Constantine v. Rowland
Constantine v. Rowland
Opinion of the Court
The case was before us upon a former appeal. 147 Iowa, 142. Reference is made to the opinion on the former appeal for details of facts. The defendant company was a creditor of Grames, and sued out a writ of attachment against him. It caused the sheriff to levy the attachment upon a stock of goods in the possession of the plaintiff which had been recently sold by Grames to the plaintiff. The plaintiff served a notice of ownership upon the sheriff, and the defendant company, in response
Upon that appeal w’e held: ' (1) That plaintiff could not, in an action on the indemnifying bond, recover his expense for attorney’s fees; and (2) that he could not, in such action, recover exemplary damages. Both of these items had been claimed by the plaintiff in his petition, and were submitted to the jury by the trial court. The judgment was therefore reversed and remanded for a new trial. After remand, the case came up for retrial upon the same pleadings as before. The defendants moved ti strike from the plaintiff’s petition, as amended, the claims for attorney’s fees and exemplary damages, and the motion was sustained. It is from such ruling that the appeal is now had.
The ruling complained of is in strict obedience to our
~\Yo can have no occasion to consider what rights the plaintiff might have against the Lagomarcino-Grupe Company as sole defendant, independent of the indemnifying bond. This action is on the bond, and that alone. It declares upon the joint liability of the two defendants. No theory of joint liability is possible, except that they are the signers of the bond. Neither is there anything in the allegations of the petition indicating a misjoinder of causes of action. The defendants could not therefore move for a separation on the ground of misjoinder. Appellant contends for his right to prove attorney’s fees and exemplary damages against the Lagomarcino Company alone, and to prove his other compensatory damages as against both defendants. This is only claiming the right to make misjoinder by his evidence, without subjecting his pleadings to attack on that ground. If this could be done, there was no occasion for our reversal of the judgment as against the Lagomarcino Company.
It appears indirectly in the record that the Lagomarcino Company is an actual resident of Linn county. If this is so, it may furnish the reason why the plaintiff elected to sue upon the bond, rather than to sue the Lagomarcino Company as sole defendant, independent of the bond. His original case having beep, dismissed as to the defendant sheriff, the other defendant, as a resident of Linn county, would be entitled to dismissal also. By resorting to an action on the bond, plaintiff was able to save himself from such situation. If he can not maintain his
The ruling of the trial court was right, and it is therefore affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.