First National Bank of Morgan v. Brown

92 S.W. 1052, 42 Tex. Civ. App. 584, 1906 Tex. App. LEXIS 321
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 13, 1906
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 92 S.W. 1052 (First National Bank of Morgan v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
First National Bank of Morgan v. Brown, 92 S.W. 1052, 42 Tex. Civ. App. 584, 1906 Tex. App. LEXIS 321 (Tex. Ct. App. 1906).

Opinion

PLEASANTS, Associate Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment in a garnishment proceeding instituted by appellee against the appellant.

The judgment of the court below is sought to be reversed on the ground that the affidavit for garnishment is insufficient in that it fails to show that the appellant is a corporation duly organized and incorporated under the law, and because said affidavit shows upon its face that the judgment upon which the writ of garnishment was applied for was dormant at the time the application was made.

The affidavit is as follows:

“That affiant is J. S. Brown, one of the members of the firm of J. S. Brown & Co., a partnership, now dissolved, composed of J. S. Brown and J. M. Brown, both.of Galveston, Galveston County, Texas; that said firm of J. S. Brown & Co. recovered judgment against Ross Bros., a firm composed of J." B. Ross and Dennis Ross, in the Justice Court of Precinct Humber Two of Galveston County, Texas, on the 3d day of October, A. D. 1887, for the sum of $104 principal, and $25.60 costs of suit, together with legal interest thereon from October 3, 1887, to this date, said cause being numbered on the docket of said court Ho. 4,924, and styled J. S. Brown & Co., plaintiff, v. Ross Bros., defendants; that said judgment is owned and held by affiant J. S. Brown and has been duly perpetuated by the issuance of executions from time to time on the following dates, to wit: October 4, 1887; February 8, 1887, to Johnson County, Texas; May 1, 1888, to Johnson County, Texas; October 30, 1889, to Johnson County, Texas; October 24, 1889, to Galveston County, Texas; August 11, 1902, to Johnson County, Texas; and September 29, 1902, to Bosque County, Texas, respectively; that said judgment is a subsisting, unpaid and unsatisfied judgment against the said J. B. Ross as a member of the firm of Ross Bros.; that the said J. B. Ross was served personally with citation on September 13, 1887; that all the foregoing facts are shown of record in the Civil Docket of said court and the papers on file in the office of the justice of the peace of precinct Mo. 1 of Galveston County, Texas, in the city of Galveston, to which reference is here made, and the same is made a part of this application; that said judgment, costs of suit, and legal interest of 6 percent per annum from October 3, 1887, are wholly unpaid and unsatisfied in whole or in part, and that neither J. B. Ross, or Dennis Ross, nor the firm of Ross Bros, have, within the knowledge' of affiant, property in the possession of either of them or in possession *587 of said firm of Boss Bros, within this State, subject to execution, sufficient to satisfy such judgment.
“And that affiant has reason to believe and does believe, that the garnishee, The First National Bank of Morgan, located in the town of Morgan, Bosque County, Texas, is an incorporated Company, and that the defendant J. B. Boss is the owner of shares of stock in said company and has an interest therein. J. S. Brown.
“Sworn to and subscribed before me this 22d day of June, A. D. 1904.
“B. H. Berry, Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 1, Galveston County, Texas.”

We think neither of the objections to the affidavit should be sustained. The cases cited by appellant in support of the proposition that the affidavit is insufficient because it fails to state that appellant company was “duly incorporated,” are Underwood v. Bank, 62 S. W. Rep., 943; Way v. Bank of Sumner, 30 S. W. Rep., 497; Insurance Co. of North America v. Friedman, 74 Texas, 56; Texas Mut. Ins. Co. v. Davidge, 51 Texas, 244, and Greenwood v. Pierce, 58 Texas, 133. The cases cited, except the case of Way v. Bank, supra, hold that a petition in a suit or an affidavit in garnishment against a national bank, a railway company, or other corporation, which fails to allege that the defendant company 'is incorporated is subject to exception for lack of such allegation. It is, we think, clear that these cases do not sustain appellant’s contention.

The case of Way v. Bank, holds that a special exception to a petition in a suit against a national bank on the ground that the petition failed to allege that the bank was “duly” incorporated should have been sustained. This conclusion, however, was based upon the construction given by the court to article 1190 of the Bevised Statutes and, if it is conceded to be sound, is not authority for the proposition that an affidavit for garnishment against an incorporated company must state that the company is “duly” incorporated.

The affidavit in this case is in strict compliance with article 219 of the Bevised Statutes prescribing the requisites of an affidavit for garnishment when the purpose of the writ, as in this case, is to attach shares held by the judgment debtor in a corporation. This statute only requires the applicant to state in his affidavit that the “garnishee is an incorporated company,” whereas article 1190 which controlled in the decision of the Way case, supra, requires that a petition in a suit against a corporation shall allege that the defendant is “duly” incorporated. There may be no sound reason for a difference in the requisites of a petition and an application for a writ of garnishment against a corporation, but the Legislature has seen fit in the exercise of its unquestionable authority to make a distinction, and the appellee was only required to comply with the statute.

The second objection to the affidavit presents a more difficult question. While the application states positively that the judgment upon which the writ is «applied for has been duly perpetuated by the issuance of writs of execution, from the dates given in the affidavit it appears that more than ten years elapsed between the issuance of the fifth and •sixth execution on said judgment. But the affidavit further states: “that all of the foregoing facts are shown of record in the Civil Docket *588 of said court and the papers on file in the office of the justice of the peace of precinct So. 1 of Galveston County, Texas, in the city of Galveston, to which reference is here made and the same are made a part of this application.” The docket of the court referred to in the affidavit shows that the fifth execution was issued on October 24, 1899, instead of 1889, as stated in the application, and there was no lapse of ten years between the issuance of executions on said judgment.

It seems to be well settled that a valid writ of garnishment can not be issued upon a dormant judgment. (Freidman v. Early Gro. Co., 54 S. W. Rep., 278.) And it is also the law that the papers in the original suit can not be looked to to supply necessary statements in an affidavit for writ of garnishment. (Scurlock v. Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. Co., 77 Texas, 481.)

The application and affidavit in this case contains all of the statutory requirements. The judgment upon which the writ is applied for is fully described and identified and is alleged to be subsisting and enforceable. It was unnecessary for the application to go further and state the dates upon which the writs of.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Jewett State Bank, Inc. v. Evans
129 S.W.2d 1202 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1939)
American Nat. Ins. Co. v. Briggs
90 S.W.2d 602 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1936)
Patton v. Crisp & White
11 S.W.2d 826 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1928)
Carlton v. Hoff
292 S.W. 642 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1927)
Luse v. Fort Worth Electric & Motor Car Co.
261 S.W. 163 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1924)
Citizens' Bank & Trust Co. v. Rogers
170 S.W. 258 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1914)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
92 S.W. 1052, 42 Tex. Civ. App. 584, 1906 Tex. App. LEXIS 321, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/first-national-bank-of-morgan-v-brown-texapp-1906.