Gentry v. Clair

• Decision Date: 06 February 1926
• Docket Number: 25,894
• Citation: 120 Kan. 183,250 P. 257
• Parties: E. C. GENTRY, Appellant, v. JOHN LE CLAIR, THE HOME STATE BANK OF AURORA and C. F. PARK, Interveners, Appellees
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

250 P. 257

120 Kan. 183

E. C. GENTRY, Appellant, v. JOHN LE CLAIR, THE HOME STATE BANK OF AURORA and C. F. PARK, Interveners, Appellees

No. 25,894

Supreme Court of Kansas

February 6, 1926

Decided January, 1926.

Appeal from Cloud district court; JOHN C. HOGIN, judge.

Judgment affirmed.

SYLLABUS

SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.

1. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE--Appeal to District Court--Interpleader. In an action before a justice of the peace, a third party who has been directed by the justice to interplead and who has so interpleaded, claiming the funds held by the justice court, has a right to appeal from an adverse judgment denying his claim to the money.

2. GARNISHMENT--Appeal to District Court--Rights of Garnishee. A garnishee, who has complied with the statute and fully stated the facts in justice court, and who has, by mistake, paid money into court on the order of the justice of the peace, is entitled to assert his claim for a return of the money when the case had been appealed to the district court by another party.

3. SAME--Liability of Garnishee. A creditor can have no greater rights against the garnishee than the defendant, and where it appears that the garnishee was not in fact indebted to the defendant when the process was served plaintiff can claim nothing from him--following Jewell v. Ellis, 103 Kan. 604 175 P. 970.

Charles L. Hunt, Frank C. Baldwin and C. J. Putt, all of Concordia, for the appellant.

A. M. French, Park B. Pulsifer and Clyde L. Short, all of Concordia, for the appellees.

OPINION

HOPKINS, J.:

This controversy includes some seven actions originally filed in justice court, later consolidated for convenience. All were against the defendant by different creditors for the recovery of money. Affidavit for garnishment was filed in each case and similar garnishment summons issued. The total amount sued for in the several cases was $ 483. C. F. Park, the garnishee, had purchased from the defendant 535 bushels of wheat. Park understood that the Home State Bank of Aurora had a mortgage on the wheat and executed a check payable to Le Clair and the bank. He was subsequently served with garnishee summons. He called his bank (The State Bank of Miltonvale) and stopped payment on his check.

Judgment was rendered for plaintiff against the defendant Le Clair October 10, 1922. Park answered the garnishment summons October 16, stating the facts, that he had purchased the wheat from Le Clair, and showing that the Home State Bank was interested because of its mortgage. The justice of the peace made the Home State Bank a party and directed that it interplead in the action. It did so. He also directed Park, as garnishee, to pay into court $ 483. Park complied with the order, and was afterwards advised that the Miltonvale bank had disregarded his directions and had paid the original check which he had executed to Le Clair and the Home State Bank. He thereupon called the attention of the justice to the later development and asked that the money paid into court be returned to him. The justice declined to return it, and rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiff. The Home State Bank, feeling aggrieved at the judgment, appealed to the district court. Park, the garnishee in justice court, then filed an intervening answer in the district court setting up the facts. In a trial of the issues in the district court the justice of the peace testified that he still had the money paid in by Park, as garnishee. The court found that--

"The order of the justice of the peace was erroneous and that the money held by the justice of the peace, before whom the cases were originally brought, should be paid into the hands of the clerk of the district court and held by the clerk, subject to the order of this court; that the order and judgment of this court is that said sum of $ 122.22 [and other moneys] so held by said clerk be paid to Charles Park, and that said defendant Park and said intervener, the Home State Bank of Aurora, Kan., have judgment against plaintiff for costs."

Plaintiff appeals, contending that a garnishee in justice court, after complying with the court's order to...