Blue Bonnet Creamery, Inc. v. Simon

146 So. 2d 162, 243 La. 683, 1962 La. LEXIS 555
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedNovember 5, 1962
Docket46038
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 146 So. 2d 162 (Blue Bonnet Creamery, Inc. v. Simon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blue Bonnet Creamery, Inc. v. Simon, 146 So. 2d 162, 243 La. 683, 1962 La. LEXIS 555 (La. 1962).

Opinion

HAMLIN, Justice.

In the exercise of our supervisory control (Art. VII, Sec. 11, La.Const, of 1921,, L.S.A.) we granted certiorari to review judgments of the Court of Appeal, First Circuit (La.App., 136 So.2d 443; La.App.,, 136 So.2d 445), which reversed in part and! affirmed in part a judgment of the 22nd’ Judicial District Court, Parish of St. Tammany, and reversed in its entirety a judg *685 rment of the 21st Judicial District Court, •Parish of Tangipahoa. 1

In payment for dairy products received •over a period of approximately two and one-half months, defendant Denis E. Simon, Jr. (hereinafter referred to as Simon), gave 'sixteen worthless checks in the total amount ■of $9,074.68. He later received a discharge in bankruptcy for all debts and claims made provable by.the Federal Bankruptcy Act (USCA, Title 11, Bankruptcy), except such debts as are by the Act excepted from the ■operation of a discharge in bankruptcy.

' Presented for our determination is the correctness of the judgments of the Court ■of Appeal which held that the checks were not fraudulently given, and that the indebtednesses which said checks were supposed to discharge were debts dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Pertinent facts of record are to the effect .that between December 9, 1958 and February 18, 1959, plaintiff Blue Bonnet Cream■ery, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Blue 'Bonnet), accepted sixteen checks from •Simon in' payment of purchases made. 2 The checks, drawn on the Commercial Bank & Trust Co., Covington, Louisiana, were deposited by Blue Bonnet in the Guaranty Bank & Trust Company, Hammond, Louisiana. They were not honored; they were charged to Blue Bonnet’s account by the Guaranty Bank and returned to Blue Bonnet with the notation, ‘‘Not Sufficient Funds”; upon redeposit, the checks were again returned to Blue Bonnet with the same notation.

On June 18, 1959, Blue Bonnet wrote to Simon, stating that it was still holding the above checks and requesting that the checks be made good within ten days after receipt of its letter. Simon failed to pay, and on August 28, 1959, Blue Bonnet filed suit in the 22nd Judicial District Court, Parish of St. Tammany, praying for the total amount of the checks ($9,074.68), plus an additional sum of $1,081.88 it alleged was due by Simon for cartons and containers furnished from March 1 through April 30, 1959, as per the account attached to the petition. The petition contained the following allega 1 tion:

“That your petitioner alleges that defendant knew at the time of issuance pf said checks that he did. not have Stíf *687 ficient credit with the Commercial Bank and Trust Company of Covington, Louisiana, for the payment of said checks in full upon their presentation.”

On November 6, 1959, the district court, Parish of St. Tammany, rendered a judgment by default in favor of Blue Bonnet and against Simon in the full amount of $10,156.56. 3 On confirmation of the default, James Eugene Reno, Manager and Secretary-Treasurer of Blue Bonnet, identified the sixteen checks herein involved, and the letter demanding that they be paid; he stated that the checks were in payment of milk received by Simon from the creamery; he also testified with respect to the cartons and containers furnished Simon. Reno concluded his testimony by stating that the checks were returned by Simon’s bank unpaid, and that Simon had never paid for the cartons and containers. Mrs. Edna Heintz, a deputy clerk of court, testified that neither answer nor pleadings were filed by Simon in the ipatter.

On November 7, 1960, Simon filed a petition for a devolutive appeal from said judgment of the 22nd Judicial District Court, Parish of St. Tammany. The Court of Appeal stated, however, that the appeal was-taken to that portion of the judgment of the-lower court where it was found, “that defendant had issued to petitioner $9,074.68: total of worthless checks during the period from December 9, 1958, through February-17, 1959, in the exchange for goods and. merchandise delivered to defendant at the same time.”

On April 4, 1960 (before the devolutiveappeal, supra, was taken), Blue Bonnet filed a petition in the 21st Judicial District Court,. Parish of Tangipahoe, making Simon’s, employer, Gulf Milk Association, Inc.. (hereinafter referred to as Gulf Milk), a. garnishee. Blue Bonnet alleged that it had. obtained the above judgment in the St. Tammany Parish District Court, had applied for a writ of fieri facias against Simon, and had reason to believe that Gulf Milk had property or effects in its possession belonging to Simon; it prayed that: Gulf Milk be cited to answer under' oath,, through its President, the interrogatories, annexed to the petition and after due proceedings that it be condemned to pay to* Blue Bonnet the amount of the writ of fieri facias.

*689 An order was rendered making Gulf 'Milk garnishee and requiring it to answer, -under oath categorically and in writing, -the interrogatories annexed to the petition within ten days from service of the order.

All interrogatories were answered in the ■negative except the 4th interrogatory. Gulf Milk answered that interrogatory by stating .that Simon was employed by it at the rate ■of $5,400.00 per year; that he was paid biweekly in the amount of $207.69; that no •other judgments or garnishments effected •said salary; and, that the last salary check received by defendant up to that time was ■on April 5, 1960.

On June 20, 1960, the Judge of the 21st Judicial District Court, Parish of Tangipa-Jioa, rendered a judgment on Blue Bonnet’s •petition for the garnishment of Gulf Milk .as to Simon’s salary. The Judge observed in said judgment that on April 13, 1960, the Bankruptcy Division of the United States ’District Court at New Orleans issued a .Stay Order, subject to hearing on April 18, 1960; he ordered that the garnishment under fieri facias issued against Gulf Milk remain in effect pending further proceedings by Simon to obtain his discharge, and that the question of whether or not Simon’s ■discharge in bankruptcy would effect this particular debt be taken up in due course by said 21st Judicial District Court, Parish of Tangipahoa. This judgment further ordered that Gulf Milk deduct from the wages of Simon an amount equal to twenty per cent, of his earnings, said deduction to continue until the matter of the discharge-ability of the above judgment be finally determined, and that said funds be held by Gulf Milk subject to further orders of the Tangipahoa Parish District Court.

On February 24, 1960, Simon was adjudged a bankrupt on a petition filed by him on February 24, 1960.

On September 4, 1960, the Referee in Bankruptcy (presumably as a result of the hearing on April 18, 1960) rendered an order to the effect that Simon was discharged from all debts and claims which were made provable by the Act against his estate, except such debts as were, by said Act, excepted from the operation of a discharge in bankruptcy.

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146 So. 2d 162, 243 La. 683, 1962 La. LEXIS 555, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blue-bonnet-creamery-inc-v-simon-la-1962.