Tucker v. Ware

1934 OK 613, 37 P.2d 623, 169 Okla. 401, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 374
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 30, 1934
Docket23020
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 1934 OK 613 (Tucker v. Ware) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tucker v. Ware, 1934 OK 613, 37 P.2d 623, 169 Okla. 401, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 374 (Okla. 1934).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal from a judgment and decree discharging the garnishee, H. H. Mundy, and discharging and dissolving the garnishment proceedings. There does not seem to be any serious conflict between the parties as to the facts. The plaintiff, W. C. Tucker, was the owner of a note in the sum of $332.50, which was signed by Nancy Ware. The plaintiff brought suit on the note and secured judgment for the face of the note, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs. He then caused an execution to issue against the property of Nancy Ware, and directed same to the sheriff of Osage county, Okla. The sheriff made return on the execution of “no property found.” Thereafter, the plaintiff, W. O. Tucker, filed his garnishment affidavit and secured an order of garnishment against H. H. Mundy, to which was attached interrogatories. The interrogatories and answers are set out as follows:

“To H. H. Munday, garnishee:
“1st. Q. Are you now, or were you at the time of service of garnishee order herein, in any manner indebted to, or owe, or have in your possession, or under your control, any money or property belonging to the above-named defendant, Nancy Ware, not exceeding 26 per cent, of any sum due for wages or salary earned during the last 90 days preceding the service of said order? A. No.
“2nd. Q. If your answer to the foregoing question is in the affirmative as to any part thereof, then how much are you indebted to said Nancy Ware, or how much money do you have in your possession or under your control belonging to said Nancy Ware, not exceeding 25 per cent, of any sum for wages or salary earned during the last 90 days preceding the service of said order? A. I have too in my possession $609 on deposit in Citizens Nat’l Bank as trustee for K. D. Life Insurance Oo. which money was paid to me by Nancy Ware under contract that same shall be paid to said company on an indebtedness owing said company by Mrs. Ware.
“3rd. Q. If your answer to the first question herein above set out is in the affirmative, as to property in your possession or under your control belonging to said Nancy Ware, then state the nature and extent of said property, and where located, not exceed *402 ing 25 per cent, of any sum due for wages or salary earned during the last 90 days preceding the service of said order? A. The money above mentioned belongs to the Kansas City Life Insurance Co. I have not money or property in my possession or under my control belonging to Nancy Ware.
“PI. PI. Mundy.”

The plaintiff elected to take issue with the garnishee on the interrogatories, and the case was submitted on that issue.

The facts show that on the 17th day of April, 1928, Nancy Ware signed an instrument which we set out as follows:

“Pawhuska, Oklahoma,
“April 17, 1928.
“The Kansas City Life Insurance Company,
“Kansas City, Missouri.
“Gentlemen:
“For and in consideration of a loan of $12,000 made to me by your company, evidenced by a note for like amount, I hereby agree to deliver to H. H. Mundy, trustee, all the funds that are due or to become due me from two-thirds (2-3) of one share of my Osage headright each quarter, beginning with June, 1928, said sum to be applied on the principal and interest of the loan received from you, until same has been paid in full.
“Witness my hand this 17th day of April, 1928.
“Nancy Ware.
“Witness:
“H. J. Smith.”

Nancy Ware had borrowed $12,000 from the Kansas City Life Insurance Company, and had secured the payment of the loan by real estate mortgages on two pieces of property not involved in this lawsuit. In addition thereto she executed the instrument above referred to, wherein she gave PI. H. Mundy, as trustee, the authority to receive two-thirds of one share of her Osage head-right each quarter, beginning in June, 1928, and directed the said PI. PI. Mundy, as trustee, to apply said funds on the principal and interest of the loan until the same had been paid in full.

Pursuant to- this arrangement H. H. Mun-dy opened an account in the First National Bank of Pawhuska, Okla., in- the name of H. H. Mundy, trustee for Nancy Ware, and deposited in said account the money received from the two-thirds of the headright. He had remitted at different times after he became trustee to the Kansas City Life Insurance Company approximately $4,000, and at the time the garnishment order was served on H. II. Mundy he had in said account the-sum of $609.74.

On three occasions H. PI. Mundy had written checks on the account payable to Nancy Ware. One chock was written on July 3, 1931, in the sum of $150; one check was written September 18, 1931, in the sum of $150; and one check was written on April 7,' 1931, for $200.

All the witnesses testified that when these checks were given to Nancy Ware they were delivered by the cashier of the bank to Nancy Ware, and that she signed a note to the bank for a like sum and delivered to the bank an order for her headright check to be paid to the bank as security for the loan.

The money which she received on the note did not come from the bank’s funds, but came from the trust account, and when the head-right cheek was delivered to the bank, they canceled the note and deposited back in the trust fund the amount of the check and delivered to Nancy Ware the balance of the check.

It was undisputed that Nancy Ware knew nothing of this arrangement, but thought she was borrowing the money directly from the bank.

The instrument signed by Nancy Ware, where she designated H. I-I. Mundy as trustee to handle the account, was sent to the Kansas City Life Insurance Company and was in their possession at the time this suit was started.

In explaining why he had not paid the amount of money on hands to the Kansas City Life Insurance Company, Dr. Mundy stated that he was waiting until $1,000 had accumulated, as that had been his custom, to pay off a $1,000 note.

The question to be decided is whether or not the money in the fund of Dr. Mundy was liable to garnishment at the instance of a judgment creditor of Nancy Ware.

The plaintiff in error contends that the money in question belonged to Nancy Ware, and was in the possession and under the control of H. H. Mundy, trustee; that it did not belong to the Kansas City Life Insurance Company, and could not be transferred to, or paid to, or delivered to it, except by a check drawn on said account, signed by H. H. Mundy, trustee for Nancy Ware.

The defendant in error contends that under the arrangement made between the Kansas City Life Insurance Company, Nancy *403 Ware, and H. H. Mnndy, H. H. Mnndy, the trustee, is liable to the Kansas City Life Insurance Company for all money which Mrs. Ware paid him under said arrangement. That Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
1934 OK 613, 37 P.2d 623, 169 Okla. 401, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 374, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tucker-v-ware-okla-1934.