Merritt v. George
| Decision Date | 15 May 1929 |
| Docket Number | 7034. |
| Citation | 148 S.E. 334,168 Ga. 497 |
| Parties | MERRITT v. GEORGE et al. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Error from Superior Court, Morgan County; Jas. B. Park, Judge.
Proceeding by E. H. George, receiver, etc., against Walter Merritt. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant brings error. Affirmed.
E. H George, of Madison, pro se.
In a proceeding in equity in Morgan superior court Merritt was appointed receiver of Sugar Creek Drainage District No. 1 of Morgan county. He was afterwards removed, and George was appointed receiver in his stead. In the order removing Merritt he was required to file a report showing his receipts and expenditures. On July 28, 1928, Merritt filed his report. George, as receiver, filed objections to said report. The issue so formed was, by consent, heard by the judge of the superior court without the intervention of a jury. The judge rendered judgment finding that Merritt, as receiver, was liable to account to George, as receiver, in the sum of $2,354.63, with interest at 7 per cent. per annum from September 1, 1927.
The present writ of error was sued out to review this judgment and certain rulings of the court leading up to its rendition. Upon the filing of objections by George, as receiver, to the report of Merritt, as former receiver, the court passed an order on October 12, 1928, providing that the issues raised by said objections be heard before the court on October 23 1928, at Greensboro, Ga., at the courthouse; that Merritt have until that date to complete his report and to meet objections as to its incompleteness; and that, as he was then a resident of Greene county, Ga., the sheriff of said county serve him instanter with a copy of this order. Merritt was personally served with a copy of said order on October 13 1928, by a deputy sheriff of Greene county.
On November 15, 1927, George, as receiver, filed his separate proceeding to have Merritt adjudged in contempt of court for his failure to file a report of his actings and doings as such receiver, as required by the order of the court of July 30, 1927. On this proceeding a rule nisi was granted, calling on Merritt to show cause why he should not be attached for contempt. The petition and order in this proceeding were served on Merritt personally on November 15, 1927, by the sheriff of Morgan county. On December 10, 1928, Merritt filed a plea in which he alleged that the court should not take further cognizance of this case until he was served as provided by law; that, at the commencement of this complaint, and the order thereon on the -- day of October, 1928, and since that time, he has resided in Early county, and is now a resident of said county, and is not a resident of the county of Greene, as alleged in said proceeding, and should not be forced to answer said attachment until served as provided by law. On the hearing of the issues raised by the objections filed by George, as receiver, to the report of Merritt, as former receiver, the court dismissed the above plea, and Merritt excepted.
1. As the plea filed by Merritt was to abate the attachment proceeding and not to abate the proceeding in which the objections to his report as former receiver were being tried, the court did not err in dismissing said plea so far as the latter proceeding was concerned; and the dismissal of such plea as to the latter proceeding does not require a reversal of the judgment.
2. On July 28, 1928, Merritt filed his report as former receiver purporting to show his receipts and expenditures as such officer. On October 12, 1928, George, as receiver, filed his objections to said report. Merritt orally moved to dismiss the objections, upon the ground that they were not filed within the time prescribed by law. The court overruled the motion to dismiss, and Merritt...
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