Heaton v. Nelson
Heaton v. Nelson
Opinion of the Court
This action is trover to recover the value of a stock of goods which the plaintiff claimed to own by virtue of a bill of sale from one Henry Barry, and which stock of goods was seized by the defendant,
On January 25 the Hazeltine & Perkins Drug Company .attached the goods as Barry’s and commenced to make .an inventory, claiming that the bill of sale was fraudulent and void as to them; or, if otherwise, that it was taken as an additional security merely to the chattel mortgage, and that there was a surplus of property sub
The defense in the court below was based upon the claim that the bill of sale to Heaton was fraudulent as to the creditors of Barry, and yoid. The principal badges of fraud relied on were the embarrassed financial condition of Barry, which was known to the plaintiff; the inadequacy of the consideration giren for the goods; and that the debt was not in fact discharged. The difference between the debt due to plaintiff and the ralue of the goods attached was about $312. But from the appraised ralue, so far as it affects the rights of creditors, must be deducted the exemption which the law gires the debtor, namely, $250; making the difference, so far as creditors* rights were concerned, of $62 oyer the debt to plaintiff.
Upon the point that the debt was not discharged, it appeared that the chattel mortgage had not been discharged of record, nor the note of hand giren up and canceled, and defendant relied upon these facts to show that there was no consideration for the purchase of the goods. Aside from the statement contained in the bill of sale, there was testimony introduced by plaintiff tending to show that the debt of Barry to him was by the transaction fully paid and discharged. These were all questions of fact, howerer, and were submitted to the jury upon the testimony, and in addition to the general rerdict for the plaintiff they found that the bill of sale from Barry to the «plaintiff was not giren as additional security.
As the charge was entirely fair, and presented the points in issue between the parties fully to the jury, and the law thereon more farorable to defendant than he was entitled to, it is not necessary to recapitulate it here,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- William Heaton v. Nels P. Nelson
- Status
- Published