Phillips v. Verbeke
Phillips v. Verbeke
Opinion of the Court
In January, 1920, respondent brought suit against the defendant, J. C. Verbeke, upon a cause of action alleged to have arisen on December 2, 1919. He subsequently recovered judgment in the full amount demanded, and a portion was thereafter collected, but the judgment remained unpaid, unsatisfied and in full force for upwards of $200. In March, 1920, the defendant, Verbeke, sold to appellants a grocery store, comprising the stock of merchandise and fixtures, and thereafter, in a further effort to collect the judgment, respondent caused a writ of garnishment to issue directed to appellants. In due time appellants answered the writ, denying that they, or either of them, were indebted to the principal defendant, or that they had in their possession or under their control any property belonging to him. The respondent contested the answer of the garnishees, alleging that
Appellants contend for a construction of the statute relating to sales of merchandise in bulk which will limit its effect to those creditors holding claims arising on account of goods, wares and merchandise purchased upon credit, or money borrowed to carry on the business ; arguing that it could not have been the intention of the legislature to protect those creditors of the vendor who had dealt with him individually, separate and apart from and without regard to his business. Appellants concede that we have held otherwise in Eklund v. Hopkins, 36 Wash. 179, 78 Pac. 787, there laying down the rule squarely that the statute in question applies alike to all of the creditors of the vendor, without distinction, and now invites us to overrule that case.
The Eklund case was decided December 13,1904, and the legislature has met many times since without by
Parker, C. J., Holcomb, Main, and Mitchell, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- B. C. Phillips v. J. C. Verbeke, G. L. Smith
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Fraudulent Conveyances (14) — Sale of Goods in Bulk — Who Abe Creditors — Statutes—Construction. The bulk sales law requiring an affidavit as to creditors on the sale of a stock of goods applies alike as to all creditors of the vendor, irrespective of whether the transaction between the parties was separate from and without regard to the business carried on by the vendor.