General Electric Credit Corp. v. Waukesha Building Corp.

259 F. Supp. 958, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7461
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Arkansas
DecidedNovember 2, 1966
DocketCiv. A. No. 1036
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 259 F. Supp. 958 (General Electric Credit Corp. v. Waukesha Building Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
General Electric Credit Corp. v. Waukesha Building Corp., 259 F. Supp. 958, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7461 (W.D. Ark. 1966).

Opinion

OPINION

JOHN E. MILLER, Chief Judge.

On October 17, 1966, the garnishee, P. W. Jameson, filed his motion to quash the writ of garnishment issued against him, together with the allegations and interrogatories, and the service of said documents. The motion is based upon four grounds alleged therein, but since the parties have executed and filed stipulation of facts, it is unnecessary to set forth the grounds upon which the motion is based. However, it appears necessary that some historical facts in addition to the stipulated facts be referred to.

The plaintiff, General Electric Credit Corporation, commenced on July 29,1966, in this court its suit against the defendants, Waukesha Building Corporation, Fay Kirsch, and Martin Fleischner, Administrator with Will Annexed of the Estate of Samuel H. Kirsch, deceased, seeking judgment in the amount of $193,841.98, together with accumulated unpaid interest through June 17, 1966, in the amount of $20,232.64, and for daily accrual interest from June 18, 1966, until paid in the amount of $53.84 per day. The plaintiff is also seeking a reasonable attorney’s fee not to exceed ten percent of the principal and balance due and owing.

The suit is based upon a promissory note, the payment of which is allegedly secured by a deed of trust dated February 24, 1964, and certain other security agreements. The defendants filed their answer on October 8, 1966. On October 6, 1966, plaintiff filed statutory allegations and interrogatories for the issuance of a writ of garnishment. On the same day plaintiff caused to be executed a bond in the sum of $439,779.98, conditioned upon the payment by the plaintiff to the defendants of “all damages that they may sustain by the wrongful bringing of such suit or the wrongful issuance of said writ of garnishment.” Upon the filing of the bond, the writ of garnishment was-issued on October 6, 1966.

Simultaneously with the filing of the motion to quash on October 17, 1966, the attorneys executed and filed a stipulation of facts, in which it was stipulated:

1. That the garnishee, P. W-Jameson, was at all times material to the motion a resident of Memphis, Tennessee, and a citizen of the State of Tennessee;
2. The garnishee, P. W. Jameson, never had any contract or business or other relations with the plaintiff which in any way gave rise to the cause of action asserted by plaintiff against the defendants.
3. The garnishee never had any' contract or business or other relations: with the defendants or any of them,, which in any way gave rise to the cause' of action asserted by plaintiff against, the defendants.
4. The garnishee did not personally, or through any agent, ever do any act or thing or transact any business in the State of Arkansas out of which plaintiff’s cause of action herein against the defendants arose.
5. The garnishee, P. W. Jameson, was a complete stranger to the transactions between plaintiff and the defendants described in the complaint, and was in no way a party to any of such transactions or to any of the documents exhibited to the complaints

[960]*960On October 20, 1966, the parties filed an additional stipulation, as follows:

“(1) Service of the garnishment in question was attempted to be made as follows:
“(a) By the United States Marshal for the Western District of Tennessee delivering a copy of said garnishment, together with the allegations and interrogatories to Jame-son in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 7, 1966.
“(b) By mail, namely: On October 7, 1966, Dan Douglas, United States Marshal, Western District of Arkansas, mailed a letter by registered mail to P. W. Jameson, addressed to him at his office in Memphis, Tennessee, enclosing a copy of the writ of garnishment in question and of the interrogatories filed, which letter was received by Jameson in Memphis, Tennessee on or about October 10,1966, and a true copy of which is attached to this stipulation as Exhibit A.
“(c) By serving the Secretary of the State of Arkansas on or about October 10, 1966, with a copy of the writ of garnishment together with the allegations and interrogatories, as the implied agent for service of Jameson.
“(2) That P. W. Jameson was the prime contractor for the construction of the Aristocrat Motel in Hot Springs, Arkansas, for Waukesha Building Corporation, as owner thereof, and which construction was completed in August of 1963.
“(3) Waukesha Building Corporation filed suit against Jameson, and Maryland Casualty Company, the surety on his performance bond, on May 28,1965, in this court, Civil Action No. 985, seeking to recover damages for alleged faulty construction of said motel, and said suit is now pending in this court.”

It was further stipulated that the motion of P. W. Jameson to quash the garnishment issued herein against him may be submitted upon the stipulation of October 17 and the additional stipulation filed October 20.

On October 19, 1966, the garnishee submitted a brief in support of his motion, and on October 21 the plaintiff submitted its brief in opposition to the motion.

The garnishee contends:

“(1) The writ of garnishment is void on its face.
“(2) Jameson was not subject to service of the writ of garnishment under any law of Arkansas.”

These contentions will be considered in the order set forth.

I.

Rule 64, Fed.R.Civ.P., provides:

“At the commencement of and during the course of an action, all remedies providing for seizure of person or property for the purpose of securing satisfaction of the judgment ultimately to be entered in the action are available under the circumstances and in the manner provided by the law of the state in which the district court is held, existing at the time the remedy is sought, * * *.”

subject to a qualification that if there is an applicable federal statute, then the federal statute governs. There is no controlling federal statute applicable to this procedure and it follows that the law of Arkansas must control.

In Schiele v. Dillard, (1910) 94 Ark. 277, 126 S.W. 835, the court at page 281 of 94 Ark. page 837 of 126 S.W. said:

“The garnishee must be served with process. * * * The validity of garnishment proceedings rests entirely upon complying with judicial process and statutory provisions.”

In State ex rel. Berry Asphalt Co. et al. v. Western Surety Company, (1954) 223 Ark. 344, 266 S.W.2d 835, the court at page 347 of 223 Ark., page 837 of 266 S.W.2d cited Shiele v. Dillard, supra, and said:

“We may dispose quickly of the garnishment question. It is familiar law [961]*961that a garnishee cannot enter his appearance; he must be brought into court by process.”

The writ of garnishment was directed to the “United States Marshal, Western District of Tennessee.” There is no authority, statutory or otherwise, in Arkansas for the issuance of a garnishment directed out of the state.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
259 F. Supp. 958, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7461, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/general-electric-credit-corp-v-waukesha-building-corp-arwd-1966.