Court Opinion

ID: 9854357
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:06:22.272344+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:23:02.405863
License: Public Domain

KEETON, Justice
(dissenting).
This action was brought to recover damages for an alleged fraud, plaintiff claiming because of fraud committed, he had been damaged in the sum of $1,865. An attachment was secured, substituted service of summons perfected, and a judgment in rem entered against the property of defendants. The appeal presents for determination one primary question, that is, did the court have jurisdiction to enter the judgment?
On motion made, the trial court set the judgment aside on two grounds: first, that the action of the plaintiff is not an action upon a judgment or upon a contract, express or implied, or for the collection of a penalty provided by any statute of this state, but is an action for fraud and one in which no liquidated sums or amounts were due and owing from the defendants to the plaintiff; second, that the affidavit of attachment'was insufficient to support a writ of attachment issued thereon. Plaintiff, appellant here, appealed from the above order.
In my opinion the Court was correct in setting the judgment aside on both grounds stated, and the order setting it aside and holding the judgment void should be affirmed without modification.
Sec. 8-501,1.C., states that an attachment may issue:
“ * * * upon a judgment, or upon contract, express or implied, for the direct payment of money, where the contract is not secured by any mortgage or lien upon real or personal property, or any pledge of personal property; * *
*94" * * * upon a judgment, or upon contract, express or implied, or for the collection of any penalty provided by any statute of this state, against a defendant not residing in this state” (Emphasis supplied.)
The attachment so provided for requires, under Sec. 8-502, I.C., the filing of an affidavit by the one seeking the attachment. Sec. 8-502, I.C., reads as follows:
“The clerk of the court must issue the writ of attachment upon receiving an affidavit by or on behalf of plaintiff setting forth:
“1. That the defendant is indebted to the plaintiff (specifying the amount of such indebtedness over and above all legal set-offs or counter-claims) and whether upon a judgment or upon a contract for the direct payment of money, and that the payment of the same has not been secured by any mortgage or lien upon real or personal property, or any pledge of personal property,
“2. When the defendant is a nonresident of this state, that such defendant is indebted to the plaintiff (specifying the amount of such indebtedness over and above all legal set-offs or counterclaims), and that defendant is a nonresident of the state.
. «3 ‡ * ”
The affidavit on which the attachment was issued alleged in pertinent part as follows :
“ * * * that the defendants above named are indebted to the above named plaintiff in the sum of eighteen hundred sitxy-five ($1,865.00) Dollars over and above all legal set-offs and counter claims, upon a cause of action as set forth in the complaint on file herein, reference to which complaint is made for all of the allegations therein set forth, and by reference incorporated into and made a part hereof, as fully as if here again set out. That the said defendants are at this date not residents of Idaho, and reside at this date in the State of Arizona; that the payment of the same has not been secured by any mortgage, lien or pledge on real or personal property.. (Emphasis supplied.)
“And This Affiant Further Says; that the sum for which the attachment is asked in this cause, that is to say the amount of indebtedness which is above stated, is an actual bona fide existing debt, now due and owing from the defendants to the plaintiff, and that the attachment is not sought, and the action is not prosecuted to hinder, delay or defraud any creditor or creditors of the said defendants.”
A reading of the affidavit discloses that nowhere in it' does it state or allege that *95the action is brought upon a contract, express or implied, for the direct payment of money.
The affidavit refers to the complaint as the basis for the attachment.
The complaint nowhere alleges that the action is brought on a contract, express or implied, for the direct payment of money; and as a matter of fact, alleges exactly the opposite. The complaint, after setting forth numerous acts of deceit, fraud and misrepresentation, claims that by reason of plaintiff’s reliance on the false statements of defendant, which statements .the complaint alleges were made with reckless disregard of their truth, and with intent to defraud plaintiff, and by reason thereof the complaint alleges:
“that the plaintiff did rely on them [the false misrepresentations] and that the damage he [plaintiff] sustained is the sum of $1865.00”. (Emphasis supplied.)
In determining the matter presented, it seems plain to me that prior decisions of this Court have very forcibly, plainly and emphatically disposed of the matter at issue.
A writ of attachment is a creature of statute and entirely statutory, and the limitations imposed by statute are mandatory. Sherwood v. Porter, 58 Idaho 523, 76 P.2d 928; Greene v. Rice, 32 Idaho 504, 186 P. 249.
In order to invoke the court’s jurisdiction to issue the writ, the affidavit, if required by statute, must contain all the essential allegations, and must show all matters required by the statute. 7 C.J.S., Attachment, § 117, page 282.
I do not think the complaint could be incorporated in the affidavit by reference for the purpose of securing a writ of attachment. If, however, we consider the affidavit and complaint as one instrument, the affidavit being essential to the issuance of the writ, the requirements of the statute have, in this case, not been complied with.
