State ex rel. Simmons v. Theard
State ex rel. Simmons v. Theard
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The relators apply for the writ of mandamus directing the judge of the Civil District Court, Division “E” to grant them the order to bond certain merchandise seized under the writ of sequestration in their suit against the purchaser for the price and asserting the vendor’s privilege.
It appears that a few days after the relators brought their suit against their debtor, he made a cession of his property and the judge of the lower court appointed a provisional syndic, the merchandise on which the relators claim the vendor’s privilege then being in the sheriff’s hands under the writ of sequestration issued by relators. Subsequently, the ten days allowed the defendant to bond the property having elapsed, the relators made the application to give bond and thereby obtain possession of the property, the relators claiming that the cession of their debtor did not divest them of the right to bond conferred by law on the plaintiff when the -defendant on the writ fails to bond within ten days from the time the property is taken into possession by the sheriff. Code of Practice,
The well defined effect of the cession of property is to transfer all the property of the ceding debtor to his creditors and to the possession of the syndic when appointed, holding for them; the cession operates on all property, that subject to liens and mortgages as well as on that not encumbered; transfers all suits pending against the debtor to the court accepting the cession; forbids any further suits or proceedings against the debtor, and substituting the syndic’s possession for that of the sheriff, dissolves all writs by which prior to the cession the sheriff may have held the property. Revised Statutes, Secs. 1790, 1791, 1816; Civil Code, Arts. 2170, 2176; 1 Hennen’s Digest, p. 687, Nos. 1, 11, 12; p. 689, No. 15 et seq. The policy of the insolvent laws is that the entire property of the debtor shall pass under the administration of the syndic to be sold by him, and the proceeds distributed subject to the privileges or mortgages of the creditors preserved on the proceeds. It is manifest this purpose of the law would be defeated if after the cession, the privilege creditor could, by furnishing a release bond, withdraw from the syndic that part of the debtor’s property on which the creditor asserts the vendor’s privilege. It is contended the statute originally of 1842 now weaved into Art. 279 of the Code of Practice, giving to the plaintiff the right to bond property sequestered, constitutes an exception to the rule that all property passes to the syndic. In ourview the statutory right given to plaintiff in sequestration suits must be construed as subordinated to the provisions of our insolvent system prohibiting any interference with the syndic’s custody of all the debtor’s property, so essential to his complete administration, and conferred so explicitly by the law when the act of 1842 was passed. On settled rules of construction we think no such repeal or modification of existing legislation can be attributed to the general act of 1842, as is claimed in the argument for relator. The act gives to plaintiff
It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that our previous order herein be set aside and that relator’s application be denied at his costs.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Louisiana ex rel. Simmons & Cohn v. Hon. George H. Theard, Judge Division E, Civil District Court
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published