Inland Box & Label Co. v. Richie
Inland Box & Label Co. v. Richie
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court:
The defendant in error recovered judgment against the plaintiff in error upon an alleged assignment of certain amounts claimed to be due and owing from the plaintiff in error to one George Archambault. The evidence is quite meager. The foundation for the claim is based upon an oral agreement that Archambault should furnish the company a horse during each month, to he used on one of its delivery wagons, and another horse at any time wanted, to be used on another wagon, the company to pay $27.50 per month for the horse to be used continuously, and $1.50 per day for the horse which was to be used when wanted. The contract was entered into about February the 1st, 1912, its- terms appear to have been complied with until sometime in May. Upon April 26th, same year, the defendant in error gave notice to the company that the money due and to become due to Archambault thereunder had been assigned to her. Within three or four hours thereafter, and on the same day, a garnishee summons was served upon the plaintiff in error out of a Justice of the Peace court, in a suit against Archambault. The summons called to be held all moneys due or to become due from the company to him. The company appears to have answered this garnishee summons alleging that it owed the defendant nothing, and no issue appears to have been taken to this answer, and nothing
Nurperous defenses were presented to this action among which was the claim that upon account of Archambault ’s failure to furnish the horse for the whole of May as agreed upon, it being an entire contract, that neither he nor his assignee could recover thereunder, and that in any event the company had the right to hold any money in its possession belonging to Archambault under the contract, and apply it as a set-off to any damages caused it upon account of the breach of contract. These defenses were rejected by the court.
The evidence is undisputed that the contract was a monthly proposition, to run from month to month; and that at the expiration of the month of April the amount for that month was due and was a subject of assignment by itself. There is evidence to show that it was thus assigned and the company was notified to that effect during the latter part of that month, and prior to any service of garnishee, and also prior to any breach of the contract upon behalf of Archambault for the month of May, and, as the court was of opinion it was sufficient to establish these facts, he was justified in rendering his judgment accordingly. Such was not the case however, when applied to the horse to be furnished during the month of May, when it appears Archambault refused to live up to his contract. This, the company offered to prove, and upon account thereof it was compelled to bring a suit in replevin against Archambault in order to recover its wagons, which were in his possession under the provisions of the former contract. It further offered in evidence the judgment secured by it against him in said action in the County Court of the same county for $106 upon account thereof, and which amount had not been paid; all of which was rejected by the court. In this the
Other errors need not be considered. The judgment is reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial.
Reversed.
Chief Justice Musser and Mr. Justice Gabbert concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Inland Box and Label Company v. Richie
- Status
- Published