Gainey v. Bank Of Thomasville

• Decision Date: 18 March 1933
• Docket Number: No. 9185.,9185.
• Citation: 168 S.E. 877,176 Ga. 736
• Parties: GAINEY . v. BANK OF THOMASVILLE et al.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

176 Ga. 736

168 S.E. 877

GAINEY .

v.BANK OF THOMASVILLE et al.

No. 9185.

Supreme Court of Georgia

March 18, 1933.

.

Syllabus by the Court.

1. Statutes of the United States passed in the exercise of the war power of the general government are exclusive and paramount. State legislation which may in any way hamper the exercise of the federal prerogative must yield to the superior power of such federal enactment. State legislation which does not conflict or interfere with a superior federal law is altogether unaffected by the federal statute.

2. It is declared in 38 USCA § 454, p. 217, that the compensation, insurance, and maintenance and support allowances therein referred to shall not be subject to the claims of creditors of any one to whom an award has been made. The fact that a person to whom the award is made, or his guardian, if he be non compos mentis, places a portion of the fund in a savings deposit, does not change the relationship of the bank from that of debtor so as to constitute this debtor a creditor of the depositor.

3. The bank not being a creditor of the depositor, the deposit just referred to does not come within the statute cited.

4. The court did not err in dismissing the petition upon demurrer.

Error from Superior Court, Thomas County; B. C. Gardner, Judge.

Petition by Jesse J. Gainey, as guardian of Willie Jackson, against the Bank of Thomasville and others. General demurrer was sustained, petition was dismissed, and plaintiff brings error.

Affirmed.

Hay & Gainey, of Thomasville, and J. W. Butler, of Atlanta, for plaintiff in error.

Alexander & Jones, of Thomasville, and Boyd Sloan, of Gainesville, for defendants in error.

RUSSELL, Chief Justice.

Jesse J. Gainey, as guardian of Willie Jackson, an incompetent veteran of the World War, brought his petition against the Bank of Thomasville, R. E. Gormley, superintendent of banks, and W. C. Patterson, liquidating agent of the bank, for recovery of certain sums of money alleged to have been deposited by the plaintiff with the bank from funds provided by the United States government for said incompetent veteran for compensation and insurance under the federallaw. It was alleged that the Bank of Thom-asville had become insolvent and had been closed and taken charge of by-the state superintendent of banks, at which time the plaintiff had in the bank certain sums of money of the compensation and insurance provided for said incompetent, which had been there deposited under order of the superior court; that the defendants had on hand an amount of money larger than the total amount of plaintiff's said deposit; that plaintiff had demanded payment of said money, which defendants had refused; that they were proceeding to liquidate the affairs of the bank, and would, unless restrained, apply said money with the other assets to payment of other obligations of the bank; that said funds were exempt by federal law from the claims of any one, and from any process whatever, and were not subject to be used to pay any expenses of liquidation of the bank, or to be prorated among depositors, or to pay any other obligation thereof, or to be administered under the laws of Georgia in the liquidation of the bank in any manner, except to be returned in full to plaintiff. He prayed for judgment in the full amount of said deposits, and for injunction. The court sustained a...