Holladay v. Hodge

• Decision Date: 29 February 1916
• Docket Number: 9282.
• Citation: Holladay v. Hodge, 103 S.C. 309, 88 S.E. 282 (S.C. 1916)
• Parties: HOLLADAY v. HODGE ET AL.
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court

88 S.E. 282

103 S.C. 309

HOLLADAY v. HODGE ET AL.

No. 9282.

Supreme Court of South Carolina

February 29, 1916

Appeal from Common Pleas Circuit Court of Clarendon County; I. W Bowman, Judge.

Action by Joseph Holladay against Joseph N. Hodge and others.Judgment for plaintiff, and defendants appeal.Affirmed.

The order and bond referred to in the opinion were as follows:

Order.

It is ordered, that the operation of the order of his honor Judge R. C. Watts made in the above-entitled cause appointing S. Oliver O'Bryan receiver, be, and the same is, hereby stayed, until the appeal therefrom has been heard and determined, and that the receiver shall not take any further steps thereunder.

It is further ordered, that this order shall be effective upon the defendant, J. N. Hodge, executing a bond in the sum of two hundred dollars, with sufficient surety to be approved by the clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for Clarendon county, conditioned that he will hold the plaintiff harmless from any loss that may occur by reason of this order, and pay to the plaintiff any sum to which it may be finally adjudged the plaintiff is entitled to recover from the crops on the land described in the complaint, together with the costs incident to said recovery.

It is further ordered, that the plaintiff may move to annull or modify this order upon four days' notice to the defendants' counsel.

[Signed]C. A. Woods, Associate Justice.

Bond.

Whereas, his honor, Associate Justice C. A. Woods, on October 23d, 1908, issued an order staying the order of his honor Judge R. C. Watts, appointing Oliver S. O'Bryan receiver in the above-entitled cause:

And whereas, said order of his honor, Associate Justice Woods, provided that said order should become effective upon the defendant, Joseph N. Hodge, executing a bond in the sum of two hundred dollars, with sufficient surety, to be approved by the clerk of the court of common pleas for Clarendon county, conditioned to hold the plaintiff harmless from any loss that might occur by reason of said order, and to pay to the plaintiff any sum to which it may be finally adjudged that the plaintiff is entitled to recover from the crops on the land described in the complaint, together with the costs incident to said recovery.

Now know all men by these presents, that we, Joseph N. Hodge as principal, and J. P. Booth and Martha Hodge as surety, are held and firmly bound unto Joseph Holladay, the plaintiff in the above-entitled cause, in the penal sum of two hundred dollars, to be paid to the said Joseph Holladay, his executors, administrators and assigns, to which payment well and truly to be made and done, we bind ourselves and each and every one of our heirs, executors and administrators, jointly and severally, firmly by these presents.

Sealed with our seals and dated at Sumter, S C., the 24th day of October, A.D. 1908.

Conditioned to hold the plaintiff harmless from any loss that may occur to him by reason of the order of his honor Associate Justice C. A. Woods, above referred to, and to pay to the plaintiff, his executors, administrators or assigns, any sum to which it may be finally adjudged that he is entitled to recover from the crops on the land described in the complaint in the above-entitled cause, together with the costs incident to said recovery, without fraud or further delay, then the above obligation to be void and of none effect, or else to remain in full force and virtue.

J. N. Hodge, [Seal.]

J. P. Booth, [Seal.]

Martha her X mark Hodge.[ Seal.]

L. D. Jennings, of Sumter, for appellants.

Charlton Du Rant, of Manning, for respondent.

GAGE J.

Plaintiff sued defendant on a bond, and the circuit court directed a verdict for the plaintiff.The bond was made pursuant to an order of Mr. Justice Woods, and the only issue before the circuit court was had the bond been breached.The cause has been much litigated.See84 S.C. 91, 65 S.E. 952; 84 S.C. 109, 65 S.E. 1019;and90 S.C. 106, 72 S.E. 884.The history of it therefore needs not to be much repeated in this place.

The plaintiff was a farm laborer, he worked the defendant's lands in 1908, he was not paid, he sued the defendant to judgment, and secured the appointment of a receiver to hold the crop and pay his judgment.Mr. Justice Woods stayed the execution of the order appointing a receiver until this court could determine if it was rightly allowed; and pending that decision (which turned out to be an affirmance of the order)Mr. Justice Woods exacted a bond from the defendant, and that is the instrument now sued on.The bond will be reported, as will the order of Mr. Justice Woods.

Whether the bond has been breached depends upon the meaning of the entire instrument, to be gathered from the words of it.And the bond must be read in...