The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-02-18
IN THE DISTRICT COURT
Judge Lindsay Disposes of Sew
eral Appeal Cases.
LEWIS KEEPS THE PIANO
The Suit Was Brought Against the Con-
stable by C. w. Brega-His Wife's
Deposition Produced = Trapp
Must Pay the Money.

Judge Lindsay yesterday disposed of
another lot of appeal cases, two of
which We're tried.
The suit of G. w Brega against Con-
stable J. l.. Lewis of South Butte and
his bondsmen was tried before jury
and resulted in verdict for the de-
PENDANTS. Last summer the constable
in an action, wherein Howell & Harvey,
the attorneys, We're plaintiffs, and Mrs.
Mary M. Brega was defendant, levied
upon and attached as the property OF
Mrs. Brega an upright piano. The
instrument was claimed by MIR. Brega
as his property, and as Constable Lew
is refused to recognize his claim Mr.
Brega brought SUIT for its value al
legged to be $3.50.
AT the tine of the seizure of the in
strument Brega was conducting the
HOFFMAN house in East Park and was
about to sell out the furniture used in
the house. The testimony developed the
fact that short time prior to the COM
mencement of the suit by Howell &
Harvey against Mrs. Brega they. in
connection With a Salt Lake attorney,
appeared for Mrs Brega in an action
brought against her by her husband to
obtain divorce, and that in an affi-
daN1t filed in support of her application
for aIimony she SWore the piano was
hers. The divorce suit was afterward
dismissed by the husband. BY her
deposition, which was read in court in
this trial, Mrs. Brega testified that the
piano belonged to her husband, and
that the reason she formerly swore it
was her property was on account of
the fact that the Salt Lake attorney
stated she WAS entitled to all of the
personal property, including the piano.
Mrs. Brega's statements were by the
deposition of the Salt Lake lawyer
emphatically denied he asserting that
she positively claimed ownership of
the property. The plaintiff swore he
bought the piano in Kansas City in
1889, and that he paid S240 for it and
gave another instrument in addition to
the purchase price Several witnesses
testified that they had frequently
heard Brega say the piano belonged
tc his wife.
The suit of Attorney w. Z. Carroll
against John Nj. Trapp justice of the
peace. was tried before the court sit
ting without "A jury. The action was
brought by Carroll to recover $4270
which had been collected by Trap in
a suit wherein Carroll was plaintiff
and S. O. Mccall was defendant. The
Judgment for which the execution was
issued had been rendered by S II.
Almon, the predecessor in office of Jus
tice Trap. After the money had been
Dy constable ana turned
over to TrapD, Mr. Carroll demanded
that it be paid to him. The justice of
the peace declined to deliver it, and as
Il reason for his refusal said that the
Judgment rendered by Almon was void
as there had been no personal service
of the summons on the defendant Me-
Call
Judge Lindsay in passing on the
matter said that he failed to under
stand what motive could have prompt
ed the justice of the peace IN refusing
to pay over the money admittedly in
his possession, and remarked that il
appeared no motion had been made to
set aside the judgment for insufficiency
IF service or on any other ground. The
Judge also said that ii was not the
privilege of the justice of the peace
IN his own motion to question the va
idity of the judgment rendered by his
predecessor. that it was the sole prov
nce of the defendant Mccall, and an
authority that could not be assumed
and that the justice could not himself
question the right of the plaintiff to
The money collected upon the eXecu-
lion. The court then ordered judg-
nent in favor of the plaintiff.
The case of Smith c. Wilson against
D. Welsh, ct al, was dismissed as set
led.