Staley v. Brown

169 So. 2d 475, 251 Miss. 316, 1964 Miss. LEXIS 352
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 7, 1964
DocketNo. 43231
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 169 So. 2d 475 (Staley v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Staley v. Brown, 169 So. 2d 475, 251 Miss. 316, 1964 Miss. LEXIS 352 (Mich. 1964).

Opinion

McElroy, J.

This appeal is from an adverse judgment of the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, on an action in contest to an answer to writ of garnishment.

Appellants, Thomas F. Staley and others, doing business as Reynolds & Company, assign as error the following: (1) the court below erred in sustaining appellee’s motion for a directed verdict; (2) the court below erred in engaging in the presumption that the funds in the account in appellee’s name were her separate estate; and (3) the judgment of the lower court was contrary to the law and evidence before the court.

Reynolds & Company obtained judgment against Henry N. Brown, Jr. for $8,243.50, and subsequently, on September 16, 1961, filed a suggestion for writ of garnishment against Brown’s wife, Mrs. Henry N. Brown, and others. The writ was issued and Mrs. Brown [319]*319was served with process on September 29, 1961. She answered, denied any indebtedness, denied she had any of his effects, denied she knew of others indebted to Brown or having his effects, and denied any knowledge or belief of others having effects of Brown in their possession or under their control.

A contest of answer to garnishment was filed by appellant, alleging the answer was not a full disclosure and there was an account in Deposit Guaranty Bank, Jackson, Mississippi, in which Brown had deposited funds in Mrs. Brown’s name. Mrs. Brown filed a supplemental answer of general denial. On a hearing of the issues the court below directed a verdict for appellee.

The court below overruled a motion for a new trial, and indulged in a presumption that the funds were the sole property of garnishee, appellee.

The primary question is the ownership and acknowledge of ownership of certain funds in account number 33-081-10 in the name of appellee in the Deposit Guaranty Bank and Trust Company, Jackson, Mississippi. The history of this account, including all deposit and withdrawal activity, was given in a stipulation introduced by appellant. The stipulation reflects balances as follows : balance September 28, 1961, $4,749.96, balance October 9, 1961, $11,269.68, and balance November 7, 1961, $4,297.88.

The October 9 balance is more than sufficient to pay the entire judgment of appellant on which the writ of garnishment was founded. The account was in the name of appellee, but Henry N. Brown, Jr., judgment debtor, had right of withdrawal.

There were approximately sixty-eight withdrawals by check during the period covered by the writ of garnishment, and fifty-eight of the checks were written by H. N. Brown. Only ten were signed by Mrs. Brown, one of which was made to the Collector of Internal Revenue [320]*320for $221.83, and had a notation “Acct. Henry N. Brown, Jr.”

All deposits were in large amounts, clearly from stock and commodity transactions, the business in which Mr. Brown is engaged. The majority of checks were signed merely “H. N. Brown.” Only a few were signed “Mrs. H. N. Brown, by H. N. Brown.”

On November 1, 1961 a draft for 1500 shares of Transcontinental Investments in the amount of $636 was presented to the bank for payment.

Interrogatories were propounded by appellant to appellee, all of which were answered with general denials. For example:

Interrogatory No. 3. Please list all deposits and withdrawals of any bank account or savings and loan association account in which the said defendant, Henry N. Brown, either deposited or withdrew funds during the period of September 28, 1961 to November 6, 1961.
Answer No. 3. . . . None, which were owned by Henry N. Brown.
Interrogatory No. 4. Please enumerate each occasion on which the defendant, Henry N. Brown, delivered to garnishee money, securities or other items of value during the period September 28, 1961 to November 6, 1961, and list the consideration for each occasion. Answer No. 4. None.

On cross-examination as an adverse witness for appellant, appellee stated she did not know what the deposit of October 9, 1961 to her account in the amount of $6,125 represented. She did not make the deposit, nor did she know anything about a draft charged to the account on November 1, 1961 in the amount of $636. Her testimony, in part, was:

Q. . . . Tour deposit dated November 1, 1961 shows a check from a company or a person called Studus — S-t-u-d-u-s — in the amount of $3200.00, less cash for [321]*321$50.00, which, was deposited to your account. Did you make that deposit?
A. No.
Q. Do you know who made that deposit?
A. I suppose Mr. Brown did.
Q. Did you get the $50.00 in cash or did Mr. Brown get the $50.00 in cash?
A. I don’t know.
Q. The next thing is a deposit made 9/25/61, showing a check in amount of $1,000.00, Seeman — S-e-em-a-n — did you make that deposit?
A. No.
Q. That was made into your account?
A. Yes.
Q. Now did you make this deposit from the Seeman check, did you Mrs. Brown?
A. No.
Q. Now, on 9/19/61 there was a deposit of $3500.00 in two checks, less $100.00 in cash, making a total deposit of $3400.00. Did you make that deposit?
A. No.
Q. Do you know what those funds represent?
A. No.
Q. Did you get the $100.00 cash?
A. No. ■
Q. And there is another deposit 9/13/61, does not show what it was, deposited $3,000.00. Did you make that deposit?
A. No.
Q. Mrs. Brown, did you make any of the deposits in that account during that period?
A. No.
Q. Well, you were aware that deposits were being made into that account?
A. Yes.
Q. And you say that that was your money?
[322]*322A. Yes.
Q. Was Mr. Brown making a gift to yon of these amounts? The amounts that he deposited in that account?
A. I imagine it was to finance the household.
Q. And who was authorized by you to draw on that account, Mrs. Brown?
A. Not any one.
Q. How about Mr. Brown?
A. Yes.
Q. Mr. Brown was authorized by you to draw on that account?
A. That’s right.
Q. How did you decide who would draw, and how much, out of the account?
A. Well, I am not sure.
Q. He actually maintained control of the account, did he not ?
A. It is my account.
Q.

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583 So. 2d 180 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1991)

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Bluebook (online)
169 So. 2d 475, 251 Miss. 316, 1964 Miss. LEXIS 352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/staley-v-brown-miss-1964.