Reynolds v. Carter
Reynolds v. Carter
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
Appellee having recovered a judgment at law against H. J. Jennings, execution was issued thereon and levi
“This case was called for trial on Thursday morning, March 13th, and B. E. Reynolds, one of the claimants, being deceased, leaving the said H.' E. Reynolds his executor and sole devisee, his claim was presented by the said H. E. Reynolds, and by agreement both claims were tried at the same time.”
There was some evidence on the part of plaintiff in execution tending to show that at one time Jennings was in possession of the property, claiming it as his own. According to the evidence for the claimants, the property was never owned by Jennings; the open buggy being the property of H. E. Reynolds, and the horse, top buggy, and harness being the property of the Aberdeen & Tombigbee Yalley Railroad Company. At the close of the evidence, the court instructed the jury to find for the plaintiff in execution for the horse, top buggy, and harness, and there was a verdict accordingly, upon which judgment was entered for the plaintiff in execution against claimant and the sureties on his bond for the value of the horse, top buggy, and harness as assessed by the jury and discharging the levy on the open buggy claimed by H. E. Reynolds. As we understand the argument of counsel for appellee, it is sought to uphold this instruction on three grounds: First, for the reason that the cause was not formally revived after the death of B. E. Reynolds by his executor; second, for the reason that H. E. Reynolds was
It is true that the suit was not formally revived; but the agreement heretofore set out seems clearly to have been intended as a substitute therefor, and by it H. E. Reynolds, executor, was substituted as party claimant for B. E. Reynolds, deceased.
The testimony of H. E. Reynolds tended in no sense to establish any claim of his against the estate of B. E. Reynolds, deceased. It tended simply to prove that the property was not owned by H. J. Jennings, and therefore not liable to the execution in question, and had no bearing on any claim which the witness might afterwards assert personally thereto as against B. E. Reynolds’ estate.
It is immaterial that the evidence for the claimant tends to prove, not that the property was owned by B. E. Reynolds, but that it was owned by the Aberdeen & Tombigbee Valley Railroad Company, for the reason that the plaintiff in execution is entitled to recover only in event of a finding by the jury that the property was owned by H. J. Jennings, and consequently liable to an execution issued upon a judgment against him. Irion v. Hume, 50 Miss. 426; Butler v. Lee, 54 Miss. 476; Trice v. Walker, 71 Miss. 968, 15 So. 787.
Reversed and remanded.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.