Thornburg v. Bowen

16 S.E. 825, 37 W. Va. 538, 1893 W. Va. LEXIS 2
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 28, 1893
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 16 S.E. 825 (Thornburg v. Bowen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thornburg v. Bowen, 16 S.E. 825, 37 W. Va. 538, 1893 W. Va. LEXIS 2 (W. Va. 1893).

Opinion

Holt, Judge :

This was a contest between Bowen, Davis & Co., execution creditors of Wilson & Beardsley, and Thomas Q. Thornburg, a purchaser of a span of horses in controversy, which resulted .in a judgment in favor of the execution-creditors in the Circuit Court of Cabell county, from which the purchaser, Thomas Q. Thornburg, has obtained this writ of error. The facts are as follows:

On the 9th day of December, 1884, the firm of Wilson & Beardsley, who owned and operated a flourmill in the city [539]*539of Huntington, made .an assignment to William T. Thompson of all their property for the benefit of their creditors, including (he two gray horses in-controversy. Thompson, the trustee, took possession of the horses, under the assignment. This assignment was not in evidence, but is conceded in argument and by agreement to be fraudulent on its face and void, and to have been so held by the decision of this Court in Landeman v. Wilson, 29 W. Va. 702 (2 S. E. Rep. 203). Thompson, in April, 1885, with the consent of the partner Beardsley, and through him as his agent, for value sold and delivered the two horses to William Biggs. Biggs kept them in his possession until December, 1885, when he sold them to Ward & Henry. ___

In March, 1887, plaintiff in error, Thomas Q. Thornburg, bought the horses of Ward & Henry, paying for them the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars. Thornburg had no notice of any claim ever having been set up against them until the defendants Bowen, Davis & Co. levied on them with their execution as the property of their debtor, Wilson & Beardsley, on the 27th day of August, 1890.

Thereupon Thornburg, under sections 151 and 152 of chapter 50 of the Code, tiled before the justice his petition to have an issue made up to try his right to the horses, and for a judgment releasing the same from levy. This issue was made up and tried by the justice, who issued the execution. He gave judgment for Bowen, Davis & Co., the execution-creditors. Thornburg appealed. It was tried by a jury before the Circuit Court on 28th March, .1891, and they found a verdict for the defendants in error, Bowen, Davis & Co.

During the progress of the trial plaintiff' moved the court to give to the jury three instructions. The court gave No. 1 and No. 2, to which defendants excepted, and refused to give No. 3, and plaintiff' excepted. On motion of defendants, the court gave to the jury instructions No. 1 and No. 2, and plaintiff' again excepted. These instructions are as follows:

Plaintiff's instruction No. 1:

“The jury are instructed that, if they believe from the evidence in this case that the two gray horses in contro[540]*540versy were sold by Wilson & Beardsley, or that the sale was acquiesced in by them to William Biggs, for a valuable consideration, and delivered the possession of them to said Biggs; that said Biggs afterwards sold them to Ward & Henry, for a valuable consideration, and delivered possession thereof to them; that afterwards the said Ward & Henry sold the said horses to the plaintiff, Thornburg, for a valuable consideration, and delivered possession thereof to him; and if they fui’ther find that five years elapsed from the said sale of said horses to’the said William Biggs before the said Bowen, Davis & Co. caused their execution to be levied thereon — then they should find the said horses for the said Thornburg.”

Plaintiff’s instruction No. 2 :

“The jury are further instructed that, notwithstanding the deed of assignment from Wilson & Beardsley to W. T. Thompson was void, and the sale of said horses by said Thompson as such assignee to said Biggs was also void, yet, if the jury find from the evidence that said Wilson & Beardsley had knowledge of said sale, and made no objection to said sale, but acquiesced therein, then such sale was valid, binding alike upon said Wilson & Beardsley and their creditors, Bowen, Davis & Co.”

Plaintiff’s instruction No. 3 :

“The jury are further instructed that if they find from the evidence that the plaintiff, Thornburg, and those under whom he holds,had had actual possession of the two horses in controversy for five years before the levy thereon of the execution of Bowen, Davis & Co., claiming the same as their own, under purchasers for a valuable consideration, then they should find for the plaintiff, Thornburg.”

Defendant’s instruction No. 1, as given :

“The court instructs the jury that, if they believe from the evidence that the plaintiff bought the horses, in controversy knowing that they were the same horses conveyed by Wilson & Beardsley to W. T. Thompson, by a deed of assignment that was fraudulent and void, and that that deed was of record in this county where the purchase was made, then said Thornburg was bound to take notice of the fact that said deed conveyed no title to said horses to W. [541]*541T. Thompson — then they must- find for the defendant, unless they further find that the plaintiff, or those under whom he purchased, has had peaceable possession of said horses, and claiming them as his own, for the period of five years.”

Defendant’s instruction dSTo. 2, as given :

“The court instructs the jury that if they find from the evidence that if the deed of assignment made by Wilson & Beardsley to W. T. Thompson, and that the horses in controversy were conveyed by said assignment, was void; that W. T. Thompson took no title by said assignment, and could convey none to William Biggs; and that Biggs, taking .no title from said Thompson, could convey none to Ward & Henry, and Ward & Henry, having no title to the horses, could convey none to Thomas Q. Thornburg, the claimant herein; but if they find that Thornburg, or those under whom he purchased, has had peaceable possession, claiming them as his own under his purchase of said horses for five years — then they must find for the plaiutiff.”

Plaintiff in error moved tlie court to set aside the verdict and grant him a new trial, but the court overruled the motion, and rendered judgment for defendants, and plaintiff excepted, and has obtained this writ of error.

Defendants in error introduced no evidence, but “relied upon an agreement, then and there made with the claimant (plaintiff in error) that the said assignment of Wilson & Beardsley to W. T. Thompson, assignee, was fraudulent upon its face, and void, and that it has been so held by a decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia; and it was also agreed that the horses in dispute were embraced in said assignment.” This agreement refers to the case of Landeman v. Wilson, 29 W. Va. 702 (2 S. E. Rep. 203) decided April 11, 1887.

Whether we may, under this agreement, look beyond the case as reported, to the printed record, may be a question of so pie doubt. Prom the case as reported it appears that on the 9th day of December, 1884, Wilson & Beardsley, a firm operating a large flouring mill in Cabell county, in this state, made an assignment of their property, both real and personal, including their flouring mill, to W. T. Thompson, [542]*542trastee, to securee certain creditors therein named, who were divided into three classes, and preferred in the order named. This deed was recorded on the 10th day of December, 1884.

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Bluebook (online)
16 S.E. 825, 37 W. Va. 538, 1893 W. Va. LEXIS 2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thornburg-v-bowen-wva-1893.