Middleton et al v. Owner & Farquharson et al

This was a motion to strike out the action in rem. The Plaintiff’s action was to set aside a sale of the Defendant vessel by the mortgagee to a company controlled by the mortgagee at a price that was substantially less than the value of the vessel as appraised at the time the mortgagee took possession. The Plaintiff pleaded that the sale of the vessel was part of a plan to deprive the plaintiff of its equity in its vessel and was null and void. The Defendant argued that the Plaintiff’s claim was primarily a contractual dispute between a borrower and a lender and that the court did not have in rem jurisdiction. The Court held that the claim was properly one in rem and dismissed the Defendant’s motion.