Bufkin v. Lyon
Bufkin v. Lyon
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
It does not appear from the statement of facts who transacted business as to the goods, and that is the material inquiry and the determining factor under § 1300 of the code. O. E. Bufkin was in possession as clerk, and, presumably, what he did was in that capacity, and in the name and behalf of his employer, as there is nothing to suggest
In Wolf v. Kahn, 62 Miss. 814, “ The seller was in and about the store just as he had been when owner; he who had been up to that hour clerk then became owner. . . . The sign (of the former owner) remained over the door; his revenue and privilege licenses remained posted in the room; Lewis Kahn, the purchaser, who had been the clerk, and Max Kalin, the clerk, who had been the owner, were in and about the store just as they always had been. Every appearance that would lead to the belief on the part of the public that Max was transacting the business as before was presented, and nothing was done or said from which an inference could be drawn that he had retired from business, and his late clerk had embarked in it and these facts were held to make the goods liable to the creditors of Max Kahn, who acted as owner after the alleged sale, just as he had done before.
The case before us differs from that in several important particulars. This was not a sale by an employer to his clerk, and the purchaser put up a sign over the door with his name on it, which remained up until taken down by the clerk, and that is all that appears.
The question is not how significant the facts would be on an
Judgment reversed, and judgment here for the claimant, which is the judgment which should have been rendered in the circuit court.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- W. H. Bufkin v. I. L. Lyon & Co.
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- 1. Code 1880, § 1300. Transacting business. Seller as clerk. Section 1300, code 1880, provides that if “ any person shall transact business in his own name, .... all the property .... used or acquired in such business shall be liable for his debts.” Under it, where a merchant sold his stock of goods and remained in the store as clerk of the seller without any sign, it not appearing who was transacting the business, the goods are not subject to seizure for the debts of the seller. 2. Same. Absence of business sign. Debts of seller. The fact that a sign containing the name of the buyer, put up at the time of the sale, was after a few days taken down by the clerk (the seller), at the time of the levy there being no sign, will not render the goods liable irnder the statute. Wolf v. Kahn, 62 Miss. 814, distinguished.