Crook's v. Turpin
Crook's v. Turpin
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The contest in this case is between the assignee of the husband, for a valuable consideration, and the wife, about a fund that belonged to the latter, and was in the hands of her guardian.
The husband and wife had instituted a suit in Chancery against the guardian for a settlement of his accounts and a payment of the money in his hands to them! During the pendency of that suit, a creditor of the husband commenced a separate suit in Chancery for the purpose of subjecting the fund to the payment of his debt, on the ground of the insolvency of the husband, as established by a judgment at law and a return of no property found, upon an execution that issued thereon.
Upon the petition of the wife, she was made a defendant to the latter suit, and by an answer and cross-bill against the creditor and guardian, asserted an equity to the fund, as part of her estate in the hands of her guardian.
Previous to the institution of this suit by the creditor,the husband had for a valuable consideration assigned the fund in contest to another person.
A decree was rendered in the first suit by which the amount due by the guardian to the wife was ascertain
After this decree was rendered the guardian died, and the creditor in the suit which he had instituted, filed a bill of revivor against his executor. The executor then filed an answer and cross-bill against all the parties claiming the fund, for the purpose of having their respective rights to it decided, and alleged that he had by the consent of the creditor, paid the money over to the husband’s assignee, believing that he was entitled to it, with the understanding, however, that it should be repaid to him if the right of the wife prevailed. He also alleged that the husband had, during the pendency of the suit, become a bankrupt and obtained a certificate of discharge as such, which he exhibited.
The Court below rendered a decree in favor of the wife, and also in favor of the executor for the money he had paid over to the assignee. To that decree both the executor and assignee have prosecuted writs of error.
Various objections are made to the proceedings on the ground of irregularity, but as the merits of the controversy depend upon the question whether, the assignment by the husband deprived the wife of her equity to a settlement, that will be first considered.
It has been long the settled equitable doctrine that assignees in bankruptcy, or insolvency, of the husband, and also his general assignees for the payment of debts due to his creditor’s generally, take the wife’s choses in action and equitable interests assigned to them, subject to her equity to a settlement. It was at one time doubted whether a special assignee or purchaser from the husband, for a valuable consideration, took them also subject to the wife’s equity. But it is now firmly established that he does, and that her equity is superior to the right of the assignee. (Roper on Husband and Wife, vol. 1, 263 273; Clancy on Married Women, 494 to 510; 2 Storey’s Equity, 638.)
It is, however, contended that the decree directing the payment of the money to the husband and wife, ex
It is urged, however, that no suit was pending at the time the payment was made, the guardian having previously died, and the wife not having filed a bill of revivor.
The suit, however, was still pending, no order of Court had been entered abating it; and a bill of revivor had been in fact filed by the wife, and endorsed by the Clerk as having been filed in Court, although not entered on the order book. Under these circumstances, the payment must be regarded as having been made wrongfully, and it cannot prejudice in any degree the wife’s equity.
The regularity of the decree is objected to, because the bill of revivor by the wife was not noted on the order book, and because no process was served on the executor. As no application is required to be made to
So far, however, as the executor is concerned, the decree is erroneous in not ordering the money to be paid by him out of the assets in his hands. For this error, that part of the decree will have to be reversed. But as it is an error that might have been corrested by application to the Court below, the reversal on that
Wherefore, there being no error to the prejudice of Thomas, the assignee, the decree is affirmed upon his writ of error; and as to the executor it is reversed, with directions to change the decree, so as to make the sum decreed payable by him out of the assets in his .hands; and upon his writ of error, the parties must each pay their own costs.
Reference
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- Crook's v. Turpin Thomas v. Same
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