Rapides Packing Co. v. Bourgeois

123 So. 421, 11 La. App. 251, 1929 La. App. LEXIS 644
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 1, 1929
DocketNo. 3483
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 123 So. 421 (Rapides Packing Co. v. Bourgeois) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rapides Packing Co. v. Bourgeois, 123 So. 421, 11 La. App. 251, 1929 La. App. LEXIS 644 (La. Ct. App. 1929).

Opinion

WEBB, J.

The Rapides Packing Company, Inc., Rapides Grocery Company, Inc., and Henry B. Grady were ordinary creditors of R. M. Bourgeois of Rapides Parish; the packing company was the first to file suit against the common debtor, and while that suit was pending and before issue was joined by default or otherwise, the grocery company and Grady procured confessions of judgment from Bourgeois for the amount of their claims, and, on the same date, filed suit against the common debtor on the confessions, and judgments were rendered thereon on the same date and executions issued on the judgments, under which the sheriff of Rapides parish seized the property of Bourgeois. On the day following the seizure, the packing company amended its petition and obtained an attachment against Bourgeois, under which the sheriff attached the same property which had been seized under the executions issued on the judgments of the grocery company and Grady, and a short time thereafter the packing company filed suit against Bourgeois, the grocery company, [253]*253Grady and the sheriff, to revoke and annul the confessions of judgment made in favor of the grocery company and Grady, and the judgments rendered thereon, as having been made in fraud of creditors, and prayed for judgment accordingly, and for judgment ordering the grocery company and Grady to restore and refund any property, money, advantage, benefit, etc., obtained by virtue of the judgments and proceedings had thereunder, and that same be applied to 'the payment of the claim of the packing company against the common debtor.

Pending trial the property which had been seized and attached was sold under an agreement of the parties and the proceeds held by the sheriff and thereafter judgment was rendered in favor of the plaintiff in the suit of the packing company against Bourgeois, for the amount claimed, sustaining the writ of attachment and recognizing the privilege resulting therefrom in favor of the packing company on the property seized, and on trial of the action to revoke and annul the confessions of judgment and judgments rendered thereon, judgment was rendered in favor of plaintiff, the packing company, avoiding and annulling the confessions of judgment and ordering the proceeds of the sale, to the extent of plaintiff’s claim against Bourgeois, paid over to the packing company, and defendants grocery company and Grady appeal.

There is not any quest-ion raised as to the sufficiency of the judgment, and considering it in connection with the judgment sustaining the writ of attachment in the suit of the packing company against Bourgeois, the effect of the decree annulling and avoiding the confessions of judgment and the judgments rendered thereon was to set aside the seizure made in execution of such judgments, in so far as plaintiff’s rights were affected, and the proceeds of the sale of the property, to the amount of the claim of the packing company against Bourgeois, passed to the packing company under its judgment sustaining the attachment against Bourgeois (see, Newman vs. Baer, 50 La. Ann. 329, 23 So. 279; Marx vs. Meyer, 50 La. Ann. 1229, 23 So. 9231; and considering that the revocatory action brought by the packing company was a means by which that company sought to have its privilege on the property, resulting from the attachment, recognized as superior to the privilege resulting from the seizure under execution, and viewing the judgment in the revocatory action as having that effect, we consider the grounds urged by the appellants for the reversal of the judgment.

Appellants contend that as it was not claimed that Bourgeois was not justly indebted to them for the amounts for which he confessed judgment, and as the law does not prohibit a debtor, although he is insolvent, from confessing judgment', plaintiff carried the burden of proving that the confessions were procured and made with the intention and purpose that defendants would seize the property of the debtor prior to or before other creditors could do so, and thereby obtain a privilege or right to be paid by preference and priority over other creditors of the debtor, and that the evidence failed to establish any such facts, but, on the other hand, that the confessions were made and obtained in order to enable defendants to share ratably with plaintiff in the distribution of the proceeds of sale of the debtor’s property; and it is further contended that the evidence failed to establish that Bourgeois was insolvent or, if so, that defendants had knowledge of his insolvency.

Considering the record with relation to the questions of the insolvency of Bour[254]*254geois and knowledge of defendants, the latter, in their answer, admitted that they had seized all of the property of Bourgeois, which, they alleged, had been sold at its value of one hundred seventy-five dollars; and, it being conceded that the indebtedness due the parties here was in' excess of seven hundred dollars, and the evidence showing that defendants, at the time they learned that the packing company had sued Bourgeois, had discussed the advisability of proceeding against Bourgeois in bankruptcy, in order to avoid the result which they apprehended would follow from the fact that the packing company was the first of the creditors to file suit, and would be the first to seize the debtor’s property.

The facts admitted show that the amount of his debts exceeded the value of his property on the date when the value of his property was fixed by the sale, and at that time Bourgeois was insolvent (article 1885, Civil Code), to the knowledge of defendants; and, it not being shown that the property of Bourgeois had depreciated in value during the intervening period of fifteen days, from the date of the confessions to the date of the sale, and defendants having considered the question of solvency of the debtor at the time of the confessions, the presumption is, in the absence of other evidence as to the solvency of the debtor, that he was insolvent at the time he confessed judgment, and in the absence of any statement of defendants that they did not know of the insolvency of Bourgeois at that time, we think the. circumstances warrant the conclusion that defendants knew of the insolvency of the debtor at the time he confessed judgment. (DeBlanc vs. Martin, 2 Rob. 38).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
123 So. 421, 11 La. App. 251, 1929 La. App. LEXIS 644, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rapides-packing-co-v-bourgeois-lactapp-1929.