Old Second National Bank v. Williams

71 N.W. 150, 112 Mich. 564, 1897 Mich. LEXIS 1004
Michigan Supreme Court·Decided May 11, 1897·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

Long, C. J.

December 21, 1895, the plaintiff commenced suit in the Bay circuit court against David M. Estey and James H. Calkins, partners under the name of [565] Estey & Calkins, and on the same date sued out a writ of garnishment against defendant Williams; alleging in the affidavit upon which the writ was issued that “Charles S. Williams, of Owosso, Mich., has property, money, goods, chattels, and effects in his hands and under his control belonging to the said David M. Estey and James H. Calkins, and each of them, and is indebted to them, and each of them.” Mr. Williams made disclosure in the case under oath, in which he stated that he was not indebted to the principal defendants, or either of them, and was not at the time of the service of the writ upon him, but that at the time of the service of the writ he then held 100 shares of the' capital stock of the Estey Manufacturing Company, of Owosso, Mich., represented by certificate No. 68, of the par value of $25 each, which had been duly assigned to him by David M. Estey, “and which he now holds as collateral security for the indorsement and guaranty by him, the said Charles S. Williams, of a certain promissory note made by David M. Estey on December 5, 1895, to C. J. Monroe, for the sum of $2,500, payable four months from date, with interest at 7 per cent., but by whom the Said note is now held he is unable to say,” and that he has no other property, credits, or effects of said Estey & Calkins. On the trial the plaintiff offered in evidence the judgment in the principal case against Estey & Calkins. This was objected tó by counsel, for the garnishee defendant for the reason that the judgment was obtained at a former term of court, and under the statute the garnishee suit should have been brought on for trial at that term. It was also objected that the stock of a corporation is not subject to garnishee process. These objections were overruled. It appeared that the judgment in the principal suit was for $2,617.35, that the garnishee defendant had advertised and sold this stock for the sum of $3,250, and that the note upon which he was held as indorser- was paid in full out of the moneys arising from the sale of the stock, leaving a surplus in his hands of $669.41. For this [566] amount the court below entered a judgment in favor of the plaintiff, less the expense of the sale of the stock and the garnishee’s witness and attorney fees, which were fixed at $35.

The case was tried before the court without a jury, and, so far as appears by this record, there were no requests by either party for findings of fact or law. The record consists simply of copies of the records and files in the principal case and in the garnishee proceedings, together with the articles of association of the Estey Manufacturing Company, the testimony in the case, and objections to the introduction of testimony, the rulings of the court thereon and added thereto, and the assignments of error by the garnishee defendant. It appears that the trial of the garnishee case was had September 29, 1896, while the judgment was rendered in the principal case on January 14, 1896. But for the exception which was taken to the ruling of the court in admitting in evidence the judgment in the principal case, as heretofore stated, this case could not be heard in this court, as it would be ruled by Gemberling v. Lazarus, 100 Mich. 324; Township of Cumming v. Shick, 94 Mich. 222; Keystone, etc., Manfg. Co. v. Jenkinson, 69 Mich. 220; Child v. City of Jackson, 93 Mich. 503; Haines v. Saviers, 93 Mich. 440. It may be added, also, that the record does not, in terms, purport to contain all the evidence submitted upon the trial. While the garnishee case was not heard until September, although the judgment in the principal suit was rendered in January preceding, there is nothing to show but that the garnishee case was continued over the term upon cause shown, or by consent of counsel. This court will not presume error, and there is none shown by the record.

It is not disputed but that the surplus remaining in the hands of the garnishee defendant after the sale of the stock belonged to Mr. Estey, one of the principal defendants. Counsel for defendant argue that while the shares of stock may be reached by attachment and execution [567] under 2 How. Stat. § 7697 et seq., and section 7993, yet there is no statute which provides for reaching such surplus by writ of garnishment; that at common law there was only one way to reach the interest of a shareholder in a corporation, and that was in equity, the interest being, an intangible one, not subject to levy by execution; that, proceedings in garnishment being statutory, the rule that they cannot be extended to include any case not provided by the statute is one of necessity; that there is no process of court provided by statute by which the surplus itself can be made available to the plaintiff, as the court has no power to order a sale in such a proceeding; that the fact that the garnishee defendant, after being served with the writ, sold the shares, and had the proceeds in his hands in money, did not enlarge the plaintiff’s rights; that the right to hold the garnishee depends upon the state of the claim, as one garnishable or not, at the time of the serving of the process.

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Old Second National Bank v. Williams, 71 N.W. 150, 112 Mich. 564, 1897 Mich. LEXIS 1004 (Mich. 1897).

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