J. H. Johnson & Co. v. Steele

• Decision Date: 06 January 1888
• Citation: 36 N.W. 358,23 Neb. 82
• Parties: J. H. JOHNSON AND CO., PLAINTIFFS IN ERROR, v. DUDLEY M. STEELE, DEFENDANT IN ERROR
• Court: Nebraska Supreme Court

36 N.W. 358

23 Neb. 82

J. H. JOHNSON AND CO., PLAINTIFFS IN ERROR, v. DUDLEY M. STEELE, DEFENDANT IN ERROR

Supreme Court of Nebraska

January 6, 1888

ERROR to the district court for Douglas county. Tried below before WAKELEY, J.

AFFIRMED.

Warren Switzler, for plaintiffs in error.

Stow & Day and Montgomery & Jeffrey, for defendant in error.

OPINION

REESE CH. J.

This was a proceeding in attachment against plaintiffs in error. They appeared in the district court and moved for a vacation of the attachment, upon the ground that the allegations of the affidavit by which the attachment was obtained were untrue. A number of affidavits were presented on their part as well as upon the part of attaching creditors.

It appears from the whole record that immediately prior to the suing out of the attachment, plaintiffs in error were engaged in the grocery business in the city of Omaha, with a stock of goods and other property of the value of about $ 3,100; that they were indebted to Sloan, Johnson & Company in the sum of $ 1,540.50, and that for the purpose of securing this indebtedness they executed a bill of sale to Sloan, Johnson & Co. upon all their property, on the 28th of February, 1887, and turned over to them the possession thereof.

There is nothing in the record that shows any fraud on the part of Sloan, Johnson & Company, and in fact nothing which would prove such fraud on the part of plaintiffs in error, so far as that transaction alone is concerned, except the statements of plaintiffs in error which are alleged to have been made immediately after the execution of the bill of sale. These statements are to the effect that they sold out their entire stock and personal property to Sloan, Johnson & Company, one of their creditors, and gave them a bill of sale of the same that certain of their other creditors had been threatening to crowd them on their accounts, by bringing suits for the amounts due, etc., and that for the purpose of putting their stock and property out of their way and keeping them off defendants had executed a bill of sale, and the others who had been annoying them would find out that they would have to wait until defendants got ready to pay them; that the bill of sale was given to Sloan, Johnson & Company that they might carry on the business in their name until plaintiffs in error were through with their financial troubles. The conversations in which these statements are...