Case Name: Chas. S. Murphy, Resp't, v. William Jack et al., App'lts
Court: New York Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1894-04
Citations: 58 N.Y. St. Rep. 458
Docket Number: 
Parties: Chas. S. Murphy, Resp’t, v. William Jack et al., App’lts.
Judges: 
Reporter: New York State Reporter
Volume: 58
Pages: 458–460

Head Matter:
Chas. S. Murphy, Resp’t, v. William Jack et al., App’lts.
(Court of Appeals,
Filed April, 1894.)
1. Appeal—Order reinstating attachment.
Order of general term, reinstating an attachment upon insufficient evidence, is reviewable in the court of appeals.
3. Attachment—Apetdavit.
The information, upon which an attachment is based, may he conveyed through the medium of the telephone, if it appears that the affiant knew, in some satisfactory way, that it was the plaintiff who was speaking with him.
This action was brought to recover for goods sold and delivered by plaintiff to defendants. The complaint was on information and belief and was verified by one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, who, in the verification, stated the reason for his making it to be the absence of the plaintiff in Massachusetts, and that his belief was based upon the statements made to him by the plaintiff and by the Boston attorney. Accompanying the complaint, and sworn to upon the same day, was an affidavit by the same attorney, in which he stated that, as he was informed and believed, the plaintiff was 'entitled to recover the sum claimed as damages for the breach of an express contract, over and above all counterclaims known to the plaintiff, upon a cause of action existing in his favor against the said defendants, upon the facts set out in the annexed complaint and that, as deponent was informed and believed, the said defendants are not residents of the State of New York, but that both reside at Gardiner, in the State of Maine. The affidavit then proceeds to state that the “ deponent’s belief as to the facts above stated ” is based upon statements of the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s Boston attorney, “ who have both talked to deponent this morning over the telephone from Boston,” and that “ they narrated the facts to deponent exactly as they have been set forth in the complaint, etc.” The affiant asked for an attachment, “ without waiting for affidavits to be obtained from Boston,” upon the ground that the property was “ likely to be removed.” A warrant of attachment having been issued upon the complaint and affidavit, an application to vacate it was granted. Upon appeal to the general term, the order vacating the attachment was reversed and the attachment reinstated. The defendants now appeal to this court..
Henry D. Hotchkiss and William S. Maddox, for app’lts; Sullivan & Cromwell and Edward B. Hill, for resp’t.
Reversing 58 St. Rep.

Opinion:
Gray, J.
If the affidavit was insufficient, upon which this attachment was ordered, a question order of the general term is undoubtedly reviewable here. Allen v. Meyer, 73 N. Y., 1; Steuben County Bank v. Alberger, 78 id., 252. In this case the writ was applied for upon statements made upon the information and belief of the deponent, and the question is whether the information concerning the material facts, appeared to have been acquired in such a manner as to justify the judge in acting upon it. Was the source of the information such as the judge could accept as satisfactory? The affiant, in such cases, is not required to have a personal knowledge of the facts required to be stated ; but it is essential that his information must appear to have been competently derived; as otherwise the judicial officer, whose action has been invoked, is without jurisdiction to proceed. It is clear that the attorney in this case obtained his information by a communication made through the telephone upon the morning of the day upon which the complaint and affidavit were sworn to, and that his belief was based upon it, in making his statements concerning the facts constituting the cause-of action, the absence of counterclaims, and the non-residence of the defendants. Those were the material facts required to be proved to the satisfaction of the judge, and we do not think that the proof as to the source of the information concerning them was sufficient, for the reason that there was lacking any degree of certainty that the plaintiff himself ever made the communication to the affiant. There would be no objection to the information having been conveyed through the medium of the telephone, if it had been made to appear that the affiant was acquainted with the plaintiff and recognized his voice, or if it had appeared in some satisfactory way that he knew it was the plaintiff who was speaking with him. None of these facts, however, were averred. There was absolutely nothing upon which the judge could pass to show that it was the plaintiff who was speaking and not some undisclosed person who, in the plaintiff's name, furnished to the attorney the information made use of. The perfection to which the invention of the telephone has been brought has immensely facilitated the inter-communication of individuals at distant points, and inasmuch as the voice of the speaker is heard, in most, if not in all cases, the identification, of the speaker should be possible. The very facility of communication and of identification permits, and, therefore, imposes a duty upon the party who invokes judicial action upon the strength, of information so received, to state his knowledge or his grounds-for believing that it actually came from the party required to-furnish it To authorize an attachment to issue upon the affidavit furnished here was in disregard of the rule which requires that the source of the information shall be disclosed in such a way as-to enable the court to decide upon the probable truth of the statements and the authenticity of the jurisdictional facts. Judicial action upon such a source of information as was here disclosed was-justified below by analogy with telegraphic communication. The analogy is incomplete. If the information comes through the telephone, it is quite possible to identify the speaker. Then, too, there is not, in the case of a telephonic communication, any record, like the message which, in the case of the use of the telegraph, remains for reference and verification.
For theser easons, as well as for those stated in the opinion of Mr. Justice Barrett, as special term, and of Mr. Justice VanBrunt, dissenting at the general term, the order of the general term - should be reversed and that of the special term should be affirmed, with costs in all the courts.
All concur.
Ordered accordingly.