Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

5 Cal. 488

Riddell v. Shirley

California Supreme Court

Decided July 1, 1855

California Supreme Court · decided 1855-07-01

Replevin for certain personal property attached by the defendant, Shirley, in his official capacity as Sheriff, as belonging to one Beebe Robinson. The other defendants made parties in the cause, were creditors of Robinson. The plaintiff, in order to prove his title, produced in evidence a bill of sale from Robinson of the property in dispute.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1855-07-01

How this case has been cited

Cited by 8 later decisions — most recently November 1924

1 federal appellate · 5 state decisions

2018551860187018801890190019101920decided

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.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

Heydenfeldt, J., delivered the opinion of the Court.

¶1Murray, C. J., concurred.

¶2The facts, as found by the jury, show that Robinson, the vendor of the plaintiff, was in insolvent or embarrassed circumstances; that he *490made the sale to discharge debts which were liens or charges upon his homestead, for the purpose of saving it to himself; of all which, the plaintiff was aware, at the time he made the purchase. This was certainly a transaction, calculated to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors. Although the law secures the homestead from execution arising from ordinary indebtedness, it is yet made chargeable for debts by the act of the parties interested in its preservation, and in some cases by operation of law. Where such cases exist, it would seem to be only fair, that the homestead should remain answerable for the debts charged upon it, and not, after becoming a source of credit, be relieved, intentionally, by the disposition of all the other property of the debtor, leaving nothing for the satisfaction of the other creditors. Such a sale, except to a creditor in payment of his debt alone, and free from knowledge.of or collusion with the object of the debtor, must be considered a fraud in fact and in law. It is a sale with the direct intent of benefit or advantage to the seller, to the injury of the creditors.

¶3This view renders it unnecessary to consider separately the various points made on error.

¶4The judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded.

/5/cal/488 · .json · Public domain