Moffett v. Sheehey

52 Ill. App. 376, 1893 Ill. App. LEXIS 190
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedOctober 28, 1893
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 52 Ill. App. 376 (Moffett v. Sheehey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moffett v. Sheehey, 52 Ill. App. 376, 1893 Ill. App. LEXIS 190 (Ill. Ct. App. 1893).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Pleasants

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Replevin commenced before a justice of the peace, by an execution debtor against a constable, for goods levied on and taken, which he claims were exempt. Tried on appeal, by the court without a jury, and judgment rendered on the finding for plaintiff. Defendant appealed.

Plaintiff kept a drinking saloon, was married and residing with his family. When notified of the execution by the officer, he said he had no property except what was in the saloon, but did not offer to turn out any, nor intimate a purpose to claim his exemption. Afterward on the same day? appellant levied on the fixtures and personal property therein and locked the door, but removed nothing except two barrels of whisky, one keg of gin, one keg of port wine and one keg of brandy, which comprise all that was replevied or is in controversy, the residue having been surrendered. In the same evening or on the following morning appellee delivered to appellant, as a schedule, the following paper, which, with the appraisement and selection, are taken from the abstract and conceded to be correct:

“ To E. J. Moffett, constable. In the matter of the execution in favor of Harvey & Son and against Thomas E. Sheehey. Schedule of all the personal property of the said Thomas Sheehey, a married man, and at the head of a family, made the 28th day of April, A. D. 1891.
“ Chattel property, valuation fixed by appraisers:
“ One saloon, bar and fixtures, known as the Oak Palace Saloon, in Clinton, Illinois, consisting of front and back mirror, bar, ice chest, cigar case, stand, and side mirror, one iron safe, one desk, all glassware and furnishing articles necessary and used in said saloon—one set of fixtures, §601.50.
“ In the running and operating the same, and all stock on hand, consisting of cigars, liquors, wines and beer, and all manner of stock at said place on hand—stock, §188.70.
“ And all the book accounts of said Sheehey, kept and appearing on the books against various persons, wearing apparel of debtor—book accounts, estimated, §25.
"One shot gun, two target rifles, all the several pictures on the walls of said saloon, one stove, all empty barrels and kegs in said saloon—shooting gallery, stoves and pictures, three guns, $64. Total $879.20.
“ That the foregoing articles of personal property are under mortgage as follows: $290 mortgage to Thomas Sheehey, Sr., and John Carroll, and $448 mortgage to D. W. Brenneman & Co., all of which mortgages are wholly unpaid."
“ Debts due and from whom due .... Name.... Mature of debt, whether note or account...... When due...... Amount....
“ As here before stated, all debts due and owing are the accounts on the books of the debtor in his said saloon, consisting of accounts against various persons, and in various amounts, too numerous to mention in detail, all of which are ready to be produced for inspection.”

Affidavit of Thomas E. Sheehey, stating that the above is a full, complete and true schedule of all the personal property, of every kind and character owned by him, including money on hand and debts due and owing him.

Sworn to April 28, 1891, before A. J. Richey, J. P.

Affidavit of appraisers that they would fairly and impartially appraise the property of Thomas E. Sheehey, set forth and described in the foregoing schedule, made April 29, 1891.

Report of appraisers, stating they had carefully examined the articles mentioned in the foregoing schedule of Thomas E. Sheehey, and had fairly and impartially appraised the value thereof at the sums by them set opposite said articles in said schedule.

Notice of Thomas E. Sheehey, appellee, in the words and figures following:

“ To E. J. Moffett, constable and city marshal in and for the city of Clinton, DeWitt county, Illinois.”
“ I hereby select the following articles of those named in the foregoing schedule, which I desire to retain, viz.: Two barrels of whisky, one keg of gin, one keg of port wine and any and all of the stock of cigars, wines, wniskies and stock on hand, heretofore scheduled and used in running the Oak Palace saloon, in Clinton, Illinois. Also the fixtures, consisting of bar, mirror, stoves, one safe, desk, pictures there, and all of the articles of furniture, comprising the bar in said saloon, embracing all mirrors, pictures and glassware, and any and all book accounts showing, and all articles levied on by the said Moffett, and in the building known as the Oak Palace saloon, one shot gun, two target rifles, and that said property are first subject to the two mortgages heretofore mentioned in this schedule on opposite page.”
“Thomas E. Sheehey.”

Appellant did not deliver the barrels and kegs of liquor mentioned, and the question is whether appellee, by the proceedings shown, was entitled to them as exempt from the execution, or more specifically, did he make, substantially, such a schedule and selection as the statute required, to entitle him to hold them.

That requirement is that the debtor shall “ make a schedule of all of his personal property of every kind and character, including money on hand and debts due and owing to the debtor, and deliver the same to the officer having the execution,” and after the appraiser shall have fixed a “ fair valuation upon each article contained in said schedule,” he shall “ then select from such schedule the articles he may desire to retain, the aggregate value of which shall not exceed the amount exempted, to which he may be entitled ” (which in this case was $400 worth), “ and deliver the. remainder to the officer having the writ.” R. S., Ch. 52, Sec. 14.

The schedule should list separately each article of a distinct kind, or of a distinct quality, grade or description of the same kind, to enable appraisers the more readily to fix the value of each article contained in it. How else would they certainly know when or whether they had examined “ all glassware and furnishing articles,” “ all stock in hand, consisting of cigars, liquors, wine and beer, and all manner of stock ” or “ all empty barrels and kegs” in a saloon indicated ? And why should they be subjected to the labor of examining each of an unstated number of articles of the same kind,grade, quality and description? Such articles should be listed by the number of pieces, yards, gallons, bushels, or the like, so that they would need only to ascertain the number, examine a sample, appraise the lot accordingly, and leave the claimant debtor to the risk of selecting them as of such number and value. Appellee, then, did not make such a schedule as the statute contemplated.

Nor was the appraisement such. The schedule appears in the record as in the abstract, in four separate and distinct groups, each of which mentioned miscellaneous articles in a lump, and the property was appraised in the same way.

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109 Ill. App. 222 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1903)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
52 Ill. App. 376, 1893 Ill. App. LEXIS 190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moffett-v-sheehey-illappct-1893.