John Marshall Harlan II

“ The purpose of § 192, as recognized in Bramwell, is to make those into whose hands control and possession of the debtor's assets are placed, responsible for seeing that the Government's priority is paid. Whether or not King falls within the category of fiduciaries on whom such responsibility should be placed depends, not on the title of his position or the mode of his appointment, but, in practical terms, upon the degree of control he is in a position to assert over the allocation among creditors of the debtor's assets in his possession. ”

“ The District Court dismissed the complaint on the theory that a distributing agent is not included within § 192 as an 'executor, administrator, or assignee, or other person' because he, unlike those fiduciaries mentioned specifically in the statute, is not a personal representative of the debtor but an arm and a representative of the bankruptcy court. ”

“ Petitioners argue that distributing agents exercise no discretion in the discharge of their duties, but perform only the ministerial function of paying out the deposited funds in conformity with the court's orders. ”