Dieter v. Smith

Citations

• 70 Ill. 168

Syllabus

<p>1. Garnishment—truth of answer—whether material. Where á garnishee, in his written answer, denies his liability, and he testifies as a witness in the case, and his testimony is uncontradicted, it is a matter of no consequence whether his answer is wholly true or not, and it is not proper to submit the question to the jury to find whether the answer is true.</p> <p>2. Same—liability of mortgagee in possession, to garnishee process. Where a mortgagee of chattels reduced them to possession one or two days before he was garnisheed for a debt of the mortgagor, but had not sold the property, it was held, that he was not liable to the process on the ground that the property in his hands exceeded in value the sum in which the mortgagor was indebted to him.</p> <p>3. In case the mortgagee had sold the mortgaged chattels, and had an excess in his hands over his debt, or had refused to sell according to the terms of the mortgage, and converted the property to his own use, a different question would be presented as to his liability.</p> <p>4. Special verdict. Where the j ury find a general verdict in favor of the garnishee, and also find, specially, that his written answer is not true, this will not authorize the court to set aside the general finding and render judgment against the garnishee, as the special finding is not necessarily inconsistent with the general verdict.</p>