Detroit & Mackinac Railway Co. v. Alpena Circuit Judge

115 N.W. 724, 152 Mich. 201, 1908 Mich. LEXIS 835
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 31, 1908
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 115 N.W. 724 (Detroit & Mackinac Railway Co. v. Alpena Circuit Judge) 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
Detroit & Mackinac Railway Co. v. Alpena Circuit Judge, 115 N.W. 724, 152 Mich. 201, 1908 Mich. LEXIS 835 (Mich. 1908).

Opinion

McAlvay, J.

This application arises from certain proceedings awarding the possession of property in a re[202]*202plevin case pending in the circuit court for Alpena county, wherein the Alpena Hide & Leather Company is plaintiff, and relator is defendant. The suit was brought by plaintiff to obtain possession of three carloads of dry hides, of the value of $7,500, shipped to plaintiff at Alpena from Monterey, Mexico, by rail. There was a dispute between the parties relative to certain advanced charges against the property. Plaintiff claimed that the charges were excessive, made a tender of a portion, and sued out his writ, January 6, 1908, and the sheriff replevined the property. The property was duly appraised and on January 7th plaintiff gave the sheriff the statutory replevin bond. On January 8th, and within 48 hours after the property was appraised, the defendant executed and delivered to the sheriff a bond conditioned as provided by law, with two sureties acceptable to the sheriff. On receiving this .bond, it is claimed by relator that the sheriff surrendered possession of the property so replevined to the defendant. And upon this claim its entire contention in this proceeding rests. The construction of Act No. 246, Pub. Acts 1899, is involved.

Relator has demurred to the answer of respondent upon the grounds:

1. That respondent did not allow all the amendments proposed by relator to his return.

2. That the return is not sufficient in law to meet the claims of relief set forth in the petition.

Under the first ground are seven specific complaints relied upon. Upon these we are requested, if we discover disputes of fact, to frame issues for determination. These amendments were all passed upon by the respondent under section 9969, 3 Comp. Laws. If relator was entitled to frame issues of fact (a point upon which we express no opinion), they should have been prepared and proposed by it with notice to the opposite party, and presented to this court for framing, such issues to be tried in the manner provided by section 9971, 3 Comp. Laws.

An examination of the entire record in this case dis[203]*203closes that these are matters entirely immaterial to the determination of the question before us, and if issues had been presented this court would for that reason have refused to frame them. There is no dispute upon this record as to what has been done. The question is purely a question of law.

The statute for construction is section 10658, 3 Comp. Laws, as amended by Act No. 246, Pub. Acts 1899. This section before amendment read as follows:

“Section 11. If the plaintiff shall fail to cause such bond to be executed and delivered to the officer, within twenty-four hours after the appraisal of such property, the officer shall return the same to the person from whom he took it.”

As amended this section reads:

“Section 11. If the plaintiff shall fail to cause such bond to be executed and délivered to the officer within twenty-four hours after the appraisal of such property, or if the defendant or some one in his behalf, at any time before the delivery of the property to plaintiff, shall execute a bond to such officer and his assigns, with the addition of his name of office, with sufficient sureties, to be approved by such officer, in a penalty not less than one hundred dollars, and at least double -the appraised value of such property, conditioned, * * * the officer shall return the property to the same person from whom he took it; and the property shall in no case be delivered to the plaintiff without the consent of the defendant in writing, until the expiration of forty-eight hours after the appraisal thereof, and notice of such appraisal shall be given to the defendant: Provided, That if either party before the delivery of the property by the officer to the opposite party shall make and present to such officer an affidavit setting forth that the property replevied, or any part thereof, has an especial value to him that cannot be satisfied in money, together with a notice in writing that the question of the custody thereof will be submitted to the judge of the circuit, or a circuit court commissioner of the county, at a time and place therein stated, not exceeding five days from the date thereof, and shall serve upon the opposite party, or his attorney, a copy of such affidavit and notice, at least two days before the time of [204]*204hearing mentioned, the officer shall retain custody of such property until the time mentioned in such notice, and until the order of such judge or commissioner thereon. Such judge or commissioner, on proof of service of said affidavit and notice, shall hear the claims of the respective parties and, by order under his hand, award the possession of such property, pending the suit, to either party, on the execution of a bond as herein required, as he shall deem just,” etc.

In the case at bar the property was taken on the writ and appraised.

The return of respondent shows that:

‘ ‘After the property was taken upon the writ and appraised, both the plaintiff and defendant in due season gave the sheriff the bonds provided for by section 10658, 3 Comp. Laws, as amended by Act No. 246, Pub. Acts 1899.”

The details of such proceedings and the steps taken by plaintiff in replevin to obtain an order from respondent awarding it the possession of the property are stated in the return as follows:

“The property on January 6, when the writ issued, was in three cars of the defendant standing on its tracks in the railway yard in Alpena. These ears were sealed with the general seal of the defendant, and also with the station seal. At the request of the sheriff defendant removed the seals and opened the cars to permit an appraisal to be made. The appraisal was completed at 5 o’clock, and notice thereof given to defendant at 5:30 o’clock on the afternoon of January 6th.

“The cars were then resealed by defendant as before, and remained in the same condition and place undisturbed by any one until January 13th. At noon of January 7th the plaintiff delivered to the sheriff its bond in due form in double the appraised value of the property with sufficient sureties. On January 8th, at 20 minutes before 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the attorney for the defendant delivered to the sheriff its bond in a proper penalty with sureties approved by that officer, and informed him that the railroad company wanted the property and demanded that the sheriff turn the cars back to such railway company, and requested the sheriff to notify Mr. Reeves [the [205]*205station agent] to that effect. The sheriff then went over and found Mr. Reeves in defendant’s ticket office * * * and then and there said to him, that he had received such bond and, ‘ The hides are yours again — you can do what you like with them.’ Thereupon the sheriff returned up town and not later than 3:30 o’clock informed Mr. Scott, attorney for plaintiff, that such bond had been given by defendant. Mr. Scott thereupon told the sheriff he would prepare the affidavit and give-notice of the present application, at the same time asking the sheriff to go back and inform Mr. Reeves that he would continue to hold the hides in his possession until an order for the custody of the goods could be obtained upon such hearing. The sheriff went immediately back to Mr. Reeves and asked him not to move the hides, saying: ‘ Those hides are to be held here. ’ Whereupon Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
115 N.W. 724, 152 Mich. 201, 1908 Mich. LEXIS 835, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/detroit-mackinac-railway-co-v-alpena-circuit-judge-mich-1908.