Lowman's Sons v. Maney
Lowman's Sons v. Maney
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff instituted an action by attachment against John J. Lysaght & Company, and had the defendant summoned as garnishee. Defendant answered that he did not owe. Plaintiff denied the answer and charged that said Lysaght & Company were largely indebted, including a debt to plaintiffs. That they owned a stock of dry goods and a large amount of book accounts in St. Joseph, Missouri, and that for the purpose of defrauding their creditors, they conveyed said stock óf goods and accounts to the defendant garnishee, without any consideration, and that said conveyance was for the use and benefit of said Lysaght & Company. At the close of the evidence for the plaintiff, the court instructed the jury to find a verdict for the garnishee, and plaintiff brings the case here.
We have carefully gone over the evidence submitted and have concluded that the trial court could not well have done otherwise than to hold there ,was no case made against the garnishee. If the evidence had been submitted to the jury and resulted in a verdict against the garnishee, the court unquestionably would have set it aside. The evidence conclusively shows that there was a consideration for the sale to the
But aside from all that can be said as to the failure of the evidence to connect the garnishee with any fraud, the fact stands out, that the money obtained through this garnishee, as the purchase price of the goods, in every probability, discharged more debts of Lysaght & Company than could have been discharged through process of law. The costs, losses, and sacri
Plaintiff offered to prove by witnesses the testimony of this garnishee on a former trial, as to his reasons for purchasing the stock. The court excluded it. It does not appear what it was that plaintiff desired to show. It may be that what he wished to show was wholly irrelevant, or was otherwise not beneficial to plaintiff. We must presume in favor of the exclusion until error is made to appear by the complaining party. This is sufficient to prevent our interfering with the action of the court, without going into an investigation of the reasons assigned. Fitzgerald v. Barker, 96 Mo. 661; Hickman v. Green, 123 Mo. 165.
In our opinion, the court did not commit error in giving the peremptory instruction and hence we affirm the judgment.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.