Hibernia Bank & Trust Co. v. Dresser
Hibernia Bank & Trust Co. v. Dresser
Opinion of the Court
“Moved that M. A. Dresser, president of the company, be fully authorized to deed or contract to sell the property of said company on such terms as she may see fit, being authorized, not only to execute deeds and contracts, hut to accept deed, sign mortgages, and do any and all acts legal for her to do on behalf of said company.”
In this answer to the rule, the garnishee pleaded that the president of an ordinary commercial corporation, such as garnishee is, has authority by virtue of his office to answer interrogatories in garnishment; but that, if this is not so, its president possessed said authority under the hereinabove transcribed resolution, and that, at all events, the ratification supplied whatever had been wanting. And the garnishee pleaded, further, that the plaintiff bank is estopped from questioning the authority of said president to answer interrogatories in garnishment because in the former garnishment the plaintiff'bank traversed the answers made by the said president and sought to take judgment upon them against the garnishee.
The learned trial judge sustained this plea of estoppel, and dismissed the rule.
The learned counsel for the plaintiff bank make a distinction between garnishment after judgment against the defendant in the main suit and garnishment before judgment, holding that in the latter case an amendment or supplement to the answers to the interrogatories may be allowed in the court’s discretion, but not in the former, citing Cusachs v. Dugue, 113 La. 273, 36 South. 960, Rose v. Whaley, 14 La. Ann. 374; Tapp v. Green, 22 La. Ann. 42, and Elder v. Roger, 11 La Ann. 606.
“That the president, vice president or manager of any corporation organized under the laws of Louisiana, or of a foreign corporation, doing business in this state, shall have the. power in the name and in behalf of the corporation to authorize the institution of any suit and other legal proceedings, and no exception of want of authority shall lie on the part of any defendant. They shall have authority to direct*137 the issuance of conservatory writs; the bonding of property in custodia legis without other general or special power from the board of directors of such corporation. Such person, or persons, are also authorized by and on behalf of said corporation to execute in its name any bond, or bonds, in connection with any legal proceedings where it is a party plaintiff, defendant, intervener, third opponent or otherwise interested, and to make any affidavit required by law or the rules of the court.”
The request to he allowed to submit this ratification, was based upon a showing of absence of fault, of absolute good faith and due diligence, and of grounds of equity furnished by the past conduct of the plaintiff bank. It would be monstrous if, under those circumstances, our procedure would not allow of this permission being granted.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- HIBERNIA BANK & TRUST CO. v. DRESSER (J. M. DRESSER CO., Limited, Garnishee)
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- (Syllabus tv Editorial Staff.) 1. Garnishment Where plaintiff applied for rule on garnishee to show cause why interrogatories should not be taken as confessed, because not answered, an exception requesting the rule to be made more explicit should be sustained. 2. Corporations Where the president of a commercial corporation, answered garnishment Interrogatories promptly and in good faith, but plaintiff questioned the president’s authority to make such answers after first recognizing it, the garnishee’s request to submit a ratification of the president’s action by the corporation’s directors should be granted.