Hamilton v. Pacific Drug Co.

Citations

• 78 Wash. 689
• 139 P. 642
• 1914 Wash. LEXIS 1084

Syllabus

<p>Arrest — In Civil Actions- — Right of Arrest — Statutes. Const., art. 1, § 17, abolishing imprisonment for debt except in cases of absconding debtors, abates the right of arrest given by the territorial act of 1854 (Rem. & Bal. Code, §§ 748-757) for certain causes not including absconding debtors.</p> <p>Constitutional Law — Operation—Self-Executing Provisions— Arrest — In Civil Actions. Constitution, art. 1, § 17, abolishing imprisonment for debt except in cases of absconding debtors, not being self executing, there is no statutory authority for the arrest of absconding debtors in this state.</p> <p>Arrest — In Civil Actions — Procedure—Statutes—Common Law. The arrest of an absconding debtor, under the procedure defined by Rem. & Bal. Code, §§ 748-757, which was not applicable to absconding debtors, cannot be justified by the fact that the debtor was subject to arrest at common law and that Id., § 143, makes the common law the rule of decision so far as not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the state; since there was no attempt to pursue the common law remedy.</p> <p>False Imprisonment — Civil Liability — Defenses — Order of Court — Malice—Probable Cause. It is no defense to an action for an unlawful arrest in a civil suit that it was pursuant to an order of court where the order exceeded the jurisdiction or authority of the court, or that the arrest was without malice and with probable cause.</p> <p>False Imprisonment — Excessive Damages. A verdict for $500 for false imprisonment will not be held excessive, where the plaintiff was unlawfully arrested in a civil suit, at night, and confined in jail with persons accused of crime, and there was nothing to indicate that the jury was influenced' by passion or prejudice.</p>