Southern Ry. Co. v. Ward
| Decision Date | 15 June 1899 |
| Citation | 26 So. 234,123 Ala. 400 |
| Parties | SOUTHERN RY. CO. v. WARD. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
Appeal from city court of Birmingham; Charles A. Senn, Judge.
Action by W. P. Ward against W. P. Bewley and the Southern Railway Company, as garnishee. There was a judgment against the garnishee, and it appeals. Affirmed.
On the 29th day of April, 1898, W. P. Ward, the appellee, commenced a suit in the city court of Birmingham, against W. P. Bewley to recover of him $100 due by promissory note, and on the 28th of November, 1898, he recovered a judgment in said court against the defendant for $126 and costs. In aid of this suit, on the day the summons was issued, the plaintiff sued out a writ of garnishment against the Southern Railway Company, the appellant, and the writ was duly executed that day on the garnishee. In response to this writ of garnishment, the Southern Railway Company filed its answer in which were averred the following facts: On the 19th day of April, 1898, B. M. Allen, having commenced suit in the justice's court of W. T. Robinson, against said W. P Bewley to recover of him the sum of $95, sued out a writ of garnishment from said justice's court against the appellant company in aid of said suit against said Bewley.
On the 16th of May, 1898, the said B. M. Allen, who was plaintiff in the aforementioned suit against said W. P. Bewley, sued out an ancillary attachment in aid of his said suit, against the defendant, on the ground that he was a nonresident of Alabama, which attachment was the same day executed by garnishing the appellant as debtor to said defendant.
After the service of this garnishment, in aid of said attachment suit, said B. M. Allen took a judgment in said justice's court against the defendant, without personal service on him and without appearance by him in said cause.
On the 29th of April, 1898, the garnishee filed an answer in said original suit against the defendant, admitting an indebtedness of $91.25 to defendant; but it does not appear that it filed any answer as garnishee in the attachment case by said Allen against the defendant.
After said Allen had taken said judgment against the defendant in the original suit, he procured an order from the justice of the peace, in whose court his said judgment had been rendered, condemning $91.25, the amount admitted by the garnishee to be in its hands belonging to said defendant Bewley, and on the order of said justice, the garnishee paid into said justice's court the sum of $91, being the amount owing by it to the defendant, less 25 cents, a fee for making its answer.
The foregoing facts appear from the answer of the garnishee, and were admitted by both parties to be true. Thereupon the city court rendered judgment against the garnishee in favor of the plaintiff, W. P. Ward, for the amount admitted to be due by it to defendant, Bewley.
Thereupon the plaintiff moved the court to render a judgment against the garnishee on its answer; and the cause was submitted on this motion.
The court rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiff against the garnishee. To the rendition of this judgment the garnishee duly excepted. The garnishee appeals, and assigns as error the rendition of judgment against it in favor of the plaintiff.
Smith & Weatherly, for appellant.
Lee C. Bradley, for appellee.
It appears from the statement of facts, that there were five proceedings in the city court, viz., a suit by summons and complaint by B. M. Allen against W. P. Bewley, and a garnishment suit in aid thereof against the appellant company, prior in point of time to the others that followed a suit by summons and complaint by the appellee, W. P. Ward, against said defendant, and a garnishment in aid thereof,...
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