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23 Mo. 50

Martin v. Michael

Supreme Court of Missouri

Decided March 15, 1856

Supreme Court of Missouri · decided 1856-03-15

•Appeal from, St. Louis Court of Common Pleas. Application for an injunction and restraining order. The petition alleges that the plaintiffs, Wm. R. Martin and Charles Gr. Martin, are partners, composing the firm of Martin & Brother. The other plaintiffs compose three other firms, under different styles, all of which are set out in the petition. The petition further alleges that on the 12th day of August, 1854, said Wm. R. and Charles Gr.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1856-03-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 18 later decisions — most recently September 1927

16 state decisions

8018561860187018801890190019101920decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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LEONARD, Judge,

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2In Wiggins and others against Strong and others, (2 Johns. Ch. R. 144,) Chancellor Kent said: “This is the case of a creditor on simple contract, after an action commenced at law and before judgment, seeking to control the disposition of the property of his debtor under judgments and executions on the ground of fraud. My first impression was in favor of the plaintiffs, but, upon examination, I am satisfied that a creditor at large, and before judgment and execution, can not be entitled to the interference which has been granted in this case. In Angell v. Draper, (1 Vern. 399,) and Shirley v. Watts, (3 Atk. 2,) it was held that the creditor must have completed his title at law, by judgment and execution, before he can question the disposition of the debtor’s property ; and in Bennett v. Musgrove, (2 Vern. 51,) and in a case before Lord Nottingham, cited in Batch v. Wastoll, (1 P. W’ms, 445,) the same doctrine was declared; and so it is understood by the elementary writers. (See Mitford, 115; Coop. Eq. PL 149.) The reason of the rule seems to be, that until the creditor has established his title, he has no right to interfere, and it would lead to an unnecessary and perhaps a fruitless and oppressive interruption to the exercise of the debtor’s rights. Unless he has a certain claim upon the property of the debtor, he has no concern with his frauds. On the strength of settled authorities, I shall accordingly grant the motion for dissolving the injunction.” Afterwards, in Wintringham v. Wintringham, (20 Johns. Rep. 296,) the same doctrine was recognized and acted upon by the Supreme Court of New York, and we are not aware of any case, anywhere, in which it has been held otherwise.

¶3An attaching creditor stands on no better ground than one who sues by the ordinary process of the court. The reason of the rule is equally applicable to both classes of cases ; and so *57it was expressly decided in tbe Supreme Court of New Jersey, in Melville v. Brown, (1 Harrison, 367.) Let tbe judgment stand affirmed.

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