Hallagan v. Johnston

104 N.E. 91, 55 Ind. App. 509, 1914 Ind. App. LEXIS 239
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided February 18, 1914·No. No. 8,239·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

Felt, J.

Appellee recovered a judgment in the lower court against Patrick Hallagan, appellants’ decedent, for damages for the conversion of a horse. Prom this judgment appellants prosecute this appeal and assign error of the trial court in overruling the decedent’s demurrer to each paragraph of the complaint, and the motion for a new trial. The complaint is in two paragraphs. The first is in the usual short form, for the conversion of “a certain sorrel horse named Barney, about nine years of age. ’ ’ The second charges that the horse was taken from appellee, and delivered to decedent, by the sheriff of Pulaski County, by virtue of a writ of execution, issued upon a judgment recovered in suit of replevin, in which the decedent was plaintiff and one Henry Toomire was defendant, for the possession of certain personal property, including a certain sorrél horse belonging to appellee, and for the conversion of which this suit is brought; that appellee was not a party to the suit; that decedent knew that the horse so taken was the property of appellee and wrongfully and purposely told the sheriff that the horse of appellee aforesaid was the sorrel horse described in the judgment and writ of execution against Toomire; that the horse was wrongfully taken from appellee without his consent and wrongfully converted to decedent’s own use, to appellee’s damage in the sum of $250.

1. [513]*5132. [511] The alleged errors in overruling the demurrers are waived for failure to discuss them. The assignment that the court erred in overruling the motion for a new trial, questions the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdict and the correctness of certain instructions [512] given by the court. It appears from the evidence, without conflict, that the horse in question in this suit was formerly owned by Toomire; that appellee bought the horse from Toomire at a public sale on February 14, 1910; that on October 5, 1907, Toomire mortgaged certain personal property to appellants’ decedent, including “one sorrel gelding, seven years old, named Charley”; that by reason of default in payment of the debt secured by the mortgage the decedent brought suit in replevin for possession of the property at the February term, 1909, of the Pulaski Circuit Court; a writ of replevin was issued and levied on the property of Toomire who elected to give bond and retain possession of the property pending suit; that the description of the horse in the complaint and writ was the same as in the mortgage; that upon a hearing of the cause and default of Toomire, decedent was on September 21, 1910, adjudged to be the owner and entitled to the possession of the property described in the complaint including “one sorrel gelding”, or in lieu thereof damages in a given amount for the unlawful detention of the property; that on October 4, 1910, an ordinary execution was issued on the judgment commanding the sheriff to levy upon the property of Toomire within the county subject to execution, to satisfy the judgment, interest and costs; that by virtue of the writ the sheriff levied on the horse bought by appellee at public sale, as the property of Toomire, though in the possession of appellee, and turned the same over to appellants’ decedent together with the other property of Toomire, who received the same and receipted in full the judgment against Toomire. Appellants contend that the evidence shows conclusively and Avithoiit dispute, that the horse involved in this suit is the horse for which Toomire gave bond in the replevin suit brought by their decedent and that appellee is bound by the judgment in that suit and cannot be heard upon the question as to whether the horse sold him and involved in this suit is identical with the [513] horse mortgaged to appellants’ decedent and involved in the replevin suit and the writ issued therein. As above indicated, the undisputed facts show that Toomire mortgaged a sorrel horse named “Charley” to appellants’ decedent on October 5, 1907; that the replevin suit was begun in February, 1909, at which time the replevin bond was executed; that appellant bought the horse in controversy in February, 1910; that judgment in the replevin suit against Toomire was rendered on September 4, 1910, and the execution thereon was issued on October 4, 1910. It thus plainly appears that when appellee bought the horse at the Toomire sale no judgment had been rendered in the replevin suit and there was therefore, at that time, no adjudication as to the ownership of the horse in controversy in this suit as against either Toomire or appellee. It is true that a judgment duly rendered is conclusive upon all the parties to the suit and their privies. Craighead v. Dalton (1886), 105 Ind. 72, 4 N. E. 425; Oster v. Broe (1903), 161 Ind. 113, 124, 64 N. E. 918. But there is no claim that appellee was a party to the replevin suit or that he had any actual knowledge thereof. As there was no adjudication of ownership at the time of the sale, appellee to become privy with Toomire must be shown to have purchased or otherwise come into the possession of the identical horse covered by the chattel mortgage and described in the complaint and writ of replevin against Toomire. [514] Toomire gave to appellants’ decedent a chattel mortgage on one sorrel horse, seven years old, weighing

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Hallagan v. Johnston, 104 N.E. 91, 55 Ind. App. 509, 1914 Ind. App. LEXIS 239 (Ind. Ct. App. 1914).

104 N.E. 91 (Hallagan v. Johnston) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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