Benton v. Benton

139 S.E. 68, 164 Ga. 541, 1927 Ga. LEXIS 221
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedJuly 15, 1927
DocketNo. 5827
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 139 S.E. 68 (Benton v. Benton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Benton v. Benton, 139 S.E. 68, 164 Ga. 541, 1927 Ga. LEXIS 221 (Ga. 1927).

Opinion

Hines, J.

Two attachments against Doyle Campbell, in favor of M. Benton and the Jasper County Bank, were levied upon various articles of personalty as the property of Campbell. Eugene Benton filed claims to the property, setting up title under a deed from Campbell to him to secure debt. The plaintiffs attacked this deed, upon the ground that it was made to delay, hinder, and defraud them in the collection of their debts against Campbell. The claims were consolidated and tried together. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the claimant. The plaintiffs made a motion for new trial upon the general grounds, and by amendment added two special grounds. The motion was overruled, and the. plaintiffs excepted. They filed in this court a motion to transfer this case from this court to the Court of Appeals, upon the ground that this court is without jurisdiction to determine the assignments of error set out in the bill of exceptions, and .that jurisdiction of the case is vested in the Court of Appeals.

Has this court jurisdiction of this writ of error P In aid of his claim the claimant filed an amendment in which he sought to reform the security deed under which he claimed title to the property levied upon. This amendment was allowed, and on the trial of his claim as thus amended he was granted the affirmative equitable relief for which he prayed. By the amendment to the constitution of this State, which was ratified on November 7, 1916, this court has jurisdiction “in all cases in equity.” Acts 1916, p. 19; 10 Park’s Code Supp. 1922, § 6502. Where an attachment is levied on personal property and a claim is filed, the proceeding is one at law. A case commenced as one at law may be changed into one in equity, or to one both at law and in equity. So where one files a claim to personalty levied upon under an attachment or other process, and in aid of his claim files an amendment in which lie seeks affirmative equitable relief, the original proceeding at law is converted into a proceeding both at law and in equity. In such a case, when a writ of error is sued out to review the final judgment, this court has jurisdiction to determine the assignments of error set out in the bill of exceptions. So in a case in equity, or one in which there is a union of causes of action at law and in equity, where the issues are so modified as to eliminate all claims for [544]*544equitable relief and the case proceeds only for common-law relief, and a final judgment is rendered on such issues as remain-for decision, the Court of Appeals has jurisdiction, and this court is without jurisdiction to review a writ of error brought to review such final judgment. Coats v. Casey, 162 Ga. 236 (133 S. E. 237). The original proceeding in this case was one at law, but by the amendment it became one at law and in equity, in which both legal and affirmative equitable relief was granted. For purposes of jurisdiction the case thus became one in equity, and this court has jurisdiction to review the writ of error brought to review the final judgment. Therefore the motion to transfer the case from this court to the Court of Appeals is denied.

It is insisted by counsel for the plaintiffs that the verdict in favor of the claimant is contrary to law, for the reason that will now be stated. On December 31, 1925, Campbell executed the security deed under which the claimant asserts title to the property in dispute. He left this deed with another person to be delivered to the claimant the next day, and went to the State of Florida. This deed was delivered to the claimant on January 1, 1926. The claimant advanced thereon to Campbell $10,000. Of this sum, by the direction of Campbell, $2,160.88 was paid to the Georgia Bond & Investment Company. This payment was made by check given by the claimant, purporting to be dated January 1, 1926, but actually executed on January 4-, 1926. The claimant in his testimony explained this discrepancy of date by the statement that he wished the date of the check to correspond with the date of his deed. The check was marked paid by the bank on which it was drawn, on January 5, 1926. The claimant testified that this check was actually turned over to the Georgia Bond & Investment Company, in payment of Campbell's indebtedness to that company, on January 4, 1926, and that the note evidencing this debt was turned over to him on that date. The fraudulent-debtor attachment against Campbell was issued by the judge of the superior court on January 4, 1926, upon, a petition brought by the plaintiffs against Campbell and the claimant. The claimant was not served with this petition until January 6, 1926. On January 2, 1926, the claimant transmitted to Campbell, through the mail to Tampa, Fla., his check for $7,833.12. Upon getting this check Campbell, between January 4 and 7, 1926, procured from a bank at St. Petersburg, [545]*545Florida, a cashier’s check in his favor, in lieu of said check of the claimant. The cashier’s check was made payable to Campbell’s brother, to whom it was forwarded in payment of a debt due by Campbell to his mother. The check drawn by the claimant in favor of Campbell was marked paid by the bank in Monticello, on which it was drawn, on January 12, 1926. Under these circumstances the plaintiffs insist that the claimant, as a matter of law, does not stand upon the footing of a bona fide purchaser, for the reason that he did not part with the money represented by this cheek until he had notice of the issuing of these attachments against Campbell.

In Nicol v. Crittenden, 55 Ga. 497, this court held that “-An innocent purchaser does not become affected by the fraud of the seller, though the property be attached in the purchaser’s hands before it is paid for, and before negotiable notes given for the price have passed to innocent holders.” By parity of reasoning, an innocent vendee in a security deed is not affected by the fraud of the vendor, although the property be attached in the vendee’s hands before checks given by the vendee to the vendor for the loan secured by such deed have been paid, it not appearing that the claimant could control these checks without the co-operation of the vendor, or that the latter could have been induced by him to cancel or surrender the checks, which were negotiable paper. This is especially true where it appears that the cheek of the claimant in payment of the debt of the vendor to the Georgia Bond & Investment Company had been delivered to that company, which in turn had surrendered the note given by the vendor for such indebtedness, before the attachment had issued, and where it appears that the check given by the claimant to the vendor for the remainder of the loan had passed into the hands of an innocent purchaser. So we can not say, as a matter of law, in these circumstances, that the claimant is not a bona fide vendee of this property under this security deed.

The court charged the jury as follows: “The claimant in this case contends that at the time he took these papers he took them in good faith, that it was a bona fide transaction, and that ■ there was no intention on his part to delay or defraud the creditors of Mr. Doyle Campbell; and he contends that at the time these papers were delivered to him they were delivered to him for the [546]*546purpose of securing the debt in the sum of $10,000 that he had advanced to Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
139 S.E. 68, 164 Ga. 541, 1927 Ga. LEXIS 221, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/benton-v-benton-ga-1927.