Post v. Bird

28 Fla. 1
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 15, 1891
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 28 Fla. 1 (Post v. Bird) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Post v. Bird, 28 Fla. 1 (Fla. 1891).

Opinion

Mabry, J.:

Tire action here is trespass instituted in the Jefferson [3]*3Circuit Court by appellant against appellee for an alleged forcible entry into a certain building and the taking and conversion of certain personal property. There are two connts in the declaration. Jn the first it is alleged that Post, plaintiff in the Circuit Court, on the 18th day of June, A. D. 1887, was in the peaceable and lawful possession of a certain brick storehouse situated in the town of Monticello, Jefferson county, Florida, and being so possessed thereof, Daniel B. Bird, defendant in said suit, on said day, unlawfully, wrongfully and with force and arms entered said store-house and seized and took from the possession of said plaintiff his money, goods and chattels, wares and merchandise, then and there being in said store-house, of the value of six hundred and fifty dollars, and then and there turned said plaintiff out of said store-house and locked the door against him, and other wrongs to said plaintiff then and there did, to his damage thirteen hundred dollars.

The second count alleges that said plaintiff on the 18th day of June, A. D. 1887, owned and was lawfully possessed of certain money, goods and chattels, wares and merchandise of the value of six hundred and fifty dollars, then and there being in a certain brick storehouse situated in the town of Monticello, Jefferson county, Florida, and that said defendant, Daniel B. Bird, then and there unlawfully, wrongfully and with force and arms entered said store-house and seized and took from the possession of said plaintiff said goods, to-wit: Seventy dollars, lawful and current money of [4]*4the United States, and certain goods, wares and merchandise mentioned, of the value of six hundred and fifty dollars, and that, said defendant converted them to his own use, or wrongfully deprived said plaintiff of the use and possession thereof, and said defendant well knowing that said money and personal property belonged to plaintiff, has not as yet delivered the same, or any part thereof, to him, but has failed and wholly refused so to do, to his damage thirteen hundred dollars.

The defendant, Bird, filed four pleas. The first was the general issue ; second, that the premises and property in the declaration mentioned were not at the time of the alleged trespass the property of the plaintiff, nor were they in his possession as alleged, and this he is ready to verify; third, that he lias not, as alleged in the plaintiff’s declaration, converted to his own use the money, goods and property therein mentioned, nor has he wrongfully deprived the plaintiff of the use and possession thereof, and of this he puts himself upon tlie country; fourth, that the alleged entry of the brick store-house mentioned in the declaration, and tlie seizure of the money, goods and chatties, wares and merchandise then and there being was not a trespass upon the plaintiff as alleged, but the same was done in a lawful manner, and by virtue of certain writs of attachment issued out of this honorable court, which were placed in this defendant’s hands, as sheriff of Jefferson county, which said writs were regular and lawful, and this defendant avers that the personal [5]*5property aforefaid was subject to the said writs, and lie was only in the discharge of his official duty as such sheriff when he entered the said store and seized the said property as alleged, and this he is ready to verify.

No demurrer was filed to any of the pleas, but issue was taken upon all of them, and the case was tried before a jury at the Fall term, A. D. 1887, of the Circuit Court of Jefferson county, and resulted in a verdict and j udgment for defendant, Bird. Upon the return of the verdict by the jury, plaintiff below moved the court to set aside the verdict and grant a new trial for the following reasons: 1. Because the verdict is contrary to the law; 2. Because the verdict is contrary to the evidence; 3. Because the verdict is contrary to both law and evidence ; 4". Because the verdict is contrary to the charge of the court; 5. Because the court erred in not charging the jury in addition to what is contained in the first paragraph of the charge, that if the sale was bona fide and for a valuable consideration, the mere fact that the effect of such sale was to hinder and delay creditors in the collection of their claims, did not render the sale void as to creditors; 6. Because there was error in the second paragraph of the charge, as it tends to leave the impression on the minds of the jury that there was evidence that a part of the consideration for the sale was that Garwood was to retain possession of the goods as he had before, and ■was to take from the store such goods as his family might need from time to time, and was when he had [6]*6settled with his creditors to take the goods back as his own, and that the jury was misled by this portion of the charge; 7.- That the court erred in refusing to charge the jury as requested by plaintiff. This motion was overruled by the court and a final judgment entered for defendant below, from which an appeal is prosecuted to this court.

The errors assigned by appellant are: 1st, that the court erred in admitting in evidence the writs of attachment against Garwood; 2nd, that the court erred in the charge given to the jury, and in refusing to charge the jury as requested by appellant; 3rd, that the court erred in charging the jury, in effect, that before they could find for appellant they must believe that Garwood in making the sale to Post had no design to hinder or delay other creditors in the collection of their claims against him; 4th, that the second paragraph of the charge as given is erroneous, as it assumes and was based upon a state of facts not proven, and the jury was misled by it; 5th, that the court erred in refusing to charge the jury as requested by appellant, viz: (1), That the proceeds of sales made by Post after he purchased from Garwood were not subject to seizure under attachments against Garwood; (2), that property exempt from forced sale under the constitution and laws of the state of Florida is not susceptible of fraudulent alienation as against creditors; 6th, that the court erred in refusing to grant a new trial on the grounds set forth in appellant’s motion.

The first error assigned is based upon the ruling of [7]*7the trial judge admitting in evidence, over the objection of appellant, the writs of attachment issued in certain suits instituted against one C. J. Garwood.

From the evidence certified to us by the bill of exceptions, it appears that the appellant, Post, claimed the personal property in question by purchase from Gar-wood, made on the 17th day of June, A. D. 1887. Appellee contends under his second plea that Post did not own the property and was not in possession of it when he levied certain writs of attachment on it, and under the fourth plea he further contends that if Garwood made a sale of said property to Post it was fraudulent and void as to the creditors of Garwood. Appellee seeks to justify the taking of said property under his fourth plea by virtue of certain writs of attachment issued from the Circuit Court for Jefferson county, and that said property was liable to be seized under said writs. It appears from the record that three writs of attachment in the suits of Gustave, Eckstein & Co. against C. J. Garwood, Meinharcl Bros. & Co. against C. J. Garwood, and Frank & Co. against C. J. Garwood, were issued by the Clerk of the Circuit Court in and for Jefferson county, on the 18th day of June, A. I).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cerna v. Swiss Bank Corp.(Overseas), SA
503 So. 2d 1297 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1987)
Douglass v. State
53 Fla. 27 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1907)
Mugge v. Jackson
53 Fla. 323 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1907)
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad v. Crosby
53 Fla. 400 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1907)
Keigans v. State
52 Fla. 57 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1906)
Williams v. Finlayson
49 Fla. 264 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1905)
Mayer Bros. v. Wilkins
37 Fla. 244 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1896)
Halle v. Einstein
34 Fla. 589 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1894)
Roten v. State
31 Fla. 514 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1893)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
28 Fla. 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/post-v-bird-fla-1891.