17 Wash. 365 | Wash. | 1897
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Appellant instituted an action in the su
Counsel for respondent now move to dismiss the appeal upon the ground that the appeal taken became ineffectual for any purpose by reason of the failure of appellant to execute an appeal bond to the respondent, the "Washington National Bank. Our statute declares that the appeal is effected by the giving or service of notice of appeal as prescribed therein, and that such notice shall be served upon all parties who have appeared in the action. (Laws 1893, p. 121, § 4, and p. 122, § 5). And it is conceded by counsel for the respondent that the appeal in this case
“The code provides that any party aggrieved by the judgment of the district court may appeal, and the party appealing shall be known as the appellant, and the adverse party as the respondent. (Sec. 335). By ‘ any party’ is to be understood, as we consider, any person who is a party to the action. The appeal may be taken by filing a notice*368 with the clerk, and serving a copy upon the adverse party or his attorney. (Sec. 337).
“ The question is as to the meaning of the words ‘ adverse party ’ as here used, and as to that we think there can be no rational doubt. Every party whose interest in the subject-matter of the appeal is adverse to or will be affected by the reversal or modification of the judgment or order from which the appeal has been taken, is, we think, an 1 adverse party ’ within the meaning of these provisions of the code, irrespective of the question whether he appears upon the face of the record in the attitude of plaintiff or defendant or' intervenor.”
The court in that case' adopted the construction of these words given by Chancellor 'Walworth in the leading ease of Thompson v. Ellsworth, 1 Barb. Ch. 627, and the doctrine announced is certainly sound. How, it seems to us that the bank has no interest in the subject matter of this appeal which will be substantially affected by a reversal or modification of the judgment appealed from. In fact, it never had any interest in the action between the plaintiff and the defendant further than to see that whatever judgment might be rendered therein against the defendant was valid and such as would constitute a basis for a binding and legal judgment against the garnishee. The garnishee was not even a party to the original action in the ordinary sense of the term. (Waples, Attachment and Garnishment (2d ed.), §473; Cook v. Whitney, 3 Woods, 715. It had no right whatever to control the proceedings or interfere therein in favor of the one party or the other. It was its duty to stand aloof from both parties and to do nothing in aid of either. It was only required to know that the proceedings against itself were valid and such as it was legally bound to act upon. Under our statute a proceeding against a garnishee is essentially an action, or at least in the nature of an action.
The clerk of the court is required to docket the pro
“It [the garnishment proceeding] is inseparably connected with the result of the pending action, and if the original action has been concluded to judgment, then it is limited by that judgment.”
It is urged that the bank, as garnishee, is interested in sustaining the judgment of the court below, first, because it has itself been discharged, and second, because if the judgment in favor of Pitner is affirmed the bank will not be liable to appellant. But the fact that an order was entered expressly discharging the garnishee is of no special significance. If no such order had been made, the judgment against appellant, in the absence of an appeal, would have discharged the garnishee, by operation of law, for the reason that the garnishee could not be held liable to appellant unless the defendant was indebted to him. But the order discharging the writ of garnishment made by the court below was not final, because the appeal, which was properly taken without delay, had the effect to continue the garnishee before the court and bring up the question of its liability. Kennedy v. Tiernay, 14 R. I. 528; Waples, Attachment and Garnishment (2d ed.), § 961; 2 Shinn, Attachment and Garnishment, § 704. See, also,
This results from the fact already mentioned that a proceeding against a garnishee is incidental to the principal action; and an appeal from a judgment in favor of the defendant carries with it all of the legal incidents.
The respondent cites the case of Bauer v. Adkins, (Tex.) 28 S. W. 1009, as fully sustaining the position -that the garnishee, in this case, is an adverse party to the appellant, but in our judgment that case differs from the case at bar in at least one important particular. That was a garnishment proceeding commenced in a justice court and was based upon a judgment previously' rendered in the same court in favor of Adkins and against Bauer. The writ of garnishment was sued out by Adkins and directed to the Knights of Honor as garnishee. The Knights of Honor, by its agent and treasurer, answered that the garnishee, the Knights of Honor, at the time the writ was served upon it, was indebted to the defendant Bauer in the sum of $2,000, which sum was paid over to Bauer, after the writ was served, by said garnishee, upon the filing by said Bauer of a replevy bond as provided by law. The defendant Bauer filed a motion to quash the affidavit and writ of garnishment and also filed a plea to the jurisdiction of the court, and, at the same time, a plea controverting the answer of the garnishee. The cause was appealed to the county court and there proceeded to trial, and the motion and jaleas having been overruled, judgment was' entered against Mrs. Bauer and her sureties, and also against the garnishee, the Knights of Honor, with the provision that the satisfaction of the judgment against Bauer and her sureties should satisfy the judgment against the Knights of Honor. Bauer appealed and filed an appeal bond payable to Adkins only, the law requiring such bond
The garnishee in that case, having paid the amount of its debt to the plaintiff, was substantially and pecuniarily interested in having no modification or reversal of the judgment against Bauer or her sureties, since if the judgment should not be paid by her or them the garnishee would be obliged to make a second payment to the plaintiff and to look to the original defendant, Bauer, and her sureties, for indemnification. There is no such situation of affairs presented here, and for that reason the case is not deemed decisive of the question under consideration.
We have carefully examined all of the eases cited for the respondent, and we do not think that they sustain the contention of the respondent’s counsel. The motion is denied.
Scott, C. J., and Reavts, Gordon and Dunbar, JJ., •concur.