Dupont & Co. v. Amos

66 N.W. 774, 97 Iowa 484
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedApril 9, 1896
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 66 N.W. 774 (Dupont & Co. v. Amos) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dupont & Co. v. Amos, 66 N.W. 774, 97 Iowa 484 (iowa 1896).

Opinion

Deemer, J.

On the tenth day of November, 1893’ the plaintiff commenced this action in replevin against the defendant, Amos, as sheriff, alleging that it was the absolute and unqualified owner, and entitled to the possession of certain blasting, or mining powder, which the defendant wrongfully detained from it. A writ was issued on the tenth of November, and the property was taken and delivered to the plaintiff. On the twenty-ninth of November, a default was entered against the defendant for want of appearance or answer. On the fifth of December, M. Coffee and M. M. Barr obtained leave to file petitions of intervention. On the twelfth day of December the cause was called for trial, and the attorney for the intervener, Barr, objected to going to trial at that time, and asked a postponement until a later day in the term, and that he have until a later day in which to file a petition of intervention on behalf of Barr, stating that he understood, when he took leave to file the petition, that he was to have a day later than the twelfth in which to file the same, and that he had not been able to get his petition on file. Plaintiff’s attorney objected to the postponement of the trial, but expressly stated that he did not controvert the statement of intervener’s attorney as to his understanding of the time within which to file his petition of intervention, nor to the fapt that he was not then prepared to go to trial, but insisted that the trial proceed, agreeing, however, that if, after plaintiff’s evidence was taken, the intervener should not be ready to file his petition of intervention, or produce his evidence, and the court should find that intervener was entitled to a postponement of the trial of the cause, such postponement should be treated and considered as though granted at the time it was asked; that is to say, that if the court should find, upon the conclusion [486]*486of plaintiff’s' evidence, that, at the time of the commencement of the taking of plaintiff’s evidence, the intervener was legally entitled to a postponement of the trial, the ruling of the court should be considered and treated by the parties the same as though made at the time the plaintiff commenced the taking of the testimony, and before any evidence had actually been taken, which agreement and understanding was made at the time the taking of the testimony on behalf of the plaintiff was begun, on the twelfth day of November, 1893. Thereupon, on the twelfth day of December, the case' came on to be heard on its merits, and plaintiff introduced its testimony in support of its petition. After all the evidence had been taken, the defendant, sheriff, filed a motion to set aside his default, to which was attached an answer he proposed to file. On the thirteenth of December, Norman Haskins, receiver, filed a motion to set aside the default of the defendant, and for leave to intervene, which was supported by an affidavit of his attorney, excusing his delay in presenting the petition. To this motion plaintiff filed objections, based upon the grounds: First. That the case had been upon the docket siuce November 12, and had been regularly tried on the part of plaintiff, and no pleading or appearance had been made by the receiver; that the intervention would necessarily cause delay, and no good reason why the petition was not filed in time had been given. Second. Because the affidavit of intervener’s attorney shows that he knew of the pending of the suit in sufficient time to have enabled him to file a petition before the case was reached for trial. Third. Because the petition shows that the receiver had no interest in the action or the subject matter thereof. These objections were supported by affidavits. On the fourteenth day of December the court overruled the motion of defendant to set [487]*487aside the default, and sustained the application of the receiver to be allowed to intervene, and gave the intervener ten days in-'which to file his petition, to which ruling the plaintiff excepted. On the thirteenth of December, Barr filed his petition of intervention, in which he claimed the right to the possession of the property in controversy, through the sheriff, by virtue of the levy thereon of a writ of attachment in a certain action in which he was plaintiff and the mining company was defendant; that the property, at the time it was taken, was the property of the mining company, and that plaintiff had no interest in, or right thereto; that plaintiff’s claim thereto was and is fraudulent, and made with intent to defraud intervener. On the fourteenth day of December plaintiff filed a motion to strike this petition- from the files, for the reason that at the time of the filing thereof, this cause, on part of the- plaintiff, had been tried, and evidence taken, and had been submitted to the court, and for the reason that intervener obtained leave to file a petition about the fifth day of this month, and was'informed by the court, that the petition would be in time, if filed when the cause was called for trial, at which time no petition was filed or offered — this petition having been drawn up and sworn to on- the thirteenth day of - December,’and after the cause had been submitted on the part of the plaintiff — and because the question of intervener’s right to file the petition, was argued on the last night, being the thirteenth of this month, and immediately before adjournment, and was not determined until this morning, and because it necessarily delays trial of the case; which motion the court overruled, and plaintiff excepted. On the fourteenth day of December, court adjourned until the second day of January, 1894, upon which last-named day, the Judge not appearing, court adjourned sine die. On December 22,1893, Haskins, the receiver, [488]*488filed a petition of intervention, in which he, as receiver for the coal company, claimed the right to the possession of the powder, by reason of his appointment by the district court of Polk . county, to care for and receive the property in question. On May 11, plaintiff filed a motion to strike the petitions of intervention from the files, because they were not filed in time. This motion was overruled, and exception taken. Thereupon plaintiff filed separate answers to these petitions of intervention. On the issues thus joined, the case was tried to a jury, the trial commencing on the sixteenth day of May, 1894. The jury returned a verdict for the intervener, Barr, fixed the value of his interest in the property at seven hundred and fifty-one dollars and seventy-five cents; and for intervener Haskins, and fixed the value of his interest in the property at one hundred and seventeen dollars and five cents. On this verdict judgment was rendered in favor of Barr, and against the plaintiff and the sureties on the replevin bond, for the sum of seven hundred and fifty-one dollars and seventy-five cents; and in favor of the receiver, against the same parties, for the sum of one hundred and seventeen dollars and five cents. The appeal is from the rulings of the court allowing the petitions of intervention, and from the judgments rendered in the action.

1 The first question presented, raises the inquiry as to the right of the interveners to come into the case at the time they did. The proceedings with reference to intervention, are wholly statutory, and by the provisions of our Code, must we be governed in determining the case. Section 3228 is as follows: “If a third person claim the property, or any part thereof, the plaintiff may amend and bring him in as co-defendant, or the defendant may obtain his substitution by the proper mode, or the claimant may himself intervene by the process of. intervener.”

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Bluebook (online)
66 N.W. 774, 97 Iowa 484, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dupont-co-v-amos-iowa-1896.