Bloomfield v. Maloney

142 N.W. 785, 176 Mich. 548, 1913 Mich. LEXIS 661
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 18, 1913
DocketDocket No. 74
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 142 N.W. 785 (Bloomfield v. Maloney) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bloomfield v. Maloney, 142 N.W. 785, 176 Mich. 548, 1913 Mich. LEXIS 661 (Mich. 1913).

Opinion

Stone, J.

This is a bill of interpleader. The complainant,- on or about January 14, 1910, received a letter purporting to have been written by a member of a “Black Hand” society of Chicago, 111., stating that if complainant did not leave a large sum of money at a place therein named in the city of Jackson, on the night of the 20th day of January, 1910, he would be killed. In order to apprehend the writer of the letter, or effect the capture of the person calling for [550]*550the package of money, complainant placed a decoy package at the place designated, and had it watched by officers. During the evening some person, then unknown to complainant, came and took possession of the package and made his escape. On January 21, 1910, complainant caused a reward of $1,000 to be offered for the arrest and conviction of the writer of such threatening letter. On the same day one Ray Horsman was arrested and charged with the crime of sending such threatening letter, to complainant, and on February 4, 1910, said Horsman pleaded guilty in the circuit court to an information charging him with said offense, and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Thereafter the defendants Maloney and Kurtz claimed that they furnished information that led to the arrest and conviction of Horsman, and that they were each entitled to one-half of said reward, to recover which they commenced an action at law against complainant in the circuit court. A like claim was made by defendant Clara McKain for all such reward, and a like action was by her commenced. Complainant represented by his bill that he had always been willing to pay the amount of such reward to such person or persons as should be lawfully entitled to the same, and he offered to bring the money into court. The bill complied with the practice by proper averments, and prayed that defendants interplead and settle and adjust their said demands between themselves. The money was paid into court, and the suits at law were restrained.

The answers of the several defendants admitted-the offering of the reward as alleged in the bill, and each claimed the fund. A decree was duly entered, to the effect that the bill of interpleader was properly filed, and that the several answers should be taken as and for an interpleader between defendants, and as statements of their respective claims. Upon the final hearing the entire reward was decreed to the [551]*551two defendants Maloney and Kurtz, with costs against the defendant Clara McKain, and she has appealed.

Upon the hearing it appeared that the police made an unsuccessful attempt to arrest the person who tried to get the package, about 10 o’clock on the evening of January 20th, but he got away, and ran up the stréet; the officers shooting at him. He ran into an alley in the rear of the Athenaeum theater and escaped. Defendant Maloney and the son of defendant McKain attended a show at the Athenaeum on the evening in question, and sat together. Maloney had gone down on the street between acts, and while there the man pursued by the officers passed him, and Maloney testified that he recognized the man as Ray Horsman. Upon his return to the gallery he had talked the matter over with Mrs. McKain’s son, and had related what he saw. Maloney testified as follows:

“When I returned I said to him, ‘You ought to have been down there and seen the fun;’ he says, ‘What’s the matter?’ I says, T don’t know.’ I says, ‘There are two or three fellows after young Horsman;’ he says, ‘What Horsman?’ I says, ‘Young Ray Horsman.’ Neither of us could figure it out what it was. I told him what I saw, but we couldn’t tell what was the matter.”

Upon that point Mrs. McKain’s son testified:

“When they came up Maloney sat next to me and said there was something doing downstairs; said he saw a couple of men chasing some one else and they ran by him, and as they went by he got a glimpse of them, and the one pursued he said was ‘a dead ringer’ for Ray Horsman.”

Neither Maloney nor young McKain at this time knew anything of the “Black Hand” letter. The whole- matter appeared in the next morning’s newspaper, with a description of the attempted capture, the escape, and the offer of reward. Mrs. McKain saw this offer of reward about half past 6 on the [552]*552morning of January 21st. Her attention was called to it by her son. He testified:

“I got up a little after 6 and got the paper off the porch; mother was getting breakfast, and that of course was the first thing I read; big scare lines on the first page of the Jackson Patriot; I read that, the gist of it. The first thing I saw was about the reward ; it was in the head lines, $1,000 reward. 1 said, T bet I can name the party.’ Read the description; it fitted Horsman to a T. I said I think I knew who it was, and mother said, ‘Do you?’ T will call up Strobel and get the reward.’* I said ‘No, you better not, better keep out of it; I don’t want to mix up in the affair and get up in court, one thing and another.’ She called Strobel up and talked with him as I was leaving the house, and I think she said he was coming up there to get all the information she had.”

Upon this subject Mrs. McKain testified as follows:

“I saw the morning Patriot at 6:30 in the morning of January 21st;_ my son read it to me, and later I saw it. He read it aloud; after he had read it he told me what he had heard at the Athenaeum the night before; what Mr. Maloney told him; said Mr. Maloney told him it was a ‘dead ringer’ for Ray Horsman; after this article had been read, and after this talk with my son, I called up Chief Strobel; my son had in his talk told me of Mr. Maloney being downstairs and seeing this man, and that he was most positive that it was Ray Horsman. I asked Chief Strobel if since the paper had gone to press he had found the ‘Black Hand’ man, and he said that he hadn’t; that he hadn’t any clue; I told him I could tell him who it was, and I did tell him; I told him it was Ray Horsman. He kind of doubted it. * * * He says, T will come over to your house,’ and he dropped the phone at that and did come over. * * * He says, ‘If you can tell me, Mrs. McKain, you can get $1,000; I will give you $1,000.’ I supposed he had the handling of the $1,000. I called him up simply to get the reward. * * * I think he came there about a quarter after 7. * * * While Mr. Strobel was there I called up my son at his request; he wanted to know if he was at the foot of the stairs, or if he was in the gallery; [553]*553I called him up to find out; after I had talked with Mr. Strobel, he said, ‘You have convinced me.’ ”

She further testified that when Mr. Strobel was leaving, she might have told him to go and see Frank Maloney.

Upon this subject Mr. Strobel, chief of police, testified as follows:

“The morning of January 21st I received a telephone call from Mrs. McKain. I should judge somewhere between 6 and 7 o’clock, and we talked. * * * She told me then, or down at the house, I had better look up Ray Horsman, or words to that effect. * * * I went to Mrs. McKain’s house on Mason street, and had a talk with her there, and she related to me what her son Earl had told her about the affair; said Earl, as I remember it, was at the Athenaeum that night. She called him up; he had gone to work; she called him up and talked with him, and I asked Mrs. McKain whether Earl was sure it was Ray Horsman; she said, ‘Why, yes,’ she thought so.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Madsen v. Dakota State Bank
114 N.W.2d 93 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1962)
Nill v. Pioneer Reserve Mutual Fire Insurance Co.
249 N.W. 888 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1933)
Genesee County v. Pailthorpe
224 N.W. 418 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1929)
Umatilla County v. Estes
208 P. 761 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1922)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
142 N.W. 785, 176 Mich. 548, 1913 Mich. LEXIS 661, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bloomfield-v-maloney-mich-1913.