Camden Interstate Ry. Co. v. Lee

• Decision Date: 11 January 1905
• Citation: 84 S.W. 332
• Parties: CAMDEN INTERSTATE RY. CO. v. LEE et al.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

84 S.W. 332

CAMDEN INTERSTATE RY. CO. v. LEE et al.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

January 11, 1905

Appeal from Circuit Court, Boyd County.

"Not to be officially reported."

Action by Warfield Lee and another against the Camden Interstate Railway Company. From a judgment in favor of plaintiffs defendant appeals. Affirmed.

T. R Brown, for appellant.

J. A Scott, Scott & Dinkle, and P. K. Malin, for appellees.

HOBSON C.J.

Appellee Warfield Lee filed suit in the Boyd circuit court on March 17, 1900, to recover judgment against the Ashland &amp Catlettsburg Street Railway Company for injuries sustained by him in attempting to board one of its cars, and on February 16, 1901, recovered judgment against it for the sum of $1,000 and costs, and on June 20, 1901, had an execution issued on the judgment, which was returned no property found. Appellee Rosa Hoffman filed suit against the railway company on May 27, 1899, to recover damages for ejection from a park by the agents of the company, and on February 13, 1901,recovered judgment against it for $500 and costs. On this judgment, execution was also issued, and returned "No property found." While these suits were pending, Senator J. M. Camden bought a controlling interest in the Ashland Electric Light & Power Company, which owned a majority of the stock of the Ashland & Catlettsburg Street Railway Company; and in the summer of the year 1900 he bought about $15,000 of the remaining stock of the street railway company at 50 or 60 cents on the dollar, and made an arrangement with the other stockholders by which they agreed to take stock in the Camden Interstate Railway Company, share for share, for the stock they held in the Ashland & Catlettsburg Street Railway Company. All the stock in the street railway company being thus controlled by Camden in December, 1900, a deed was made by the Ashland & Catlettsburg Street Railway Company to the Camden Interstate Railway Company of all its property and franchises in consideration of $1. After this deed was made, the stock of the Camden Interstate Railway Company was delivered to the stockholders of the Ashland & Catlettsburg Street Railway Company who had not sold to Camden, share for share, as had been agreed. The result was that, when Lee and Miss Hoffman obtained their judgments against the street railway company, their executions against that company were fruitless, and they thereupon filed this suit against the Camden Interstate Railway Company and the stockholders in the Ashland & Catlettsburg Street Railway Company; seeking, in equity, upon their returns of "No property found" to compel them to pay their judgments. After preparation of the case, the circuit court entered a judgment against the Camden Interstate Railway Company, from which it appeals. No final judgment has been entered as to the stockholders, and they are not parties to the appeal.

At the time the conveyance was made by the street railway company of all its property and franchises to the Camden Interstate Railway Company the capital stock of the street railway company amounted to $50,000, and it owed debts amounting to over $70,000. It had made a mortgage on its property, and issued bonds to the extent of $75,000, but these bonds had not been sold. They had been used only as collateral for the debts the company owed. After the purchase of the property and franchises, Camden spent something like $30,000 in extending the line to connect at Huntington, W. Va., with a line running from Guyandotte to Huntington; the purpose being also to extend it across the Ohio river to...