Heermans v. Blakeslee

161 P. 489, 93 Wash. 595, 1916 Wash. LEXIS 1253
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 9, 1916
DocketNo. 13452
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 161 P. 489 (Heermans v. Blakeslee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Heermans v. Blakeslee, 161 P. 489, 93 Wash. 595, 1916 Wash. LEXIS 1253 (Wash. 1916).

Opinion

Parker, J.

The plaintiff, Harry C. Heermans, seeks an accounting from the defendant, F. G. Blakeslee, for moneys received by him through writs of garnishment issued upon a judgment rendered in his favor against the Washington Public Service Company, and also seeks to have the defendant enjoined from causing to be issued additional writs of garnishment against the debtors of that company. The moneys so acquired and sought to be acquired by the defendant are claimed by the plaintiff as assignee of that company. The defendant demurred to the plaintiff’s complaint upon the ground that it does not state facts constituting a cause of action. The demurrer being sustained by the superior court and the plaintiff electing to stand upon his complaint and not plead further, judgment of dismissal was rendered against him, from which he has appealed to this court.

The controlling facts appearing in appellant’s complaint may be summarized as follows: The Washington Public Service Company is a water works corporation, engaged in furnishing water to the city of Olympia and its inhabitants. On the 28th day of December, 1914, appellant became a creditor of the Washington Public Service Company on account of money advanced by him to pay certain of its accruing indebtedness. On that day, a writing was signed by the Washington Public Service Company and appellant, which writing is claimed by him to be one of the assignments entitling him to the moneys acquired and sought to be acquired by respondent through writs of garnishment. This writing, following recitals therein of the advancements made [597]*597by appellant, reads, so far as we need here notice its provisions, as follows:

“Now Therefore, in consideration of the premises the debtor [Washington Public Service Company] hereby agrees to pay to the creditor [appellant], in the manner hereinafter set forth, all sums heretofore advanced by the creditor, as hereinbefore recited, . . . with interest on all such sums advanced at the rate of eight per cent per year. . . .
“As security for such payments and advances the debtor hereby assigns to the creditor all such present and future earnings and income from sales of water and from service performed as a water company in Olympia, Washington, as shall become due and payable from consumers to it on or after January 1, 1915, . . .
“The creditor hereby constitutes the debtor his agent to collect for him and receipt for in the name of the debtor, all earnings and income hereby assigned, and agrees that if on each day on which any such collections are made — until the debtor’s obligation hereunder is fully paid — the debtor shall pay one-half of the income and earnings collected on that day to the creditor at the Capital National Bank in Olympia —and deposits made therein by the debtor to the credit of the creditor shall conclusively be deemed payment to the creditor of all sums so deposited, and the receipt of said bank shall be conclusive evidence of each such deposit — and if the debtor shall perform and observe those agreements on its part hereinafter contained the debtor may retain the remaining one-half of each such days collections for its own use, freed from all liens hereby created and freed from all liability to account to the creditor therefor as his agent.
“And further in consideration of the premises the debtor agrees with the creditor that the remaining half of its collections reserved to the debtor by any of the provisions of this agreement shall be by it promptly applied to the expense of operating and maintaining its water plant in Olympia (with such minor additional service connections and other additions as may be necessary to keep the plant in proper condition for service), including in such expense of operation and maintenance a monthly salary list not exceeding $515, and that no other manner of expenditures shall be made therefrom except with the written consent of the creditor.”

[598]*598On the 30th day of January, 1915, another writing of substantially the same import was signed by the Washington Public Service Company and appellant to secure repayment to him of additional sums then about to be advanced by him for the benefit of that company. Neither of these writings was accompanied by an affidavit of good faith, acknowledged or recorded as required by Rem. & Bal. Code, § 3660, relating to the execution of chattel mortgages.

Thereafter the Washington Public Service Company became indebted to respondent for goods, wares, and merchandise by him sold to it, and thereafter respondent was awarded a judgment by the superior court of. Thurston county against the Washington Public Service Company for the goods, wares, and merchandise so sold, in the sum of $1,300.29. In that action respondent caused to be issued sundry writs of garnishment against persons indebted to the Washington Public Service Company, being its customers as water consumers, resulting in some of such persons paying into court the sums owing by them to the company, which were thereafter paid to respondent; and in others, answering acknowledging their indebtedness to the company. Respondent threatens to cause to be issued additional writs of garnishment against customers of the company. Appellant alleges that the writs of garnishment already caused to be issued by respondent “are impairing plaintiff’s contracts of assignment heretofore set forth and constitute an irreparable damage to plaintiff and are impairing his security,” and that respondent’s causing the issuance of additional writs of garnishment will further impair his security. Upon these facts, respondent prays for an accounting and injunction as we have already stated.

In view of the fact that these writings signed by the Washington Public Service Company and appellant, which are claimed by appellant to be assignments effectually transferring the title to “present and future earnings and income” of that company, do not purport to assign the proceeds of [599]*599any specified existing contract or contracts of that company, nor any specified amount due or to become due from any present or prospective debtor of the Washington Public Service Company, it may well be doubted that the thing so attempted to be assigned has sufficient potential existence to become the subject of assignment. See 5 C. J. 866, 871, and authorities there cited.

We leave that question undecided, however, since, as we view these writings, they are in no event anything more than attempted executions of chattel mortgages creating liens upon the “earnings and income” of the Washington Public Service Company, which, if properly executed and timely recorded, we assume for present purposes might create such liens, as against the rights of respondent. The particular provisions and recitals of these writings leading us to conclude that they could in no event be more efficacious than chattel mortgages, are the relation therein recited of appellant to the Washington Public Service Company as creditor, which relation manifestly is, by the terms of the writings, contemplated as continuing until the debts attempted to be so secured are paid with interest; the recital therein that the debtor assigns its “earnings and income” to appellant “as security for such payments and advances”; and the reference therein to the rights of appellant as “liens hereby created.” Plainly this is an assignment as security for the payment of a debt, which debt is to continue to exist until paid with interest.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
161 P. 489, 93 Wash. 595, 1916 Wash. LEXIS 1253, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/heermans-v-blakeslee-wash-1916.