McIlvaine v. Lancaster

Decided October 15, 1867

Supreme Court of Missouri · decided 1867-10-15

Louis Circuit Court. I. A trustee can only be sued in equity, and a garnishment is a law proceeding. (Curling et al. v. Hyde, 10 Mo. 876.) H. An agent, not of tbe debtor, but of a third person, creditor of tbe debtor, is not liable to be garnisheed, because there is no privity of contract between him and tbe debtor. A creditor’s bill, if any, is tbe only remedy for tbe party to enforce payment out of tbe trust fund.

Decided 1867-10-15

Holmes, Judge,

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2The defendant, Lancaster, was an agent to collect rents for the trustee o£ Thomas F. Smith, and was garnisheed as a debtor of Smith, the beneficiary. Judgment was rendered against the garnishee upon his answer, and the case was appealed to this court.

¶3According to tho decision in Mcllvaine v. Smith et al., at this term, these rents were a trust fund in the hands of the trustee until paid over by him to the beneficiary, and the agent could not be made liable under this process, as the debtor of Thomas F. Smith, for rent so collected as the agent of the trustee.

¶4The judgment will be reversed and the garnishee discharged.

The other judges concur.