Adrian Coe $2,500
L. A. Fowler $2,500
Llewyn Wetherbee $1,800
Cooley Griffin $1,600
Fred Warner $1,200
Clement Robinson $1,200
Charles Noble $500
Walter S. Steer $400
Robert Nicholson $300
Fred Miller $300
Firms
Boyle & Avery $1,500
Boyle & Sheeley $1,500
Since the plaintiffs filed in various courts, some multiple times in different jurisdictions, several transfers between courts took place, with a judge later determining that the outcome of one suit in his courtroom would decide the fate of some others.
There were multiple trials and appeals. A judge found in favor of the defendant in 1908, and Fred Arnold appealed to the Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut. (In response to a lawsuit, a Connecticut-based construction company referenced Arnold's 1908 case in its 2019 petition to the court to amend the plaintiff's complaint. Arnold's suit has been referenced in other court cases too.)
In 1909, the Connecticut Supreme Court sent Cooley Griffin's suit against Kutinsky, Adler & Co. to a lower court for a new trial. (The outcome of this latest hearing would dispose of several similar actions.)
In November, the growers received their fifth blow when a court ruled in favor of Kutinsky, Adler & Co.
During the January 1910 term of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, the justices heard a couple of cases involving contract law. One of those cases questioned whether an agreement with tobacco dealer Luther Case made tobacco wholesaler Kutinsky, Adler & Co. liable for the 1906 Southwick and Simsbury lawsuits.
Luther Case bought lots of tobacco from different growers in 1905. However, he declared bankruptcy before paying the farmers. Now it was up to the state supreme court to issue a final decision on whether he acted for himself or as an agent for the New York-based tobacco company.
Muddied Waters
At the time of his bankruptcy (1906), Case's assets were only $14,000, with liabilities totaling $151,182.79, including $1,500 owed, interestingly enough, to Kutinsky, Adler & Co.
The Supreme Court of Connecticut (First Judicial District, Hartford) heard arguments on January 4, 1910; they published their decision on January 18.
According to the court, Case's agreement with Kutinsky, Adler & Co. went into effect after Case purchased the tobacco. But regardless, it was the court's opinion that the Southwick and Simsbury growers were selling directly to Case, for the purchase agreements they signed mentioned no other parties. The plaintiffs presented no evidence proving otherwise.
Luther Case was back in bankruptcy court in 1916 after someone found several potentially valuable harnesses and some Shannon Copper Company stock certificates buried in a pile of hay in his barn that he failed to list as assets with the court.
 |
| Shannon Copper Company Stock Certificate |
Luther Case, a pioneer in the tobacco industry by being one of the first growers to introduce shade-grown tobacco into the Connecticut River Valley, died on September 24, 1953; he was born on July 4, 1872.