The remedy by attachment was unknown at common law and is purely of statutory origin, and in the absence of an express provision authorizing the attachment, it cannot issue. It is only when the statute is strictly pursued for legitimate purposes that such remedy can be resorted to, and the grounds for its issuance must be well founded. 4 Am.Jur. 566, Sec. 26.
These general principles have been applied by this Court in numerous decisions. In Murphy v. Montandon, 3 Idaho 325, 29 P. 851, this Court held:
“If an affidavit for án attachment is defective in not stating all the statute requires, or if it is false, the court has no jurisdiction to issue the attachment.”
See also American Fruit Growers, Inc. v. Walmstad, 44 Idaho 786, Syl. 2, 260 P. 168, and Mathews v. Densmore, 43 Mich. 461, 5 N.W. 669.
In Bellevue State Bank v. Lilya, 35 Idaho 270, 205 P. 893, this Court held that *96an affidavit conforming substantially to the requirements of the statute must be filed or on motion the writ will be discharged. To the same effect see Vollmer v. Spencer, 5 Idaho 557, 51 P. 609.
In Farmers State Bank of Star v. Gray, 36 Idaho 49, 210 P. 1006, 1009, this Court held in effect that the affidavit to secure the issuance of a writ of attachment must be sufficient on its face, otherwise no lawful attachment could issue, and in this case Chief Justice Rice said:
“The claim therefore must be one founded upon a contract for the direct payment of money, the payment of which has not been secured in any degree by any of the means specified in the statute.”
In Sunderlin v. Warner, 42 Idaho 479, 246 P. 1, this Court .held that an attachment cannot issue on demands ex delicto, and an affidavit failing to specify the amount of the contractual indebtedness is fatally defective, and gives the court no jurisdiction to issue the writ.
The requisites for issuing a writ of attachment provided for in subd. 1 of Sec. 8-501, I.C., apply to nonresident, as well as resident defendants, that is, the indebtedness must be one on a contract, express or implied, for the direct payment of money. This section was interpreted and applied in Kerns v. McAulay, 8 Idaho 558, 69 P. 539.
' In what class of actions can an attachment, issue in the first instance? For an answer to this question we should read Sec. 8-501, I.C., the second subdivision of which reads:
“In an action upon a judgment, or upon contract, express or implied, or for the collection of any penalty provided by any statute of this state, against a defendant not residing in this state.” (Emphasis supplied.)
In other words, in every instance, whether defendant be a resident or nonresident, the action must be upon a judgment, or upon a contract, express or implied, or for collection of a penalty, and cannot issue otherwise. Simply to state that a defendant is a nonresident of the state without showing that the action is based on a contract, express or implied, gives the court no jurisdiction to issue the writ. See cases above cited, and Foore v. Simon Piano Co., 18 Idaho 167, 108 P. 1038.
The only distinction between a resident and a nonresident debtor is that the absence of security against a nonresident need not be alleged in the affidavit, but whether the defendant be a resident or nonresident, the action must be predicated upon a contract, express or implied, and the affidavit must so show.
Certainly in the case before us, under the facts alleged, there was no liquidated amount that plaintiff could sue for.
While the decisions of California are not harmonious on the proposition pre-' sented, I quote from Stone v. Superior Court in- and for Los Angeles County, 214 Cal. 272, 4 P.2d 777, 77 A.L.R. 743:
*97“Where the statute limits the issuance of the writ of attachment to actions based on contract, express or implied, for the direct payment of money, an attachment may not issue in an action to recover back the consideration paid for stock upon a rescission of the purchase by reason of the seller’s false and fraudulent misrepresentations notwithstanding the complaint also contains a count for money had and received founded on the same facts.”
In the case before us no money count was alleged. The action was plainly one for fraud and the affidavit entirely insufficient. While I am of the opinion that the affidavit could not be construed to include the allegations of the complaint, I feel this is unnecessary to decide.
This action clearly being one in tort and not on contract, the attachment in any event would not lie.
The attachment being in the first instance based on the affidavit, and the affidavit being insufficient, there could be no attach-' ment. In Beam v. Berryman, 146 Okl. 94, 293 P. 550, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma held the affidavit for attachment is jurisdictional and without it, the attachment should be dissolved on motion. In Cleveland & Western Coal Company v. J. H. Hillman & Sons, D.C.Ohio, 245 F. 200, the Court held an order of attachment issued without sufficient affidavit is absolutely void.
I cite the above authorities on sufficiency of the affidavit to show under what circumstances the jurisdictional ground must exist before the attachment can lawfully issue.
In re Dargie’s Estate, 33 Cal.App.2d 148, 91 P.2d 126, cited in the majority opinion has reference to pleadings and not to affidavit for attachment, and in my opinion is not an authority for the matter here presented.
It is therefore my opinion that the afficavit is wholly insufficient whether the complaint is incorporated in it or not; that the action is based on a tort, and the complaint so shows on its face.
I therefore think the order of the trial court was correct, and that the order should be affirmed without modification.