17 Utah 341 | Utah | 1898
It appears from the complaint: That in August, 1896, W. F. Sehriver ánd Hannah Tucker were co-partners doing a general mercantile business at Eureka under the. firm name and style of W. F. Sehriver & Co. On the 20th day of August, 1896, Sehriver & Co. made a general assignment of all their property, for the benefit of their creditors, to plaintiff, R. G-. Wilson, as trustee. Wilson immediately took possession of the assigned property,
The defendant filed his demurrer to said complaint, and, among other grounds, alleged that the several causes of action are improperly joined, and not separately stated.
Plaintiff assigns error in allowing the deed of assignment to be introduced in evidence, for the reasons: (1) It does not assign individual property of -the partners; (2) it only conveys a life estate in the real property as- - signed; (3) it contains no power of attorney to make col
The deed of assignment purports to transfer to the as-signee all the real and personal property of the firm, for the benefit of all the creditors of the partnership. With reference to the first objection, to the effect that the individual property of the partners is not assignable, reference may be had to the statute. Section 2471, Comp. Laws Utah 1888, provides, “that the assignment of any partner in trade made to secure or satisfy any creditor, shall be deemed valid in law.” Section 2472, provides, “This act shall not be so construed as to authorize the assignment of any of the effects of such co-partnership to satisfy the individual claim of any of the parties, or other than such debts as are incurred for the effects or proceeds thereof thus assigned.” This right of a partnership to assign firm assets without including the individual property of each partner has been questioned by some courts where the statute is silent upon the subjeot; but more recent decisions generally concur in holding such assignments valid with the right of a creditor to proceed against the individual property of the partnership. This view is now well established, and is entirely reconcilable with the provisions of section 2470, Comp. Laws Utah 1888, which provides “that the private property of persons engaged in co-partnerships shall be held liable for the debts of the firm, when the partnership property shall prove insufficient to pay them.” Burrill Assignm. (6th Ed.) § 47; Bump. Fraud. Conv. (4th Ed.) p. 369; Bradley v. Bischel, 81 Iowa 80; McFarland v. Bate, 45 Kan. 1; Ex parte Hopkins, 104 Ind. 157; Auley v. Osterman, 65 Wis. 118; Drucker v. Wellhouse, 82 Ga. 129; Harris v. Fisscher, 57 Ga. 229.
The second contention of appellant is that the deed of .assignment only conveys a life estate in the real property
The third objection, that the deed of assignment contains no power of attorney to collect debts and give acquittances, is equally untenable. The deed assigns all notes, accounts, and credits of the firm to the assignee in trust. The assignment of choses in action clothes such assignee with all the rights of the assignor, whether legal or equitable, to collect a debt and give acquittances for the same, and such rights under the assignment will be protected against all persons having notice of the assignment. 2 Am. & Eng. Enc. Law, 1088.
Appellant’s fourth contention, that the deed of assignment is not signed by Schriver & Co. or in their behalf, is also untenable. The two partners executing the deed are described therein as comprising the firm of Schriver & Co., and each of such co-partners executed the deed by signing and acknowledging the same. This was clearly sufficient. Comp. Laws Utah 1888 § 2471; Burrill Assignm. (6th Ed.) §47; Bank v. Hackett, 61 Wis. 335. The defendant in his answer alleged that: “On said 20th day of August, 1896, said W. F. Schriver and Hannah C. Tucker attempted to assign or convey in writing to said plaintiff the property mentioned in said complaint; but
Under instructions from the court, the jury allowed interest on goods returned to the plaintiff, from August to December 15, 1896, amounting to $9.13, after damages had been allowed, for their injury and depreciation in yalue, when no conversion thereof had been alleged. This was error, and the sum of $9.15, allowed as interest, should be remitted and deducted from the judgment. We find no reversible error in the record. The cause is remanded, with instructions to the trial court to modify the judgment by striking out and remitting therefrom the sum of $9.15, erroneously allowed as interest, hereinbe-fore referred to; and, as so modified, it is ordered that such judgment stand affirmed.