Fleming v. Campbell

218 S.W.2d 55, 309 Ky. 527, 1949 Ky. LEXIS 750
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976)
DecidedFebruary 25, 1949
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 218 S.W.2d 55 (Fleming v. Campbell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976) primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fleming v. Campbell, 218 S.W.2d 55, 309 Ky. 527, 1949 Ky. LEXIS 750 (Ky. 1949).

Opinion

Opinion of the Court by

Judge Latimer

Affirming.

*528 Appellee obtained judgment for damages to Ms car and for the loss of the use thereof. Appellants are here seeking reversal of that judgment.

The action grew out of an accident wherein a truck owned by appellant, Marvin Fleming, collided with the automobile of John Campbell. The collision occurred a little after dark on November 25, 1946. Appellee was traveling east on Route 23 toward Paintsville. The truck was traveling west. Appellee, plaintiff below, brought the action against Fleming charging gross negligence. Fleming defended alleging that Campbell’s car had only one headlight burning and claimed that this was the cause of the collision.

At the time of the filing of the action, Campbell asked for and procured an attachment against the property of appellant. Under authority of the attachment, the sheriff levied on the truck involved in the collision.

It appears that Campbell, having failed to obtain service of summons on Fleming, filed affidavit for warning order attorney, in which he stated Fleming was hiding or evading such service. Warning order attorney was appointed, who wrote Fleming informing him of the pendency of the action and the nature thereof. He received in reply a letter in which Fleming stated that he had a good defense and advised the warning order attorney to see his attorney, W. J. Ward. Campbell then served notice that he was going to ask for the sale of the truck. Whereupon, a forthcoming bond was executed to the sheriff signed by Roy Fleming and S. W. Little, also appellants herein, and the posession of the truck was returned to appellant, Marvin Fleming.

Later the trial was had and verdict returned in favor of appellee against appellant, Marvin Fleming, for $1000 as damages to his car- and $300 for loss of use thereof. Appellee failed to ask the court to sustain Ms attachment. However, sometime later appellee served notice on Roy Fleming and S. W. Little, sureties on the forthcoming bond, that he would ask the court for judgment against them in the amount of $1300. Pursuant to the notice, motion was entered and the court returned judgment against the sureties in that amount. Consequently, we have the sureties joining the defendant below as appellants in this action.

*529 It is claimed first that tbe judgment should not have gone against the sureties because appellant, in his action below, failed to meet the requirements of the Civil Code of Practice relative to the procurement of an attachment. All that appellants say relative thereto is correct. A perusual of the petition discloses that plantiff below merely states that because of his claim in the amount of $1300 he is entitled to an order of attachment against the truck. He further sets out in his petition “that defendant is also the owner of certain lands and realty located in Letcher County, Kentucky * * There is no verification of the petition, no grounds of attachment alleged, and no affidavit in support of any grounds of attachment.

But, we are next confronted with the fact that no motion was made by appellant to discharge the attachment, or no move was made to do anything about it. However, after notice of sale, and prior to the attempted sale, a forthcoming bond was executed.

Appellants next insist that, due to the fact appellee did not have his attachment sustained, it was improper for the court summarily to proceed against them, and to enter judgment against them as sureties. All that they say about this is also correct. The record discloses that the court below treated the forthcoming bond as a bond to discharge the attachment as under Section 221 of the Civil Code of Practice, in which event the procedure as adopted by appellee would have been proper since we have held that where bond is made to discharge the attachment all power of the court and its officers over the attached property ceases, and the plaintiff can look only to the bond. We have also held in an action to enforce such a bond the sufficiency of the grounds of attachment cannot be challenged. Thompson v. Arnett, 64 S.W. 735, 23 Ky.Law Rep. 1082; Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Maryland v. Helm, 217 Ky. 384, 289 S.W. 280; and Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Maryland v. Cobb, 213 Ky. 467, 281 S.W. 478. But the rule is different where a forthcoming bond is executed pursuant to Section 214, Civil Code of Practice. Where such bond is executed the bond is regarded merely as an obligation for the forthcoming of the property and the power of the court over the attached property continues as effectually as if no bond had been given. We have held in numerous cases that a peremptory rule *530 .against the obligors in such a bond to pay plaintiff’s •debt is erroneous, and we have further held that an . -order sustaining the attachment is a condition precedent to an action on such a bond. See Farris v. Matthews, 149 Ky. 455,149 S.W. 896. Therefore, the appellant sureties are correct in what they contend. The court erroneously entered judgment on the forthcoming bond. But they are still no better off since in prosecuting this .appeal a supersedeas was executed and these same sureties signed the supersedeas bond as sureties thereon. Con.sequently, if appellee is to look to sureties for satisfaction of the judgment it must be as sureties on the supersedeas and not as sureties on the forthcoming bond. So, if they are to escape liability they must escape with appellant, Fleming. He is here urging reversal of the judgment against him.

Appellant quite readily admits in his brief that ■there was a conflict in the evidence as to the way the -accident happened, and stated: “Of course, we are mindful of the fact that when an issue was made of this question it was for the jury to decide; however, the jury should have been given the case under proper instructions of the court.”

Complaint is first made that the instructions are erroneous in that in Instruction 1 the court placed upon .appellant the duty of operating his truck in a careful and prudent manner and on the proper side of the road in the direction in which he was traveling. It is admitted that this instruction was correct but it is insisted the court overlooked the fact that the same obligations rested on appellee, the driver of the car. It is insisted that the court erred in its instruction immediately following Instruction 1, wherein the only obligation placed ■on appellee was to have both headlights burning. It is argued that as a matter of fact, under the instruction relative to the duties of appellee, appellee could have been driving on the wrong side of the road, at a rapid •or unreasonable rate of speed, or could have been reckless in any manner he desired, and the court only required 'him to have his headlights burning. On the face of it this reasoning might appear to be meritorious, but upon more •serious consideration it will be recalled that Fleming specifically charged that the cause of the accident was “that Campbell did not have both headlights burning. *531 There was no evidence, nor was he challenged in any respect about driving on the wrong .side of the road, or driving too fast, or any other sort of recklessness. The court properly confined his instructions to the facts.

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Bluebook (online)
218 S.W.2d 55, 309 Ky. 527, 1949 Ky. LEXIS 750, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fleming-v-campbell-kyctapphigh-1949.