Price, Et Vir v. Gordon

177 So. 276, 129 Fla. 715
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedOctober 28, 1937
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 177 So. 276 (Price, Et Vir v. Gordon) 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
Price, Et Vir v. Gordon, 177 So. 276, 129 Fla. 715 (Fla. 1937).

Opinion

Buford, J.

The appeal here brings for review final decree and also interlocutory order.

There are two notices of appeal but since the appeal from the final decree brings all matters preceding such decree to this Court, the specific appeal from the interlocutory order referred to may be treated as surplusage.

The interlocutory order complained of was as follows:

*717 "This cause coming on to be heard upon petition of Joseph Gordon and Minerva Gordon^ complainants, for injunction, and it appearing to the Court that irreparable damage will be done to complainants unless the prayer of the petition filed herein is granted, and it appearing further to the Court that complainants do not have an adequate remedy at law, and the Court being fully advised in the premises,

'“It Is Ordered, Adjudged and Decreed that the defendants, Elizabeth W. Price, joined by her husband, T. A. Price, be and they are hereby, enjoined from in anywise interfering with the complainants, Joseph Gordon and Minerva Gordon, in the recovery of the personal property set forth in the petition, and said defendants are ordered to give access to the said personal property forthwith.

“It Is Further Ordered, Adjudged- and Decreed that the Sheriff of this County be, and he is hereby directed to take possession of the said personal property described in the petition filed herein by force if necessary and deliver same over to the complainants forthwith.

“It Is Further Ordered, Adjudged and Decreed that the complainants be, and they are hereby, required to post bond in the sum of $1500.00, properly conditioned and ap-' proved by the Clerk of this Court.

“It Is Further Ordered, Adjudged and Decreed that the defendants reply to the petition in this case as provided by law.

“Done and Ordered in Chambers at Miami, Florida, this 21st day of November, A. D. 1936.”

Final decree, insofar as it is of any importance here, was as follows:

“Ordered, Adjudged and Decreed that the defendants, Elizabeth W. Price, joined by her husband, T. A. Price, *718 be and they are hereby perpetually enjoined from in any wise interfering- with the complainants, Josepi-i Gordon and Minerva Gordon in the recovery of the personal property set forth in the petition, and that the complainants be relieved of any and all liability under the terms of the bond posted in the above entitled cause by said complainants, and that they are hereby authorized and directed to cancel said bond.

“Done and Ordered in Chambers at Miami, Florida, this 6th day of January, A. D. 1937.”

The appellant has stated two questions for our--consideration, as follows:

1. “Where personal property of any ordinary nature and belonging to guests of a lessee is held by a landlord without color of claim or lien, does the owner of such property have such adequate remedy at law as would deprive a Court of Equity of jurisdiction?

“2. Where personal property of guests of a lessee is held by owner and landlord, is it proper for a chancellor to require delivery of possession thereof by mandatory injunction issued without notice before the final decree and based upon unverified Bill of Complaint in which no showing is made that irreparaable damage will be sufféred unless such relief is granted.?”

The assumption contained in the second question, that is, that the mandatory injunction issued without notice before the final decree “and based upon unverified bill of complaint in which showing is made by irreparable damage will be suffered unless such relief ,is granted,” is not supported by the record. The record shows that the bill of complaint was signed by Joseph Gordon and Minerva Gordon and under their signatures the following appears, “subscribed and sworn to before me this 21st day of November, *719 A. D. 1836, Emily Stone, Notary Public, State of Florida at Large, my Commission expires December 17, 1939.”

The bill of complaint begins with a paragraph reading as follows:

“Now come Joseph Gordon and Minerva Gordon, a single woman whose residence is Boston, Massachusetts, and bring this Bill of Compalint against Elizabeth W. Price, joined by her husband, T. A. Price, residents of Dade County, Florida, and complaining say:”

Then follow the several allegations of the bill and the jurat.

The controlling question presented here is whether or not a court of equity may be invoked to intervene and exercise jurisdiction to restore personal property of a peculiar sort, and of peculiar value to the owner, to such owner when the possession thereof is retained by one who has no legal right to retain such possession and where a remedy at law is not full, complete and adequate, or where complete relief is doubtful and a more ample and appropriate remedy may be thereby afforded.

The record shows that one Harold B. Gordon, a resident of Boston, Mass., entered into a lease agreement with Elizabeth W. Price, a married woman, whereby he purported to lease from Mrs. Price a residence in Miami and paid a part of the money agreed upon the lease. Joseph Gordon, father of the lessee, and Minerva Gordon, sister of the lessee, came down and went into possession of the house but immediately found it so infested with vermin, as is alleged, that it was not fit for occupancy. The record shows that Mrs. Price agreed to fumigate the house and eliminate vermin and made some attempt to do so on the second day that it was occupied by the Gordons, but when the Gordons returned to the house they found it still so in *720 fested with vermin that it was unfit for occupancy; so', they notified Mrs. Price that 'they would not occupy the house longer but would find another place. They went out and secured another place, but when they returned Mrs. Price had locked up the house and refused to allow them to remove therefrom their personal effects consisting of clothing and a certain lot of-medicines which were of a peculiar type necessary for the -treatment of Mr. Gordon who was a man advanced in years and. was under the treatment of physicians in his home town, Boston, Mass.

Conceiving it to be true that they had the right under existing conditions to invoke the aid of a court of equity to procure possession of their wearing apparel and medicines, they filed a bill of complaint and asked for the immediate issuance of mandatory injunction requiring Mrs. Price, joined by her husband, to restore possession of their personal property, offering to post good and sufficient bond to protect the defendants named in the suit from any damage that might be suffered by the wrongful issuance of the writ.

The court required bond in the sum of $1500.00 and issued mandatory injunction.

The record further shows that when the writ was placed in the hands of the Sheriff’s deputy both Mrs. Price and her husband evaded service of the writ and upon showing to that effect, the Chancellor issued an order authorizing the Sheriff to use such force as might be necessary to take possession of the complainant’s property and deliver same to the complainants. This was done.

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Bluebook (online)
177 So. 276, 129 Fla. 715, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/price-et-vir-v-gordon-fla-1937.