Millus v. Lowrey Bros.

1917 OK 161, 164 P. 663, 63 Okla. 261, 1917 Okla. LEXIS 538
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 20, 1917
Docket5931
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 1917 OK 161 (Millus v. Lowrey Bros.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Millus v. Lowrey Bros., 1917 OK 161, 164 P. 663, 63 Okla. 261, 1917 Okla. LEXIS 538 (Okla. 1917).

Opinion

THACKER, J.

The plaintiffs in error, L. S. Millus and M. F. Millus, who are husband and wife, will be designated as defendant and interpleader, respectively, and the defendants in error, Lowrey Bros., a partnership, will be designated as plaintiffs, in accord with the titles of these parties in the trial court.

The plaintiffs commenced this action on August 10, 1911, against the defendant, on an account for $270, with legal interest from that date, and on a promissory note held by them ás assignees for $32, wjth interest thereon at the rata of 8 per cent, per annum from some time in 1903, making a total of about $322 at the time this action was commenced; and at the same time the plaintiffs procured the attachment of a stock of goods, wares', and merchandise as the property of the defendant and in his possession, upon an affidavit filed in this case which alleges, among other things:

“That said plaintiff has commenced said action against said defendant for the recovery of $322; that the defendant is indebted to said plaintiff in said sum; that said claim is just and due and is wholly unpaid.
“(5) That said defendant is about to remove his property, or a part thereof, out of the jurisdiction of the court, with the intent to defraud his creditors.
“(6) That said defendant is about to convert his property, or a part thereof, into money, for the purpose of placing it beyond the reach of his creditors.
“(7) That said defendant has property or rights in action which he conceals.
“(8) That eaid defendant has assigned, removed, or disposed of or is about to dispose of his property, or a part thereof, with the intent to defraud, hinder, or delay his creditors.”

. The attached property was the stock in trade in a store in the ostensible possession and control of the defendant.

On September 6, 1912, defendant answered ■by denial of all indebtedness and by alleging that the account sued on was incorrect in respect to its failure to show certain credits, as claimed by him, amounting to a payment of the indebtedness therein charged against him.

On November 25, 1911, the defendant filed his verified motion to discharge the said attachment, in which motion he not only alleged defects apparent on the face of the plaintiff’s affidavit for the same, but denies the existence of each and all grounds therefor stated in said affidavit.

On December 10, 1912, plaintiffs filed their general denial of the allegations of defendant’s answer.

On December 19, 1912, the interpleader, presumably under section 3918, Stat. 1893 (section 4701, Rev. Laws 1910), came into this case by filing what she denominated her “interplea in attachment,” which, after reciting the fact of said attachment, alleges:

“That this affiant claims said property so attached; that affiant’s claim to said property arises as follows: That affiant bought the original stock of goods, wares, and merchandise, replenishing the same from time to time as depleted in the usual course of trade, and at the time of the levy of the said attachment writ she was the absolute owner of said stock of goods, wares, and merchandise, and bought and paid for same with her own money, and the same is the property of this affiant and is not the property of L. S. Millus or any. other person.
“.Wherefore affiant prays that said attachment be dissolved as to said property, and for such other relief as may be just and meet in the premises.”

On February 28, 1913, the plaintiffs filed a general denial to the aforesaid interplea.

On April 29, 1913, with the pleadings of the parties and the motion of the defendant to discharge the attachment standing as above stated, this ease went to trial to a jury under the judge’s instructions upon each and all the issues of fact above shown, including the issue made by the motion to *263 discharge the attachment and the issue made by the aforesaid interplea and answer thereto, and the trial resulted in a verdict as follows:

“We the jury duly impaneled, selected, and sworn to try the above-entitled cause, do find from the law and evidence the issues in favor of the plaintiffs, Lowrey Bros., in the sum of $188.38, and that the attachment herein shall be sustained, and further find the issues against the interpleader, M. F. Millus.”

The court entered a judgment in accord with this verdict; and the defendant and in-terpleader bring the case pere for review upon their separate assignments of error, now to be considered so far as they present questions which this court will review in the state of the record and in the state of the argument thereon in their -brief.

The interpleader does not assign as error the action of the trial court in overruling her motion for a new trial, and, for this reason, her petition in error will not be considered, the determination upon the trial of the issue made by her interplea and the plaintiff’s denial of the allegations of the same being the only issue in which she was interested.

She now claims that her interplea, which she entitled her “interplea in attachment.” was but a motion to discharge the attachment to be determined by the judge alone, and that its determination was not a trial within the rule requiring a motion for a new trial and an assignment of error in the overruling of the same.

It appears that under section 4426, Stat. 1893 (section 5310, Rev. Laws 1910), one who is not technically a party to an action, but who has an interest in or is affected by the -same, as, for instance, one who is interested as owner or otherwise in having the property discharged from the attachment, may move for such discharge without subjecting his claim of interest to the danger of a binding adjudication against him on such motion, although the court has a wide discretion in determining such motion, and should overrule the same if there is any substantial question as to the mover’s interest; and the only thing determined as to the mover’s interest is the interlocutory question as to whether the same is claimed and is admitted or not seriously questioned in such action, although the decision may be final as to other grounds of the motion (Sparks v. City National Bank of Lawton et al., 21 Okla. 827, 97 Pac. 575; Shelby et al. v. Ziegler. 22 Okla. 799, 98 Pac. 989; Crow v. White Wing, 3 Kan. 276 [270] ; Harrison & Willis v. Andrews, 18 Kan. 535; Long v. Murphy et al., 27 Kan. 375) ; but, instead of such an anomalous motion to discharge under the section cited, it appears that the interpleader, evidently relying upon section 3918, Stat. 1893 (section 4701, Rev. Laws 1910), without any direct attack upon the attachment proceedings, had, prior to the levy upon this personal property, merely alleged title, and, liberally construing her interplea, claimed the right to the immediate possession of the property, somewhat as if she were proceeding in re-plevin (Ranney-Alton Mercantile Co. v. Hanes & Johnson, 9 Okla. 471, 60 Pac. 284), so that, when the plaintiff filed his general denial thereto, an issue was made, to be tried as in replevin, as to the existence of her alleged right to the immediate possession of this property. Ranney-Alton Mercantile Co. v. Hanes & Johnson, supra; Rice, Stix & Co. v.

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Bluebook (online)
1917 OK 161, 164 P. 663, 63 Okla. 261, 1917 Okla. LEXIS 538, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/millus-v-lowrey-bros-okla-1917.