Nicholson v. Walker
Nicholson v. Walker
Opinion of the Court
Nicholson sued Brenneisen and Goff • by attachment. Walker was summoned as garnishee. In his answer he stated, substantially, that he was a practicing attorney at law, and, as such, received from the firm of Simon, Gregory & Company, of St. Louis, for collection, a claim amounting to $828.20, against said Brenneisen ; that Brenneisen delivered to him certain notes owing and due to him, with the agreement that Simon, Gregory & Company should cancel their claim against him, and pay the sum of two hundred dollars to one Whitlow, who held a note against Brenneisen, that sum being in excess of the amount of Simon, Gregory & Company’s claim against Brenneisen ; that the garnishee accordingly transmitted said notes to his clients, who remitted a check for the said sum of two hundred dollars, to be paid to said Whitlow.
Issue was taken by plaintiff on said answer.
The plaintiff asked, and the court refused the following declarations of law:
£ ‘ 1. The agreement between Brenneisen and Walker, as disclosed by the evidence, that Walker should receive certain notes from Brenneisen, in payment of a claim which Walker held for collection against said Brenneisen, and, that the balance remaining in the hands of said Walker, after paying his said claim, to-wit: the sum of two hundred dollars, should be paid to one Whit-low, who was a creditor of Brenneisen, said agreement having been made without the knowledge or a.ssent of said Whitlow, was not an assignment of the said two hundred dollars to the said Whitlow, and the same did not thereupon become his property; but said two hundred dollars was, at the time of the service of said garnishment, the property of said Brenneisen and subject to garnishment by plaintiff as the creditor of Brenneisen.”
“2. Notwithstanding the agreement between Brenneisen and Walker as shown by the evidence, Brenneisen still had control of said money and Brenneisen was still indebted to Whitlow. This agreement in no wise can-celled or affected the indebtedness of Brenneisen to Whit-low, and the money in the hands of Walker was still the property, and subject to the control, of Brenneisen, and subject to the garnishment by any creditor of Brenneisen.”
The garnishee asked, and the court gave, the following declaration:
“The court declares the law to be, that if the*374 court shall find from the evidence that John R. Walker, as attorney for H. T. Simon, (Gregory) & Company, agreed and contracted with Leopold Brenneisen, that, for and in consideration of the assignment to them of certain notes held by him, that H. T. Simon, (Gregory) & Company would cancel a debt which they held against said Brenneisen and one Goff, and would pay the sum of two hundred dollars to R. W. Whitlow, who whs then and there a creditor of said Brenneisen, and that said notes, under this contract,' were turned over to said Walker as attorney for H. T. Simon, (Gregory) & Company; and that said Simon, Gregory & Company accepted them upon said agreement, and sent to said Walker, as their attorney, the said sum of two hundred dollars, to be paid by him to R. W. Whitlow, then said Walker is not liable to garnishment in this proceeding and the finding must be for the garnishee.”
Thereupon the court discharged the garnishee, and rendered judgment accordingly. Plaintiff prosecutes this appeal.
I. ' The facts in this case are undisputed. To our mind they are clear, and not reasonably susceptible of more than one meaning. Thé cause being before the court without the intervention of a jury, it only had to declare the law arising on the facts.
The whole contention of respondent is, that he held the two hundred dollars as the attorney and agent of Simon, Gregory & Company, and not otherwise. If this .assumption be correct, the law is, that he was not subject to be garnished as a debtor of Brenneisen. Atwood v. Hale et al., 17 Mo. App. 81.
For whom, therefore, did Walker hold this money? Not for Whitlow ; for the law is well settled, as stated in Ridge Olmstead (73 Mo. 578), that money placed by AinB’s hands to be paid to C, without C’s knowledge and assent, does not become the property of C.
Was it the property of Simon, Gregory & Company? We are clearly of the opinion that it-was not. The
In this view of the facts, we are brought to the rule of the law: that, where a note is assigned by a debtor for the purpose of paying an account to his creditor, under an agreement that any excess shall be applied to the debt of another creditor, the transaction does not amount to a transfer of the surplus to such other creditor, until he has assented thereto •; and the excess continues to be the property of the debtor, subject to the garnishment for his debts. Witter v. Little, S. C. Ia. 20 Rep. 494; Waples Attach. 211-12.
The judgment is, therefore, reversed, and the cause remanded, with directions to the circuit court to enter judgment for the plaintiff conformably to this opinion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- David Nicholson v. John R. Walker, Garnishee of Leopold Brenneisen
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published