38 S.C. 513 | S.C. | 1893
The opinion of the court was délivered by
This case has been in this court before (see Miller v. Hughes, 33 S. C., 542, where the character of the action and the allegations of the plaintiffs are fully stated). It seems that the defendant L. F. Hughes was in the mercantile business in Hampton County of this State, and contracted debts on time for a large stock of goods; that soon after the goods arrived at his store in Hampton, he sold or transferred them in bulk to one L. F. Brunson, who had been his former partner, for $4,500 in cash, who at once mortgaged the said stock of goods to Z. Daniels & Co., of Augusta, Georgia. This action was commenced by the plaintiffs as one of the creditors of Hughes, to set aside the alleged sale of the goods by Hughes to Brunson, and the mortgage of the same by Brunson to Daniels & Co., as fraudulent and void, as intended by all the parties to defeat, delay, and hinder the plaintiffs and all other creditors of the said Hughes. It seems that the plaintiffs had not established their debt against Hughes by judgment, and obtained a return of nulla bonce thereon, and upon that ground the Circuit Judge dismissed the complaint because it did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action: The plaintiffs appealed, and this court reversed the judgment, holding, that “in an action by a creditor to set aside transactions alleged to have been made by the debtor for the express purpose of defrauding his creditors, it is not necessary to allege that the plaintiff has recovered judgment upon his demand and obtained a return of mella bona;” and, therefore, the demurrer should have been overruled, and the defendants allowed proper time to answer.
The case went back to the Circuit, the defendants were al
From this decree the plaintiffs appeal upon the following grounds: I. That his honor erred in holding that this is an action solely to set aside the sale of Hughes to Brunson, and the mortgage from Brunson to Daniels & Co., thus ignoring the indebtedness of Hughes to plaintiffs, which is admitted in Hughes’ answer. II. That his honor erred in holding that there is no evidence to impeach the transaction between Hughes and Brunson. III. That his honor erred in holding that Brunson and Daniels & Co. must have had knowledge, or reasonable ground to believe, that Hughes intended fraud, thereby excluding from consideration “circumstances sufficient to put a party on inquiry.” IY. That his honor overlooked the fact, that Brunson, by reason of his position, shown by the evidence, was
The judgment of this court is, that the judgment of the Circuit Court be reversed, in so far as it dismissed the complaint as to the alleged debtor, L. F. Hughes; and that in all other respects it be affirmed.