Fidelity & Casualty Co. of New York v. Harris-Smith, Inc.

211 So. 2d 339, 1968 La. App. LEXIS 5024
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 27, 1968
DocketNo. 7274
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 211 So. 2d 339 (Fidelity & Casualty Co. of New York v. Harris-Smith, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fidelity & Casualty Co. of New York v. Harris-Smith, Inc., 211 So. 2d 339, 1968 La. App. LEXIS 5024 (La. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinion

BAILES, Judge.

In October, 1962, The Fidelity & Casualty Company of New York (F&C) became the surety on a bond in favor of Advance, Inc. (Advance) wherein F&C guaranteed the faithful performance by Harris-Smith, Inc., (Harris-Smith) of the conditions of a building contract entered into between Advance and Harris-Smith. This contract was between Advance, as owner, and Harris-Smith, as contractor, for the construction of streets, curbs, gutters, sidewalks and drainage in the development of a residential subdivision known as Park Vista Subdivision.

Prior to April 30, 1963, Harris-Smith became involved in financial difficulty and was unable to pay certain of its suppliers for materials used in the construction work for Advance. The result of this was that various liens were filed on the job for the materials furnished. In performance of its obligation under the bond, F&C paid a total of $42,270.06 in satisfaction of these liens. This was the total amount of all liens filed against the job with the exception of a lien in the amount of $59,000 filed by Continental Engineers, Inc. F&C refused to pay this lien. The validity of the claim of Continental Engineers, Inc., is the subject matter of the companion suit of Advance, Inc. v. Harris-Smith Corporation et al., No. 7275 on the docket of this Court and the opinion in which case was rendered this date and appears in 211 So.2d 343.

In order to preserve its rights F&C filed suit against the defendant herein on April 30, 1963, for the amount it had paid in satisfaction of the above referred to liens. In an effort to prevent the disbursement by Advance to Harris-Smith of the final pay[340]*340ment due under the above mentioned contract, F&C impleaded Advance as garnishee. In the prayer of the petition of F&C, the latter prayed that Advance be made garnished and served with a copy of the petition and the interrogatories attached and cited to answer the interrogatories under oath in writing, and that after all due proceedings had, there be judgment condemning said garnishee to pay to petitioner a sum sufficient to satisfy said writ (the writ referred to apparently being the writ of fieri facias to be subsequently issued in execution of the judgment hopefully to be rendered in this proceeding) from the funds in its possession now due or which may hereafter become due to be paid to the defendant, Harris-Smith., under its contract with Advance, Inc. By order of the trial court, Advance was made garnishee and ordered to answer under oath the interrogatories propounded. Within the time limit fixed by the court, Advance answered the interrogatory (only one was propounded and this one inquired of Advance the amount remaining to be paid to Harris-Smith, Inc., under the contract) and stated that the sum of $29,570.52 was due and owing under its contract with Harris-Smith.

On June 28, 1963, the following judgment was rendered in this case:

“On motion of Boris F. Navratil of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, attorneys for plaintiff, The Fidelity & Casualty Company of New York, and on producing due proof in support of plaintiff’s demand, and the law and the evidence being in favor of plaintiff and against defendant:
“IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the default entered herein on June 20, 1963, be now confirmed and made final and, accordingly, that there be judgment herein in favor of plaintiff, THE FIDELITY & CASUALTY COMPANY OF NEW YORK, and against defendant, HARRIS-SMITH, INC., in the full sum of Forty-two Thousand Two Hundred Seventy and 06/100 ($42,270.06) Dollars, and for all costs of this proceeding.
“JUDGMENT RENDERED, READ AND SIGNED in open Court this 28th day of June, 1963
s/ COLEMAN LINDSEY Judge, 19th Judicial District Court.”

On October 1, 1963, on motion of the plaintiff, the trial court ordered Advance to pay to the Sheriff for the Parish of East Baton Rouge the sum of $29,570.52 which Advance, on May 3, 1963, admitted was the balance remaining unpaid on its contract with Harris-Smith.

On October 9, 1962, Advance filed a responsive motion wherein it alleged that it did not then have in its possession any sum of money belonging to the defendant, Harris-Smith, and that all of the money it owed to Harris-Smith has been paid into the registry of the district court in the concursus proceedings which Advance convoked in the suit entitled Advance, Inc., v. Harris-Smith Corporation, Fidelity & Casualty Company of New York, et al., No. 96,016 on the docket on the trial court. Advance further alleged that the sum shown in its answer to the interrogatory propounded in this suit to be $29,570.52 was actually an estimate, and that the actual amount due was $23,974.41. Further, the movant alleges that F&C had been cited to appear in the concursus proceedings and was advised, through its attorney, of plaintiff’s intention of depositing the funds in the registry of the court. The movant prayed for and obtained an order of the court for the issuance of a rule nisi against F&C to show cause why an order should not be issued recalling and rescinding the order of the court for Advance to pay said sum to the sheriff.

On October 14, 1963, the plaintiff, by motion, again obtained from the trial court an order for Advance to show cause why it should not be compelled to pay to the [341]*341Sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish the sum of $29,570.52. This show cause order was made returnable on October 28, 1963.

When the above stated rules nisi came for hearing on October 28, 1963, it appearing to the trial court that most of the issues involved and much of the evidence admissible in this case would also arise in the concursus proceedings, the court ordered that this case be consolidated, for the purpose of trial and disposition, with the con-cursus proceeding.

Finally on June 1, 1966, judgment was rendered in the district court in favor of Advance and against the plaintiff recalling and rescinding the orders of the court a quo which compelled Advance to pay to the Sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish the sum of $29,570.52, with the plaintiff, F&C, to pay all court costs incident there-, to.

Within a few days after this judgment was signed on June 1, 1966, plaintiff applied to this court for writs of certiorari, prohibition and mandamus in which application plaintiff was attempting to overturn the judgment of the trial court in recalling and rescinding the said orders. This court denied plaintiffs application on the ground that the relator had an adequate remedy by appeal from the final judgment in the concursus proceeding.

This is an appeal from the judgment of the trial court recalling the previously obtained order of the court compelling Advance to pay to the Sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish the sum of $29,570.52 which Advance stated in answer to the interrogatory that it owed to Harris-Smith.

The argument of the plaintiff F&C is that under the provisions of LSA-C.C.P. Article 2411, in garnishment proceedings, seizure takes effect upon service on the garnishee of the petition, citation and garnishment interrogatories. Its argument further advances the position that under Article 2413 the garnishor need only obtain a judgment against the garnishee when the latter fails to answer.

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Related

Fidelity & Casualty Co. v. Harris-Smith, Inc.
214 So. 2d 548 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1968)
Advance, Inc. v. Harris-Smith Corp.
211 So. 2d 343 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1968)

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Bluebook (online)
211 So. 2d 339, 1968 La. App. LEXIS 5024, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fidelity-casualty-co-of-new-york-v-harris-smith-inc-lactapp-1968.