92 Ga. 225 | Ga. | 1893
1. The plaintiffs below sued out an attachment against the defendant upon the ground that he was a non-resident of this State. He. traversed the truth of this ground, and the issue thus made was the only contested question at the trial. The defendant had come from South Carolina to this State, and was engaged as a contractor in constructing a portion of the railroad of the Georgia, Carolina & Northern Railway .Company. A few months before the attachment was levied, he had a casual conversation with one J. S. Smith, whose firm was conducting a livery-stable and general mercantile business at Jug Tavern, on the line of this road, in which conversation he “ applied to said Smith .... to buy an interest in the business of said Smith, stating,
3. The jury properly found against the traverse and in favor of the plaintiffs. The amount and justice of the plaintiffs’ demand were in no way contested or denied. On the contrary, the defendant admitted in open court that the plaintiffs’ debt was due, correct and unpaid at the time the attachment was sued out. The court rendered a general judgment against the defendant, binding not only the property attached, but all other property of the defendant. General judgments may be rendered in attachment cases when the plaintiff’ gives notice in writing to the defendant of the pendency of the attachment and the proceedings thereon, as provided by section 3309 of the code; or, when the defendant replevies the property, as provided in section 3319 of the code; or, “ when he has appeared and made defence by himself or attorney at law,” as provided in section 3328. An examination of all these sections will show that it is the purpose and spirit of the law to allow a general judgment against a defendant in an attachment case when he has notice of the suit and an oppoi’tunity to make a defence. In our opinion, the object of the law is accomplished when it appears that the defendant filed a traverse to the ground upon which the attachment issued, and appeared in person at the trial to maintain his traverse. Under these circumstances, his opportunity to defend on the merits was fully as good as if he had received a written notice of the pendency of the attachment, or had manifested his