JUDICIAL SALES - RIGHT TO SET ASIDE A SUCCESSFUL BID

At a public sale, the trustee in bankruptcy struck off to the plaintiff a bankrupt\u27s assets for $16,850, a reasonable price. A referee vacated the sale when a private bidder offered $150 more and insured reopening of the bankrupt\u27s mines and employment of its former employees. The sale was finally confirmed to the private bidder at a price only $50 in excess of the final offer made by the highest bidder at the public auction. Plaintiff appealed to the court to review the referee\u27s order. Held, although the courts do not generally approve of vacating a fair public sale in favor of only a slightly higher private bid, the interest of the public in maintaining employment for a bankrupt\u27s employees justified the reopening in this instance. In re Prairie Coal Co., (D. C. Ill. 1941) 40 F. Supp. 894