Roane Iron Co. v. Wis. Trust Co.

• Decision Date: 12 April 1898
• Citation: 99 Wis. 273,74 N.W. 818
• Parties: ROANE IRON CO. v. WISCONSIN TRUST CO.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

99 Wis. 273

74 N.W. 818

ROANE IRON CO.

v.WISCONSIN TRUST CO.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

April 12, 1898.

Appeal from circuit court, Milwaukee county; D. H. Johnson, Judge.

Garnishment by the Roane Iron Company against the Wisconsin Trust Company, assignee of the Moore Manufacturing & Foundry Company. From a judgment of dismissal, plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.Mock, Riley, Wittig & Schinz, for appellant.

Quarles, Spence & Quarles, for respondent.

WINSLOW, J.

On the 8th day of June, 1896, the Moore Manufacturing & Foundry Company, a corporation, made a voluntary assignment for the benefit of its creditors to the Wisconsin Trust Company, which accepted the trust, and received into its possession the property of the assignor. The trust company is a corporation organized and existing under chapter 158, Laws 1887, chapter 263, Laws 1891, and chapter 160, Laws 1895. The trust company took no oath, and gave no bond as assignee, but had complied with all the requirements of law as to the depositing of securities with the state treasurer. The plaintiff company, being a creditor of the assignor, thereupon garnished the trust company, and claims that the assignment is void. The garnishee is a trust company organized pursuant to law for the purpose of acting as trustee in the execution of trusts of various kinds, and among the powers conferred on it by law it is authorized to execute the offices of executor, administrator, trustee, receiver, or assignee, and in such cases it is not required to take any oath, or give any bond or security, except in the discretion of the court, other than the deposit of a certain amount of securities with the state treasurer. Section 6, c. 263, Laws 1891, as amended by chapter 160, Laws 1895.

The principal contentions made by the appellant are that the law authorizing such companies to act as assignee without bond such as is required of a natural person is unconstitutional, as special legislation, conferring corporate powers, and as discriminating in favor of a class. Const. Wis. art. 4, § 31. It is also claimed that the act attempts to confer banking powers, and hence is void, because it has not been submitted to vote of the people. Id. art. 11, § 5. That a corporation may be authorized by law to act as trustee is very well settled. 1 Beach, Trusts, § 12; 2 Beach, Trusts, §§ 674, 675; Chaplin, Exp. Trusts, § 112. That the law authorizing the organization of such corporations is a general, and not a special or...