Brownfield v. Howell's

4 Ky. Op. 485, 1871 Ky. LEXIS 236
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedDecember 16, 1871
StatusPublished

This text of 4 Ky. Op. 485 (Brownfield v. Howell's) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brownfield v. Howell's, 4 Ky. Op. 485, 1871 Ky. LEXIS 236 (Ky. Ct. App. 1871).

Opinion

Opinion oe tee Court by

Judge Peters:

Appellee as executrix of of Daniel S. Iiowell, deceased, being a judgment creditor with an execution and a return of nulla bona of Tbe Bardstown and Green River Turnpike Road Company, on tbe 30th of July, 1858, filed her petition in the court below against said turnpike road company and '.others, alleging the foregoing facts and the amount of its indebtedness to her, which is several thousand dollars, that it had under its charter made a turnpike road, beginning in the county of Nelson, and continuing it through several other counties, had erected gates at various and proper places on said road, in the several counties through which it was constructed, at which tolls were collected, that said company owns no other property to her knowledge except, said turnpike road, and its franchises, choses in action, money on hand, &c., none of which can be reached by an ordinary execution, that William Southerland is the president, and E. B. Smith, the treasurer, of said company, and the last named per- ' son is authorized by law to collect from the several gate keepers on said road, the tolls received by them, and she prays that said turnpike road company, and Smith, its treasurer, whom she makes defendants may be compelled to answer her petition, and to set forth all the choses in action, money and other property of said corporation that may be in their possession, or under their control, and that the same may be attached, and by the appropriate judgment applied to the satisfaction of her debt. She also praye'd, that said corporation should be required by proper orders, and judgments of the courts, to collect all tolls, to which it might be entitled, and hold the same subject to the further orders of the court, that it should by its officers, and agents, at each term of the court, report the various sums collected, and that the same should be applied to the extinguishment of her [487]*487debt, and if by that means the same could not be paid, then she prayed that the road, its franchises, etc., should be sold and the proceeds thereof paid over to her.

On the 31st of July, 1858, the following order was made in the case by P. B. Muer, circuit judge: “The defendants are ordered to discover all the money, choses in action, and other property, and estate of said corporation, and the same is attached, and to be held subject to the further order of the court in this cause. And the defendants are enjoined and commanded to exercise the franchise granted them by the charter, by collecting, and demanding the tolls, which they are authorized to collect for the use of the road in the petition mentioned, and to hold the same, and to report the same to this court on the first day of each term till this suit is disposed of; but the defendants may, out of said tolls, pay such sums as may be necessary to repair the road and to pay the gate keepers, and all the necessary expenses of collecting said tolls; the plaintiff first to give bond in the penalty of $500, to pay all costs, and damages occasioned by this order if found wrongful, with security to be approved by the clerk, and he will endorse the process accordingly.”

The bond as required in said order, was executed, and the summons issued with the order indorsed, and executed on the treasurer of said corporation on the 4th and bn its president on the 9th of August, 1858.

The corporation by its president filed an answer on the 29th of September, 1858, admitting its indebtedness to appellee, setting forth the names of quite a number of other persons as its creditors, alleging that its gate No. 5 had been given up to, and the tolls collected there, set apart for the payment of appellant, who is named as a creditor in the answer, and also alleging that Carter & Thomas were indebted for passing their stage coaches over said road to a considerable amount; but they were not formally made defendants to appellee’s suit.

On the 2nd of April, 1861, appellee, the executrix of Howell, filed an amended petition, in which she made appellant a defendant to her suit, and charged amongst other things, that by an unauthorized and unlawful agreement between him and S'outherland, the president of said corporation, the control of Gate No. 5 on its road, had been given up to appellant, and the tolls received at that gate transferred to him, all of which he had collected, and appropriated, which tolls amounted to large [488]*488sums, and she prayed for an account thereof. On that amended petition a summons was issued, and executed on appellant on July 2nd, 1861. Carter & Thomas were also made defendants to her suit, and were served with process.

June 5th, 1862, appellant filed his answer, in which he stated, that the turnpike road company was indebted to him as shown by a writing-signed by Southerland, its president, which writing he filed, and which was endorsed with the several payments made to him, the last of which he alleges was made “on the 25th day of July, 1858, being six days before appellee filed her original petition with injunction.”

And in a subsequent part of this answer after asserting that the assignment to him of the tolls which were received at said gate, was for the purpose of liquidating a debt justly due him by the company, and that it was done in good faith, he alleges that he had another besides the one for the payment of which the proceeds of Gate No. 5 were assigned to him, against said corporation, on which he had instituted an action, recovered a judgment, and had an execution, and a return of nulla bona, that he then instituted a suit in equity against said corporation and others in the court below, to enable him to collect said judgment which suit was pending when he filed his answer, and which he referred to, and made a part of the suit of appellee, Howell, against said company and others.

In that suit, -he alleged that' Carter & Thomas were indebted to said corporation in the sum of $400, and made them defendants, attached the amount owing by them to said corporation, and had the summons with the order of attachment served on Carter & Thomas; they came in court, admitted an indebtedness of $408 to the road company and paid that sum into the court. But in their answer to his petition they state that before the attachment of appellant was served on them, they had given to the president of the Bardstown and Green River Turnpike Road Company a verbal order for the money on E. B. Smith, the treasurer of said company, but that its president had not received the money from said Smith, treasurer as aforesaid, when the attachment of appellant was served on them; that they then drew the money from the treasurer and paid the same into court, subject to its future order —this answer was filed the 28th of March, 1860.

In the same case on the Srd of October, 1860, on motion of appellant, an order was made referring it to E. E. McKay as [489]*489the court’s commissioner, to ascertain what was the true amount of said Carter & Thomas’ indebtedness to said turnpike road company, at the institution of his said suit, also of that of Turner Willson vs. Same and those of Foreman, and of Howell’s Executrix vs. Same, and to ascertain and report other matters; from the last named period until June 28th, 1866; it does not appear that any other order was made in the case, on the last day, a judgment was rendered, directing the money paid into court by Thomas & Carter as aforesaid, to be paid over to appellant.

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Bluebook (online)
4 Ky. Op. 485, 1871 Ky. LEXIS 236, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brownfield-v-howells-kyctapp-1871.